Customer Reviews

The Lighthorsemen [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While I love this movie, I don't think it is as good as the Aussie classic,`Gallipoli'. Having said that, it holds a very special place in my heart.

When `The Lighthorsemen' premiered in Australia in I think, 1988, I was in the process of interviewing a dozen or so local First World War veterans (they are all gone now). One, Douglas Ellibank-Murray, rode with the 12th Lighthorse Regiment during WW1 and participated in the charge at Beersheba. He told a fascinating tale of his time with the 12th after having enlisted as a young drover (cowboy), along with his horse.

While Doug` was happy to speak about his service and the assault on Beersheba in particular, he would not talk about what happened when the Aussies reached the Turkish trenches. This, despite my persistent if gentle probing. I suspect that things happened there that Doug` wanted left alone. There has been talk of Turkish soldiers having `surrendered' then firing on the Australians. It has been reported that some arbitary executions were carried out in response.

One of my life's greatest pleasure was to accompany Doug to the movie's local premier where he was, of course, guest of honour. While quite frail, he appreciated all the attention, especially from the young ladies present. He was still a charming and quite handsome man, not unlike the 19 year old, blue eyed and blonde haired drover who had enlisted back in 1915.

I watched Doug closely out of the corner of my eye throughout `The Lighthorsemen' and the only time he appeared to become animated was when the actual charge was underway; he was moving about quite a bit and I suspect, he was there again.

After the movie, Doug offered a number of technical comments including the fact that the Turkish trenches were inaccurately portrayed as relatively straight, when in fact they were of saw-tooth construction.

The fate of the `whalers' (the name given to the horses, most of who had come from the AUSTRALIAN State of New South Wales). Many were in fact `put down' rather than end up pulling a `gypoe's' (Egyptian) cart in downtown Cairo. Doug was in a bit of a state worrying about what would happen to his own beloved horse until approached by a Britsh officer who had admired the horse and wanted to take it to his next posting in India to be used as a polo pony.

After assessing the `Pommy' officer and his handling of the horse, Doug agreed. The officer wrote to Doug for many years telling him about the horse which was eventually retired and died of old age in India.

Doug Ellibank-Murray was a lovely man and then a living legend of that famous day in October 1917.

As many other reviewers have pointed out this is a fantastic film and one that should be seen by anyone interested in horses in wartime. The real issue is how to see it at it's best. If you want to see all of it the only choice is the American release on laser disc. This is in the full original widescreen of 2.35:1, but of course has analogue video and on the big screen it is quite grainy. The recent Australian release on DVD is a disgrace. It has good digital video but is cut to 1.78:1 and critical parts of the film are of course cut off. They have minimised this slightly by opening up the top and bottom a little so I suppose the actual cut may be nearer 1.85:1 but the grand vistas REQUIRE the full 2.35:1. The famous charge looks ridiculous at the cut back ratio. One can only hope that whoever has the rights to this film in the US will do the right thing and give us a deluxe full size release as soon as possible. I am sticking to my LD despite it's shortcomings. The Australian DVD will be better than tape but whoever decided to issue it in such a truncated version should be ashamed of himself.

"The Lighthorsemen" was an exciting action romp when I was a little kid, and owning a rare video copy of it and watching it as an older lad it still excites me. I also get a better appreciation for the humor and war drama this film presents.

The storyline focuses mainly on a small group of soldiers in the Australian mounted infantry of World War I and their commanders. One new lad straight from Melbourne has a problem: he can't find himself able to shoot the enemy. This climaxes in a scene where a wounded Turk nearly kills him with a sword. Eventually his friends encourage him to join the medical detachment of the unit.

Meanwhile, General Allenby is placed in charge of British forces in Palestine after Sir Archibald Murray's latest blundered attempt to take Gaza. Realizing his troops are low on water and the German officers are expecting another attack on Gaza, he chooses instead to strike at the other end of the line to take the wells of Bersheeba. It is here that the Lighthorsemen will make their fated charge against the Turkish trenches.

The film has a strong sense of historical accuracy. An earlier film of the same charge had the Lighthorsemen riding on their horses holding their rifles held up. In actuality, they attacked with bayonets as they had no swords - this was correctly portrayed in this movie. They also show the Turkish infantry forgetting to check their sights - a very important aspect because it caused them to shoot above the Australians' heads and miss them completely! They also give a great depiction of Meinertzhagen's brilliant ploy of placing a fake letter from a soldier's wife in a folder with fake plans to attack Gaza. The Central Powers fell for it and thought the main thrust would come at Gaza again.

The climactic charge is obviously the highlight of the movie. It is furious, with many close-ups of the riders and the horses' galloping legs. I wish this video copy was widescreen, because they really do give some great wide shots of the entire line of charging horsemen. The intercut scenes of Turkish artillery men rapidly lowering their artillery guns give a heightened sense of anxiety. There are also, for what it's worth, some nice point-of-view shots, which include what it's like to fall forward off a horse and what it was like to watch the Lighthorsemen leap right over you.

Oh yes, I almost forgot: the music in this is beautiful. It's a very good theme and I'm surprised it's not more famous. I've heard the theme for "Gallipoli" played more times, but that isn't even an original theme.

This is indeed an underrated war film classic. If you like war films, or you're looking for World War I films, check this out. I'm hoping some day the Australian company will be nice and give us Americans a DVD release in our region. Please? We love you!

This film has long been a favorite for me, even without the 15 minutes an earlier reviewer described. There is no excuse for a beautifully filmed movie such as this not to be available on dvd in its entirety.

This hard to find movie is an excellent example of Australian movie making. The story is set in World I 1917 Palestine. The British are trying to push the Turks and Germans out of Beersheba. The Australian Lighthorse is given the task of heading this diversionary attack. In probably the best filmed live action horse charge ever shot, the Lighthorse charge across a flat expanse with no cover at all into the Turkish guns. The German advisors tell the Turks to wait until the Lighthorse dismounts (which it usually does before attacking). In this case, the Lighthorse charge continues and as they get closer, the Turks realize their mistake. The Lighthorse does take casualities but they get "under the guns" before they are decimated by the cannon and rifle fire. The battle turns to hand to hand and ultimately, the Lighthorse prevails.

The horses are the true heroes of the film and the cinematography makes it so. The main characters are based on actual soldiers that participated in the charge and footnotes at the end of the movie give us a little information on how they faired after the war. I've read many reviews on Amazon and elsewhere that the DVD from China, is such poor quality it should not be considered. There are few VHS copies floating around (some on Amazon). The one I decided to purchase for $2.95 was in good condition and played well. I don't think the seller knew what he had.

The Lighthorse and Gallipoli make a nice set of World I Australian movies where, sadly they took it on the chin while under the command of the British army.

A buddy flick with lots of action and some subtle humor. Nothing like it going on these days, so kick back and enjoy!

This film needs to be released on DVD with anamorphic widescreen treatment. I'm so tired of waiting for it.

This movie is based on an ealier 1940 made movie by Charles Chauvel called "40000 Horseman". This has THE classic charge on Beerasheeba, the last great cavalary charge in history when the Lighthorse rode over the trenches and moved on to Damascus putting TE Lawrence out of joint. Damn Colonials!! 40 Thousand is probably hard to get now but copies are still around. It was Chips Rafferty's first movie and bits are corny but the B&W scenes of the desert column moving across the sands to the tune of Waltzing Matilda bring tears to your eyes.