Product Details

• Actors: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Nigel Bruce
• Directors: Michael Curtiz
• Writers: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Michael Jacoby, Rowland Leigh
• Producers: Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner, Samuel Bischoff
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: December 7, 1994
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302120616
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,609 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Why is The Charge of the Light Brigade so rarely even mentioned among Errol Flynn's swashbucklers? It's a terrific movie, something like the peak of spectacular Hollywood action filmmaking and the bravura style of Michael Curtiz. The setting--till the Crimean War climax--is the Indian frontier (impersonated, as so often, by rocky Lone Pine, California), where the 27th Bengal Lancers run afoul of an Oxford-educated slime named Surat Khan (C. Henry Gordon). Flynn and Olivia de Havilland bring real tenderness to two-thirds of a romantic triangle (the other corner is the hero's brother, Patric Knowles). There's the fearsome siege of Chukoti, an unspeakable atrocity, and finally the foolhardy, inspired Charge at Balaklava. The camerawork and editing of that grand sequence never cease to astonish. History (and political correctness) is better served by the 1968 Tony Richardson movie, but for unabashed epic sweep and matchless thrills, this is the one you want. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Into the valley of Death/Rode the six hundred.", February 27, 2002

By	Robert S. Clay Jr. (St. Louis, MO., USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

From the standpoint of history, artistic license abounds in this classic adventure movie. In fairness, the filmmaker posts a disclaimer of the historical veracity of the film right at the beginning. Errol Flynn is at his flamboyant best as dashing English officer, Geofrrey Vickers. He vies with his brother (Patrick Knowles) for the love of Olivia DeHavilland. Romantic sublplots aside, Flynn and an army of supporting actors hold the thin red line of 19th century British imperialism. C. Henry Gordon is evilly conniving as Surat Khan, leader of the fictional Suristan faction. When England cuts off his money, Surat Khan wages war against the British interlopers. After Surat Khan massacres non-combatants at the garrison of Chokoti (sp.?), India is too hot to hold him. In typical Hollywood fashion, the action shifts to the Crimea at Sebastopol where the British face the Russians at Balaklava Heights. As an inside joke, the Russian commander bears an uncanny resemblance to Joseph Stalin. Who should be collaborating with the Russians but Surat Khan? Vickers, still burning with anger over the massacre of innocents, discovers this and he forges orders for the Light Brigade to attack. Under the direction of Michael Curtiz, the slam-bang action sequences of this movie provide memorable thrills. The fighting at Chokoti is both exciting and unsettling as women and children fall before rebel bullets. The staging of the charge is impressive, if controversial. Many of the horses were destroyed because of injuries from the deliberate tripping. As the lancers charge into the face of roaring canon, to the right of them, to the left of them, in front of them, quotes from Tennyson's poem appear on screen. The shot of the fallen lancer still holding aloft the billowing Union Jack in his lifeless hand is great imagery. "When can their glory fade?" Filmed in glorious B&W, this classic action/adventure film is a good example of the quality product of the Warner Brothers film sutdio at its Depression Era height. Enjoy the old fashioned fun. ;-)

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic forgotton by DVD, May 31, 2004

By	"fdelrose" (Frederick, Md USA) - See all my reviews

Here we have one of the ten best Hollywood adventure, historical (with the normal Hollywood bending of the facts) romances of all time. A movie that all later adventure movies, like the Indiana Jones series, owe a dept to and yet you can not find it or 'Gunga Din' or 'The Sea Hawk'etc. on DVD. Every junky movie that lasted only a week in theaters in the past ten years you can find on DVD but hardly any of the CLASSICS from the 30's or 40's. When will Hollywood wake up?

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous action, dubious history. . . ., December 20, 1999

By	John A. Kuczma "RogueUlfric" (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Hollywood version of the Charge of the Light Brigade is one of the most rousing action pictures ever produced. As Errol Flynn vehicles go, it stands perfectly alongside They Died With Their Boots On as superior filmmaking based only loosely on history.

With that said, forget the history lesson and enjoy the movie. Flynn is predictably heroic as Captain, then Major, Jeffrey Vickers of the 27th Lancers. He begins the film in the far reaches of India, first sharing hunting excursions with and later hunting the duplicitous Surat Khan (very villainous and very ficticious).

His romantic interest is the ever beautiful Olivia DeHaviland who, strangely enough, actually falls for Flynn's younger brother, Percy. Ever gallant, Major Vickers ensures that his brother is out of harm's way and safe to return to the woman both love but he cannot have.

Of course, the climax of the film is the charge itself, brilliantly staged with mounting speed, tension and ferocity as the words of Lord Tennyson's immortal poem are superimposed over it. This is one of the most famous and breathtaking action sequences in the history of cinematography, and is well worth waiting through the movie for, although by far not the only piece of derring-do in the film.

If The Charge of the Light Brigade had not remained well known for its charm as a movie, it would have been remembered for a far different reason. The incredible realism of the climactic cavalry charge was achieved at a heavy cost. So many horses were seriously injured or killed in the making of this picture that humane organizations worldwide demanded that such excesses never again be undertaken. The next time you see the disclaimer "No animals were harmed in the making of the film," you now know why.

All that aside, The Charge of the Light Brigade is a wonderfully entertaining production. Like all the best films of its time, it mixes action, romance, adventure and a healthy serving of humor to provide a tremendously satisfying experience.

If you want to know the history, read the book. If you want to have some fun, watch the movie.