Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Clevercell Very disappointing...

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

TheLittleSongbird With a cast like Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Henry Stephenson, J. Carroll Naish, Donald Crisp, David Niven, Nigel Bruce and C. Henry Gordon, being based on an interesting subject matter and with direction by Michael Curtiz and music by Max Steiner, 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' had all the ingredients for a great film.It almost was, but to me instead is a very good one. It is often criticised for historical inaccuracy (or as some say lack of respect for history), as somebody who always judges a film on their own terms with only brief mention made it isn't an issue for me. Nor despite its troubled production, with horses and a stunt man being killed, its alleged animal cruelty.'The Charge of the Light Brigade' doesn't have an awful lot wrong. It is slowed down a little by the predictable and not particularly interesting (save for the charming chemistry between Flynn and De Havilland) love triangle subplot that felt thrown in and unnecessary. Patric Knowles is also pretty stolid and bland.However, 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' is beautifully filmed and produced, Max Steiner's stirring music score and Michael Curtiz's assured direction adding enormously. The script is literate and thought-provoking, with the eloquent on screen quotations of Tennyson providing much emotional resonance, while a vast majority of the story absorbs, rouses and moves with thundering action sequences (the climactic one stays with one for a long time).Flynn is full of charisma and confidence, while De Havilland is radiant. Crisp, Bruce and Naish also give distinguished performances (didn't know Naish could be so affecting), but standing out in particular are Niven (who has a very moving scene with Flynn), a noble Stephenson and a chillingly reptilian Gordon.Overall, very good and mostly splendid, just a couple of things stop it from being a masterpiece. 8/10 Bethany Cox

OldFilmLover The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) is a beautiful, polished epic film.The cast is superb, and the script and editing are so well-done that even at over 115 minutes the film never drags. This is one of Errol Flynn's best roles, and one of Patric Knowles's best roles as well. Flynn is brave and daring as usual, but without the flippant characterization of some of his other roles -- and the more serious performance is suited to the gravity of the story. The supporting cast of fine British and American actors is just right, with Spring Byington turning in her usual sparkling performance, and Nigel Bruce, C. Henry Gordon, David Niven, Donald Crisp, and Henry Stephenson making real contributions as well. Olivia de Havilland is fine in her role as the love interest of two brothers, doing as well as her role allows in a film which is basically a film about men.The photography, set design and music in this film are beautiful, state of the art for the time, making the experience of watching it enjoyable even if one is not paying much attention to the plot or dialogue. The final battle scene is stunning.Why this film was not nominated for more Academy Awards, I have no idea. I'm also stunned that its IMDb average is only 7.1. A grade of 7.1 implies mediocrity. This is not a mediocre film, but a great one. Anything less than 8 out of 10 would be a gross injustice, and a case could be made for 9 out of 10. It was the equivalent in its day of the "blockbuster" films of our day, but unlike those of our day, it did not rely on computerized special effects, but on fine craftsmanship in every aspect of the film-making. In a vacuum, I would probably rate this film as an 8.1 or 8.2, but I give it a 9 here as a sort of counter-balance, because 7.1 is ridiculously low. It would help if IMDb allowed half-stars; in that case I would have gone for 8.5. The film is available in a slim-case DVD edition in one of the 5-DVD Errol Flynn collections. This edition has the full 115+ minutes of the film, as well as some interesting period extras in the Warner Night at the Movies feature. The image and sound in this edition are very good.

PWNYCNY The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1936 action-adventure movie produced by Warner Brothers and directed by Michael Curtiz. The cast features Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, David Niven, Patric Knowles, Donald Crisp, and C. Henry Gordon. The story is set in the Indian subcontinent in the 1850s and depicts British efforts to defend against Russian encroachment into south Asia, culminating in the Crimean War. The title of the movie is transposed from a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that honors a British regiment that was decimated in the war. In the movie the British are contending with both state and non-state players who pose a threat to the British presence in India. The British respond by creating various institutional structures to consolidate their position. One structure created is a surrogate British society replicating the one found in the mother country. It excludes all non-British subjects. This creates a cultural barrier that maintains cultural cohesion within the dominant British group and prevents infiltration and subversion by the indigenous populations. It also serves to prevent the British from being subsumed into the local culture. James Mahoney describes this tactic in his book (235). Another structure is a series of forts along the frontier that are manned mostly by local natives serving in the British army under the direct command of British officers. Employment of natives as troops keep the indigenous populations divided, a system manipulated by the British who dispense rewards for cooperation. Finally, another structure is an elaborate British Army headquarters situated inside India itself. Located in an urban area, in the movie it is Calcutta, this institution serves as a symbol of British power and authority and projects an image of political legitimacy and permanency, the message being: "We're here to stay." (And stay they did, until 1947.) Through such institutional contrivances, the British succeed in embedding themselves in the Indian subcontinent (where they remained until forced to depart, in response to geopolitical forces that rendered the British presence in India and their institutional structures obsolete). An especially noteworthy feature of the movie is its depiction of how the British military command was divided over the question of tactics. The upper echelon believes that peace in the region can be maintained through passive displays of British military might, that is, through intimidation, while the middle officer ranks vigorously advocate taking the initiative and going on the offensive. This discord later proves disastrous for the British. It erodes discipline within the command structure and leads to a serious breakdown in communication that puts the entire army at risk. Equally noteworthy is the movie's failure to deal forthrightly with the broader strategic question: what were the British doing in India in the first place? In cinematic depictions of Spanish imperialism, it is established that the Spanish are in search of gold, silver and anything else that can quickly generate cash, that is, they are wherever they are in order to plunder. In contrast, in this movie British motives in India are portrayed as noble and altruistic with the British officer in India as the paragon of chivalry and a symbol of everything that is good and decent, that is, a modern day version of the White Knight. (Not surprisingly, the story also includes a damsel in distress, played by Ms. de Havilland.) That these White Knights happen to be strutting around not in Sherwood Forest but in South Asia is conveniently glossed over. But as the saying goes, it's only a movie.

paulfuller-3 A lot of the reviews seem to focus on the issue of historical accuracy. I recognize this is a work of fiction and couldn't care less whether it's historically accurate or not, but if you create a movie called "The Charge of the Light Brigade", you should at least be creating a fiction based largely on the subject of the Crimean War. Instead, a fictional connection is made to India, which becomes the scene of 3/4 of the movie. If you want to see a fictional movie about the British in 19th century India, with a brief epilogue involving the Charge, this may be the movie for you. Don't expect to see much of the Crimea in this movie, though.