The Film:
The Four Feathers is a story that has been transferred to screen many times, but before watching this Oscar nominated 1939 version, I had only seen the mediocre at best 2002 version starring Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson. Based on the novel by AEW Mason, the 1939 adaptation, directed by Zoltan Korda (The Thief of Bagdad), also has an all star cast including the likes of John Clements (Oh What a Loely War), Ralph Richardson (Time Bandits) and C. Aubrey Smith (Rebecca, Kidnapped).
Clements plays Harry Faversham, a man who was born into one of Britains most distinguished miltary backgrounds and to make his father proud he joins the army with three friends of his: John Durrance (Richardson); General Burroughs (Smith) and Thomas Willoughby (Jack Allan - Spy For a Day). However, when his father dies, and he becomes engaged to Ethne (June Duprez - And Then There Were None), he decides to quit the army. When all three of his friends send him an item that is the sign of cowardice, a white feather, and he receives one that is plucked from Ethne's fan, Harry Faversham sets out alone to a distant war in an attempt to have his dignity redeemed by his friends. The battle he ventures to is the 1898 Battle of Omdurman in the Sudan.
After watching the 2002 adaptation of the book, I have to admit that I was not holding out too much hope for this version, but I was a little surprised and found the film to be a little above average. The battle scenes seem more epic in this version with the direction of such scenes bringing you closer to the action and making you feel more involved. The script stays more faithful with the book (which I admittedly haven't read since I was 14/15 and at school), with it feeling more dramatic, especially during scenes of tension. This is also probably thanks to a much better cast than the 2002 version, with the acting by the majority of cast being pretty good. All set against a charming score by Miklós Rózsa (The Dirty Dozen, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes), the 1939 adaptation of The Four Feathers comes recommended to fans of the book and war epics. The only thing that stopped my enjoyment a little was that some scenes were too slow moving.
The DVD:
Video:
Network have provided the film with a 4:3 transfer, the original aspect ratio, and it's a nice print. There is very little grain and dirt present compared to what should be expected for a film almost seventy years old, though there is the occasional scratch present. Also, colours can vay from scene to scene from being a little dark, to being a little washed out. Despite this, the print is good (but could be better) and Network should be commended. No subtitles have been included.
Audio:
Network have provided us with the original English Dolby Digital Mono track here and it's OK. The film has a lot of dialogue, all of which is clear, but it also has some great battle scenes that would have definately benefited from from a surround mix. Background hiss is unfortunately present and very noticeable throughout and all the sound levels are consistent throughout. Could have been better, but what we have is adequate.
Extras:
We start off the extras with an interview with one of the films stars, Ralph Richardson taken from the Russell Harty Show in 1973. Running for a rather extensive forty plus minutes, this is a pretty standard interview in which Richardson tells us about all aspects of his career and answers the usual 'what was it like working with/filming...' questions. A nice extra.
Other than this we just have a trailer and an image gallery.
