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6.6/10
3.9K
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In 1854, during the Crimean War, poor planning leads to the British Light Brigade openly charging a Russian artillery position with tragic consequences.In 1854, during the Crimean War, poor planning leads to the British Light Brigade openly charging a Russian artillery position with tragic consequences.In 1854, during the Crimean War, poor planning leads to the British Light Brigade openly charging a Russian artillery position with tragic consequences.
- Nominated for 7 BAFTA Awards
- 7 nominations total
John J. Carney
- Trooper Mitchell
- (as John Carney)
Howard Marion-Crawford
- Lt. Gen. Sir George Brown
- (as Howard Marion Crawford)
Christopher Cunningham
- Farrier
- (as Chris Cunningham)
- Director
- Writers
- Charles Wood
- Cecil Woodham-Smith
- John Osborne(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilming was immensely problematic. Director Tony Richardson fired a stunt coordinator whose manic swordplay killed several horses. An earthquake destroyed the hotel used by the production. David Hemmings was extremely temperamental on-set. The crew and extras, many of whom were Turkish soldiers, fought verbally and physically with local villagers who resented their incursion into the area. Richardson's strange mixture of perfectionism and historical flippancy grated on both his crew and advisers. While filming the final battle, the soldiers were called away for a NATO war exercise, forcing Richardson to shoot the scene with only a few dozen stuntmen.
- GoofsThe character called Featherstonehaugh (played by Corin Redgrave) has his name pronounced more or less as it is written, with four syllables. An upper-class Englishman of the mid-19th century (or, indeed, today) would pronounce it "Fanshawe".
- Quotes
Lord Raglan: It will be a sad day for England when her armies are officered by men who know too well what they are doing- it smacks of murder.
- Crazy creditsIn the animation over the opening credits, the English lion roars just as "A Woodfall Film" appears onscreen (mimicking Leo the Lion at the start of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movies).
- Alternate versionsAlthough the cinema version was complete the 1993 UK video release was cut by 7 secs to edit footage of horse-falls. The 2008 Optimum DVD has the cuts length extended to 14 secs and features the 6 minutes shorter print as mentioned below.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Otley (1969)
- SoundtracksThe Girl I Left Behind Me
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by Trevor L. Sharpe
Heard before the Battle of the Alma
Featured review
Another time, another place
I do find it fascinating to come across obscure, almost forgotten films like this with familiar faces and famous actors in it. It was made ca. 1968, and in the true spirit of '68, it is strongly anti-war, anti-military, and anti-establishment, even though it is set in the Victorian era, the height of the Romantic age, when Military valor was largely celebrated. Military life is here portrayed in terms of ranks of men being bullied and brutalized by each successive rank above them, with the biggest, meanest and stupidest ones at the top.
I found it quite interesting to see the famous charge, celebrated in the romantic verses of Tennyson, portrayed in such a matter-of-fact manner as a series of tactical blunders due to bad communication and incompatible personalities among the commanders. These events were supposedly well-researched, and though I am not informed on the subject, I found this version of events very credible. Even with the high level of weapons and communications technology we have today, this sort of thing still happens. It must have been very common in centuries past.
To me, the dialog of this film and its delivery by the actors is its most remarkable feature. Seeing films that depict distant eras, I've often thought that these eras must have not just looked different from what we are used to, but sounded very different as well. If we were suddenly dropped into Victorian England, we wouldn't always understand what was being said or inferred to us. Words, phrases, gestures, facial expressions or body language that would have obvious meaning in that time and place would be strange to us. The language and syntax would, of course, be different, but so would the rhythm, pace, expressive color and accenting of the way people spoke. `Charge of the Light Brigade' does a remarkable job of not just looking, but sounding like a distant place and time. For a viewer who is not educated in antique British expressions and military jargon, as I am not, it makes watching this film a bit challenging, but it's like spending 130 minutes in the Victorian age as a so-called `fly-on-the-wall,' as the British put it. There was more than one line spoken after which I thought `say what?' But that's OK. It doesn't kill you, just encourages you to think a bit. This aspect of the film looks to be well-researched as well, a superb example of a somewhat talky script in which great care is taken with the language and its use by the actors. The script doesn't serve the purpose of an exposition device for the dumbest members of the audience, a very common vice in films, particularly big-money films engineered to alienate as few people as possible. It's an integral part of a design to recreate an unfamiliar time and place, and as such, a bit uncompromising.
I found it quite interesting to see the famous charge, celebrated in the romantic verses of Tennyson, portrayed in such a matter-of-fact manner as a series of tactical blunders due to bad communication and incompatible personalities among the commanders. These events were supposedly well-researched, and though I am not informed on the subject, I found this version of events very credible. Even with the high level of weapons and communications technology we have today, this sort of thing still happens. It must have been very common in centuries past.
To me, the dialog of this film and its delivery by the actors is its most remarkable feature. Seeing films that depict distant eras, I've often thought that these eras must have not just looked different from what we are used to, but sounded very different as well. If we were suddenly dropped into Victorian England, we wouldn't always understand what was being said or inferred to us. Words, phrases, gestures, facial expressions or body language that would have obvious meaning in that time and place would be strange to us. The language and syntax would, of course, be different, but so would the rhythm, pace, expressive color and accenting of the way people spoke. `Charge of the Light Brigade' does a remarkable job of not just looking, but sounding like a distant place and time. For a viewer who is not educated in antique British expressions and military jargon, as I am not, it makes watching this film a bit challenging, but it's like spending 130 minutes in the Victorian age as a so-called `fly-on-the-wall,' as the British put it. There was more than one line spoken after which I thought `say what?' But that's OK. It doesn't kill you, just encourages you to think a bit. This aspect of the film looks to be well-researched as well, a superb example of a somewhat talky script in which great care is taken with the language and its use by the actors. The script doesn't serve the purpose of an exposition device for the dumbest members of the audience, a very common vice in films, particularly big-money films engineered to alienate as few people as possible. It's an integral part of a design to recreate an unfamiliar time and place, and as such, a bit uncompromising.
helpful•365
- Bobs-9
- Jun 10, 2001
- How long is The Charge of the Light Brigade?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Juris lake konjice
- Filming locations
- Pecenek, Turkey(charge in the Valley of Death)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $8,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 19 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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By what name was The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) officially released in India in English?
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