The Four Feathers (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

A Rousing British Adventure Comes To Criterion--A Sweeping And Beautiful Epic
To the modern eye, certain elements and attitudes on exhibit in Zoltan Korda's 1939 adaptation of "The Four Feathers" may appear dated. That's to be expected, really, and shouldn't discourage any real movie lover from appreciating this British epic of unlikely heroism. Once you get past a rather heavy handed beginning--there is much pointed discussion about what makes a man, bravery versus cowardice, and the supreme glory of British imperialism--a terrifically outlandish, but spectacularly entertaining, adventure starts to unfold. With sweeping desert vistas, gorgeous British estates, spectacular battle footage, and impressive location shooting--this is really a film begging for a Criterion restoration as the previous DVD presentations were relatively underwhelming. The film boasts Oscar nominated cinematography, and it deserves to be appreciated and admired for the spectacle that it truly is!

The story revolves around Harry Faversham (John Clements), a British officer...

A first rate, rip-roaring adventure story
Thank god I gave this movie another chance! A few years ago I watched this film on a local public television station. The print they showed, however, was old and worn, with hundreds of lines and specks marring every scene. Also, the color was so badly faded that it almost looked like it was filmmed in black and white.

But reviewing the film on a newly restored and enhanced print was nothing short of a revelation. It was frequently gorgeous to look at, and the high quality of the print allowed me to focus on the story. Many of the scenes were filmmed on location in the Middle East, which greatly added to the appeal of the movie (in American epics of the thirties, even the Crimea and India ended up looking like the Mojave Desert for obvious reasons--reminds me of the funny scene in the second Austin Powers movie, where Austin casually remarks while driving down a road that is clearly on the California coast, "Isn't it amazing how much the coast of England looks like...

RULE BRITANNIA
There are films that are classics since the day they are released. This film is one of those. Zoltan Korda shows his elegance and skills presenting us a typical adventure.

Based on the novel by A. W. E Mason, it is the story of young Harry Faversahn born and raised to follow the military life like all his ancestors. Pity that his father is an obssesed of the glories of the Empire, and that his friends bored the child telling stories about battles, slaughters and Baklava (the scene with C. Aubrey Smith explaining the battle with a pineaple and some walnuts is one of the best in the story of cinema).

But Harry is a good boy so he joins the army, trains all day and even has time to conquer beautiful Ethne. With that Harry decides to leave the army, but good things do not last forever, so in the evening of his engagement party his regiment is call to arms. To Egypt to fight against the wicked Egyptian rebels. But Harry refuses and so his former best friends send...

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