The attack of the light brigade

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Movie
German title The attack of the light brigade
Original title The Charge of the Light Brigade
Country of production Great Britain
Publishing year 1968
Rod
Director Tony Richardson
script Charles Wood
John Osborne
production Neil Hartley (Woodfall)
music John Addison
camera David Watkin
cut Kevin Brownlow
Hugh Raggett
occupation

The Light Brigade Attack is an adventure film about the Light Brigade attack in the Crimean War . The historical characters and events are integrated into a genre-typical feature film plot.

The film has been nominated for six British Film Awards . In the film, the historical background is explained through animation sequences .

Historical background and plot

The first part of the film shows everyday life in the British 11th Hussar Regiment, which is despotic led by Lord Cardigan at this time . The young officer Louis Edward Nolan , who has just returned from duty in India, quickly gets into conflict with Cardigan. Cardigan generally dislikes officers who have served in India as inferior, and Nolan in particular is a thorn in his side. Cardigan uses the smallest of occasions to harass Nolan and ultimately put him in custody. Meanwhile, Nolan falls in love with Clarissa, his comrade's wife.

After the outbreak of the Crimean War, Cardigan became the commander of the Light Brigade, which belongs to the cavalry division of his hated brother-in-law, Lord Lucan . Nolan, Cardigan and Lucan are relocated to the Crimea . There is constant tension between the protagonists, the poor organization of the campaign, its cruelty and the ineptitude of the officers are shown. The experiences of Frances Isabella Duberly , who accompanied her husband to the Crimea and who later gave a comprehensive picture of the campaign in her reports, are repeatedly interspersed.

Finally there is the battle of Balaklava , the historical background of the attack by the light brigade. During the course of the battle, the British Commander-in-Chief Lord Raglan dictated General Airey to use the cavalry to recapture the cannons captured by the Russian army that morning . Nolan delivers this order to Cardigan and Lucan. Since he despises both of them, he passes the order on in a very brief form. For Lucan, therefore, it is not possible to tell which cannons are involved. From his position in the valley floor , Lucan can see no other cannons than the position of the Russians at the end of the northern valley. The gun emplacements captured by the Russians in the morning, on the other hand, are on the hills that close the valley to the south. They are also directed towards the route the Light Brigade is to take. Nolan adds to the confusion by saying there are your cannons, there is the enemy! and points in the direction of the Russian positions. Lord Lucan, with Nolan's heartfelt antipathy, believes that this provocation has no choice but to order the commander of the Light Brigade to attack through the valley in the direction of the Russian cannons. Cardigan's suggestion that a frontal attack with simultaneous fire from both flanks (Russian soldiers are also on the hills north of the valley) would lead to high losses, he rejects with the reference to Raglan's order. One of the first bullets kills Captain Nolan, who realizes his mistake and tries to hold Cardigan back. The attack becomes a disaster and the Light Brigade is significantly decimated. At the end of the film, Raglan, Lucan, Cardigan and Airey argue among the dying and wounded about who is responsible.

Reviews

"The visually and rhythmically brilliant production paints a critical picture of the time with bitter irony, exposes an outdated army organization and denounces the failure of its leaders."

“Because of the realistically depicted battle atrocities, nothing for sensitive visitors, but an interesting contribution to illuminating and correcting the consideration of a 'heroic time'. Worth seeing from 16. "

Awards

The film received seven nominations for the British Film Awards in 1969 . Trevor Howard in the Best Actor category, there were also nominations for the best music, the best production design, the best camera work, the best costumes, the best editing and the best sound.

The German Film and Media Evaluation FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the title valuable.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. The attack of the light brigade. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 440/1968.