Breaker Morant
When people think of military court martial movies, the one that undoubtedly leaps to mind is Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men, which pales in comparison to greatest of that sub-genre of military/war movies: The Caine Mutiny (1954) and, especially, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957). Breaker Morant can take a proud stand alongside those films. It follows the same basic formula: One or more soldiers are accused of violating a military code of conduct and while on trial, flashbacks give different accounts of what really occurred and allow for you, the viewer, to come to your own conclusion of guilt or innocence. But Breaker Morant breaks from those other stories in that it recounts a real event using the autobiography of one of the accused as a source. The Australian soldiers in question were members of the Bushveldt Carbineers, a special cavalry force brought to South Africa by the British to combat the guerilla tactics of the Boers. In an effort to spark peace talks, the British set out to railroad these soldiers, the leader of whom (Lt. Harry 'Breaker' Morant—a poet and expert horseman played with exquisite stoicism by Edward Woodward) insists they were following unofficial orders to take no prisoners when they executed their captives. The case raises the murky morality of war as these men sit before a tribunal turning a blind eye to its own complicity. Breaker Morant's unfamiliar setting and characters and Woodward's wonderful performance make this take on the military court martial feel fresh, even if it is almost 30 years old.
- August 5, 2007
DVD Extras
New hi-def color transfer made from 35mm interpositive; anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1; Dolby Digital 5.1; director's commentary; an insightful interview with Edward Woodward; barely useful character profiles that mostly just regurgitate the traits you saw in the movie; director bio and cast and crew filmographies; original theatrical trailer.