BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Lawbolisted Powerful

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Leofwine_draca THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE is a wannabe 1968 epic about the Battle of Balaclava and the infamous charge of the British light cavalry which ended in disaster. This lengthy film attempts to show the context for the debacle and the events which led to it, and it really turns out that it was all down to miscommunication and the general incompetence of a handful of men.The film was directed by kitchen sink stalwart Tony Richardson with a kind of weary realism that makes it rather tedious to watch in places. The attention to detail and costume is strong, but the battle scenes ill realised and not very convincing, particularly at the disappointing climax which is merely adequate. The film does contain a handful of fine performances that alone make it worth a watch. David Hemmings is fine as the idealistic captain and Trevor Howard constantly astonishing as his pig-headed nemesis. John Gielgud makes a fine turn as the doddery aristocrat and Harry Andrews typically shines as his aide. The rest of the cast is a mixed bag with some characters, like that of Vanessa Redgrave, feeling extraneous to the main story.

robertasmith I'm never quite sure what this film was aiming for. Is it a critique of war or is it a telling of a real story? The performances are average at best. Jill Bennet is annoying, Peter Bowles has a silly accent and Vanessa Redgrave is pointless. David Hemings does his best with a poor script and Trevor Howard hams it up beautifully. John Gielgud as Raglan is, unsurprisingly, excellent but again suffers from a poor script. In my humble view Tony Richardson was entirely the wrong director and gives far too much screen time to Redgrave's character Clarissa. The final product is boring and has not lasted at all well whereas the 1936 Flynn version is just as inaccurate but great fun.

fullheadofsteam This movie was made during the height of protest against the war in Vietnam. It absolutely looks and feels like an anti-war movie, so should be taken at full face value. That said, it is particularly brilliant in its portrayal of arrogant, head-strong British military leaders who were, at that historical time period, appointed primarily according to their social and economic status. A plus factor to enjoyment of this stylized and time-topical film is the satire, some of which is best exemplified in the intermittent animated map and battle movement graphics. It truly is black comedy at its best, because if you cannot or will not recognize the folly and inwardly scoff, laugh at it (in recognition of flawed human nature), you risk being engulfed only in the blatantly flawed battle, and insult to a vainglorious English aristocracy and government, if which you choose to cling to can engulf you in a distress from which you might not recover.

Milan The Charge of the light brigade (version '68), is a movie that has a bad reputation because of it's historical truth. One of the greatest, if not the single greatest military blunder in British military history, a fruitless and suicidal "charge" into the South Valley of the Balaclava battlefield with frontal assault of light cavalry on Russian artillery which decimated the Light Brigade during their "charge", is portrayed in all it's "glory". Childish and irresponsible behavior of the upper classes, who were playing war with lives of their man, constant bickering among them, envy and egos galore, set the stage for a typical 19th century conflict. And this truth can't be helped. It could have been made into a silly caricature of history, but it wasn't and many people consider that a failure.The acting is great, and the cast is "cream of the crop" of British actors of those days. Tony Richardson with his "heavy hand" didn't harm the pace or the narrative, and this dissection of British society in 1850's is done well. I haven't seen the 1936 version, but I recommend this one warmly, to anyone who likes history, famous battles, and classic cinema.