Product Details

• Actors: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, Terence Donovan, Lewis Fitz-Gerald
• Format: Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 15, 2008
• Run Time: 107 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000X73NCM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,693 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Before coming to America to make such acclaimed films as Tender Mercies and Driving Miss Daisy, Australian director Bruce Beresford made a lasting impression with this compelling courtroom drama, considered one the finest films of the Australian new wave of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Based on a true story about three soldiers in the Boer War who are served up as political scapegoats of the British Empire, the film uses a flashback structure to dramatize the courtroom testimony. It begins when the three Australian soldiers are railroaded for the justified killing of a German missionary and placed on trial for court-martial not as a matter of justice, but to mollify the German government for the sake of political expediency. Burdened with a competent but inexperienced and hopelessly disadvantaged lawyer, the soldiers realize that their fate has been sealed and the outcome of their trial is a fait accompli. Unfolding with urgent precision and a riveting focus on its well-drawn characters, Breaker Morant was the all-time box-office hit in Australia at the time of its release in 1980, and it remains one of the very best historical dramas ever made. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Personal revenge or act of war? Crazed soldiers or political scapegoats? Winner of 10 Australian Academy Awards, this powerful film directed by the Oscar®-nominated Bruce Beresford (Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy) continues to stir audiences with its timeless themes of wartime morality and military hypocrisy. Based on a true story, Edward Woodward (TV's The Equalizer) unforgettably stars as the controversial folk hero and Renaissance man Lt. Harry "Breaker" Morant. As South Africa's Boer War draws to a close, Morant and two fellow Australian soldiers are court-martialed for murder. Their only hope lies in a small-town lawyer who fights passionately for their lives.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 93 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "And a man's foes shall be thay of his own household....." November 22, 2000

By P. Ferrigno

Format:DVD

Skillful director Brian Beresford, a brilliant ensemble of Australian actors, and the very talented English actor, Edward Woodward, came together in South Australia in 1979 to shoot one of Australia's finest films...a war time courtroom drama that excels in acting, narrative, script and cinematography.

Released at a time when the Australian film industry was on the verge of a world wide surge of interest with many other fine films (Mad Max 1979, Gallipoli 1981 etc.)...."Breaker Morant" set a benchmark for quality drama.

In the midst of the Boer War, three members of the Bushveldt Carboniers...Harry Morant, Peter Handcock & George Witton stand accused of the murder of Boer prisoners and a German missionary.

The men become the subject of a British court martial and it soon becomes clearly evident that they are mere pawns in a far greater diplomatic agenda between warring nations. The film closely tackles the issues of trialling soldiers for murder in times of war...and the differing interpretations of the orders recieved from senior officers.

Jack Thompson is outstanding as defence attorney, Major J.F. Thomas, attempting to save the lives of the trio. A youthful Bryan Brown is very memorable as the wild, simple larrikan, Peter Handcock...and Edward Woodward, in a moving and remarkable performance plays the role of the horse breaker-cum-soldier, Harry Hardboard Morant. Add a wonderful support cast including noted Australian actors Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Alan Cassell, John Waters and Chris Haywood...and it's easy to see why this film garnished several key AFI awards upon it's release, and remains so highly regarded amongst critics and fans alike.

An intelligent, moving and thought provoking film "Breaker Morant" will be savoured by those who enjoy intense, challenging historical drama's. Highly Recommended !!

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great courtroom drama about the Scapegoats of the Empire February 20, 2001

By Lawrance M. Bernabo HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Breaker Morant" is best military courtroom drama available on videotape and not just because it is based on a true story. Unlike "The Caine Mutiny" or "A Few Good Men," the trial takes up most of the film, with events depicted in flashbacks. Also, the defendants are innocent of (most of) the charges against them. Harry "Breaker" Morant (played by a still unknown Edward Woodward years before "The Equalizer") led a group of Australian horse soldiers who had to deal with guerillas during the Boer War. Because the British government wishes to negotiate a peace, Morant and two of his officers are charged with various violations of military law the most important being the execution of Boer prisoners. Leaving nothing to chance, the British command gives the defendants an Australian lawyer to defend them who has never been in a courtroom; however, the man is inexperienced, he is not stupid. It is clear to everyone that the trial is a sham. This is why "Breaker Morant" has more in common with "Gallipoli," another Australian film about British disdain for their subjects from that colony continent.

"Breaker Morant" was directed by Bruce Beresford, who along with Jonathan Hardy and David Stevens was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for adapting Kenneth G. Ross' stage play. This movie also had one of the best trailers I have ever seen and it is impossible to forget Woodward's voice declaring, "We were out on the veldt fighting the Boer the way the Boer fought us." Bryan Brown plays one of the other defendants, but this is Woodward's film even when he is reduced to doing nothing more than sitting in his chair and letting the farce plays itself out to the end (Do not ask me to explain why it was Thompson and not Woodward who won the Australian Film Institute's award for Best Actor in a Drama that year). The conclusion of the film is simple yet powerful: we watch the final scene listening to the last poem written by Morant and then Woodward singing a British military song that hammers home the irony of the film.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding production, albeit inaccurate in places. January 22, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

I am a retired army officer, with 40 years service in southern African forces. I have also made an in-depth study of the events that led up to the court martial which sentenced Lts Harry Morant and Peter Handcock to death. As such I was very critical in my viewing of Breaker Morant. Given that the film was largely based on Kit Denton's book "The Breaker", there are several inaccuracies of fact in the film, eg. the execution never took place at Pietersburg - it was in Pretoria. Also, five officers were court-martialled, not only three as shown in the film. I understand that the film was made on location in South Australia, which explains why the terrain was unlike that in which the Bushveld Carbineers operated. Finally, I am now a registered tourist guide and have designed a tour which covers the same ground as the Bushveld Carbineers, visiting the places where Breaker Morant operated and carried out the tasks that led to his execution. The 7-day tour ends at his graveside in the Church Street cemetery in Pretoria. If anyone wants to know the real facts, using this excellent film as background, I'd be happy to hear from them. In conclusion, I rate the film as the best I've seen concerning the Anglo-Boer War. It highlights the strong emotional reactions that the war had on the lives of those who took part in it (including my Australian grandfather, who settled in South Africa after the war).