| | | His Exploits Shook an Empire...and Made Him a Legend.
Features: DVD, Widescreen
Personal revenge or act of war? Crazed soldiers or political scapegoats? Winner of 10 Australian Film Institute 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 controversial Boer War draws to a close, Morant and two fellow Australian soldiers (Bryan Brown, Lewis Fitz-Gerald) are court-martialed for murder. Their only hope lies in a small-town lawyer who fights passionately for their lives.
"A superb war movie with an unsettling moral." Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier
"...a top-notch film about an injustice in the annals of military history." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
"A brilliant, timeless, powerhouse drama." Playboy
"...riveting...brilliantly acted." Rex Reed, New York Daily News
"Memorable Aussie epic with Edward Woodward particularly good." Steve Crum, Video-ReviewMaster.com
"Woodward is superb in the title role...[of a] haunting film that will have you thinking and arguing for days after." The Motion Picture Guide
"Woodward delivers a fine performance as the soft-spoken commander, Brown is effectively hot-tempered and Fitz-Gerald is terrifically naive." Wesley Lovell, The Oscar Guy
Editor's Note
One of a crop of impressive films to arrive from Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s, BREAKER MORANT marked Bruce Beresford as a director to watch. Based on a play by Kenneth G. Ross, the film is a tersely dramatic account of the true story of the court-martial of three soldiers attached to the Bushveld Carbineers, a guerrilla warfare unit of the British army that operated during the Boer War (1899-1902). Edward Woodward stars as Lt. Harry "Breaker" Morant, the primus inter pares of this trio that includes Lt. Peter Handcock (Bryan Brown) and Lt. George Witton (Lewis Fitzgerald). Attorney Major J.F. Thomas (Jack Thompson) is given only one day to mount a defense of the officers, who have been charged with the death of Boer prisoners and a German minister. Weaving flashbacks into the trial proceedings, Beresford tells the story of the controversial killing, an act of revenge against the Boers for having killed and mutilated a close friend of Morant's. While the young Witton fears for his life, Morant and Handcock display only a caustically witty stoicism as they await the trial's outcome. Superbly executed in every area, the film is a memorable evocation of the hypocrisy of empire.
Plot Summary
Three Australian soldiers, devastated by the death of a friend in battle, strike out against one of the enemy. Because of this act, they become prime suspects when a German missionary mysteriously vanishes.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono | | Documentary: The Boer War | | Interactive Menus | | Original 30 Second Radio Spot | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Image Entertainment |
| Release Date: 1/15/2008 |
| Running Time: 107 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1980 | | Catalog ID: 4735 | | UPC: 00014381473520 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Available Subtitles: Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Golden Globe (1981) | | | Breaker Morant, Nominee, Best Foreign Film | |
Oscar (1981) | | | Bruce Beresford, et. al., Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium | |
Cannes Film Festival (1980) | | | Bruce Beresford, Nominee, Golden Palm Award |  | Jack Thompson, Winner, Best Supporting Actor |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...Genuinely, surprisingly affecting..." 12/21/1980 p.II:19FilmsGraded.com 8 of 10
'Breaker' Morant dominated the 1980 Australian Film Institute Awards. It swept nearly every category: Best Film, Best Director (Bruce Beresford), Best Actor (Jack Thompson), Best Supporting Actor (Bryan Brown), Best Screenplay (Beresford, Jonathan Hardy and David Stevens), Best Cinematography (Donald McAlpine), Best Costumes, Best Editing, and Best Sound. Edward Woodward was also nominated for Best Actor, while Lewis Fitz-Gerald and Charles Tingwell were also nominated for Best Supporting Actor...'Breaker' Morant is a true story, and its plausible telling seems only slightly biased against the English. Morant and Handcock are not portrayed as saints. They are good soldiers, but are aware that during a guerilla war, new rules of combat are needed...In the end, 'Breaker' Morant is anti-war. War is a butcher of men, begun and finished for political purposes. Those who control the war regard soldiers as expendable pawns on a chessboard. The soldiers themselves know they are pawns, but grimly do their duty. Mostly because they have no choice, but partly because they have too much pride to do otherwise...Director Bruce Beresford has made other good films as well, "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Tender Mercies" among them. More recently, "Double Jeopardy" was a blockbuster. - Brian Koller
Nehring The Edge 9 of 10
This film is based on a stage play written by Kenneth Ross. Unlike other adaptations from the stage like Streamers, Fool For Love or Equus this film retains its theatrical roots without tripping on the static nature of a play...This is really an actor's movie. The performances are top of the line in this production. Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown offer very detailed and intelligent performances. If you have a chance to watch this film, keep an eye on the actors in the courtroom. Watch them when they are not talking. Watch Woodward and Brown sitting at the table in the background. I love the reactions they give to the other actors and their non-verbals. Many actors will blend into the background when they are not the focus of a scene. Here, you can see Woodward and Brown's training because they strongly keep in character even in minor shots. Although not a minor shot, a good example of this would be when the three defendants arrive at the court for the first time, salute their superiors and cross to their table. Each actor performs the same task with such detail you know everything you need to know about the character from this simple string of movements. There are no small roles and there are no small shots...If you haven't seen this film it is something you should try to pencil into your must see list. - Scott Nehring
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