The Four Feathers (1939)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: B
It was a big disappointment when the recent Stanley Jaffe
production of A.E.W. Mason’s novel The Four Feathers did not work very
well. The 2002 production was a rare
financial disappointment for the hit producer, but some stories just do not
translate well in later years, especially when they were filmed right before in
the first place. At the peak of his
producing power, Alexander Korda delivered what is still considered the finest
film version of the book, made in the waning years of the British Empire as
World War II kicked in.
Part of an “other lands” cycle of British Cinema, if not
an outright genre of historical adventure, The Zoltan Korda-directed piece has
John Clemens as the officer who cannot take it anymore and resigns. When called a coward by some of his friends,
he sets out to get involved with a battle in Khartoum in a way one might
consider “inventive” to say the least.
Others might consider it politically incorrect, but so was the nature of
such pro-British productions.
Unlike other such films of the time, this one has a solid
story to fall back on, with a great cast, major Technicolor production and a
pace the total opposite of the remake.
Where the Shekhar Kapur-directed version was not any more modernized by
having a non-Brit (and non-American for that matter) helm the project, causing
it to drag (and why should a foreign director do the dirty work of a pro-Brit
narrative?), this does not ethnically cleanse and stretch out the narrative
unnecessarily. Instead, scene after
scene keeps the film going in a way that will surprise many viewers over 65
years later.
Though the production style, some dialogue and age of the
print give away some of its age, there is little else to give away how old this
British classic really is. The “us vs.
them” battles seem somewhat racist by today’s standards, political correctness
or not, but they are still staged with energy still apparent by today’s
standards and actually much better than most explicit Action genre films we
have suffered through of late. That is
why the 1939 Korda version of The Four Feathers endures and is highly
recommended.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 full frame image has some great
moments thanks to being produced in three-strip dye-transfer Technicolor, but
there is also serious shifting trouble in too many parts not to notice, due to
misalignment of the three color elements.
Either way, the color is terrific at its best and that is often, thanks
to the process and the amazing cinematography of Georges Perinal and Osmond
Borradaile. Borradaile did the
on-location work in Sudan, which was not easy since exposing the three strips
at the time was difficult. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono is adequate for what the old sound that is here, with the
Miklos Rozsa score (as handled by equally legendary conductor and musical
director Muir Mathieson) is exceptional.
The only extra is a trailer that has two problems: the picture quality is dreadful and it is
one of the most racist trailers we have ever seen. Fortunately, the feature is the thing to see here.
- Nicholas Sheffo
