Directed by:
Tony RichardsonCinematography:
David WatkinComposer:
John AddisonCast:
Trevor Howard, Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, David Hemmings, Harry Andrews, Jill Bennett, Peter Bowles, Leo Britt, T.P. McKenna, Roger Mutton, Corin Redgrave (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
During the ill-fated charge of British troops at Balaclava in the Crimean War, loyal soldiers who blindly followed orders were led to certain death. This is the fifth time the story has been told on film, but the actual event is an afterthought to the main plot. Snobbish aristocrats and ineffectual politicos combine with pompous blue-bloods to make decisions affecting 600 men thousands of miles away. A decidedly anti-war and satirical slant is presented, as inept generals stand knee-deep in bodies, each blaming the other for the fiasco. Vividly underscored here is the fanaticism, dedication, and blind loyalty which caused the total annihilation of hundreds of soldiers. This 5-million-dollar epic film recouped only 1 million after the initial release, leaving critics to compare the real-life disaster with the financial one suffered by the producers. Trevor Howard, John Gielgud and Vanessa Redgrave head the excellent cast. (Shock Entertainment)
(more)Cast
Helen Cherry
UK
Best movies:
Conduct Unbecoming (1975)
Young Wives' Tale (1951)
The Naked Edge (1961)
Alan Dobie
UK
Best movies:
The Long Day's Dying (1968)
Doctor Faustus (1967)
Madame Sin (1972)
Mark Dignam
UK
Best movies:
The Last Place on Earth (1985) (series)
Franco Zeffirelli's The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
Macbeth (1948)
Harry Fielder
UK
Best movies:
Barbara Hicks
UK
Best movies:
Death on the Nile (1978)
Brazil (1985)
Orlando (1992)
Dido Plumb
UK
Best movies:
Oliver Twist (1948)
Great Expectations (1946)
From Russia with Love (1963)
Andrew Faulds
Tanzania
Best movies:
Cleopatra (1963)
The One That Got Away (1957)
Falstaff (1965)
Norman Rossington
UK
Best movies:
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Longest Day (1962)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Margaret Flint
UK
Best movies:
Peter Woodthorpe
UK
Best movies:
A Christmas Carol (1984) (TV movie)
Eleni (1985)
The Mirror Crack'd (1980)
Declan Mulholland
UK
Best movies:
Much Ado About Nothing (1984) (TV movie)
H.M.S. Defiant (1962)
Oliver Twist (1982) (TV movie)
Ben Howard
UK
Best movies:
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
Who Dares Wins (1982)