Rent Breaker Morant (1980)
3.9 of 5 from 92 ratings
1h 47min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- The film that brought world acclaim for Edward Woodward, tells the true story of Lieutenant Harry Morant in the Boer war in South Africa, which has deteriorated into a bitter guerilla war. His Australian unit, the Bushveldt Carabineers, are ordered by British High Command to fight the Boers and to "take no prisoners". In revenge over the death and mutilation of his friend during a Boer ambush, Morant's unit captures and then executes prisoners - an act which leads to most controversial court-martials in military history.
- Actors:
- Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters, Bryan Brown, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Terence Donovan, Vincent Ball, Ray Meagher, Chris Haywood, Russell Kiefel, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Rod Mullinar, Alan Cassell, Rob Steele, Chris Smith
- Directors:
- Bruce Beresford
- Producers:
- Matt Carroll
- Writers:
- Kenneth G. Ross, Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens, Bruce Beresford, Harold Lander, Kit Denton
- Others:
- David Stevens
- Aka:
- 'Breaker' Morant
- Studio:
- Stax
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- inema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 2, The Film Highlights of 1980, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Films By Year
- Countries:
- Australia
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Unknown
- Run Time:
- 107 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- All New Audio Commentary with Director Bruce Beresford, Producer Matt Carroll and
- Actors Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown
- All New Breaker Morant: The Retrial - Feature-length documentary
- Edward Woodward audio interview
- The Breaker - Documentary
- The Myth Exposed - Director's Postscript
- Photo Slideshow
- Photo Gallery
- HD Trailer
- US Trailer
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Reviews (1) of Breaker Morant
The bloody reality of the Boer War c.1900 made devastatingly real - Breaker Morant review by Philip in Paradiso
The film is about the 1902 court martial of 3 officers under British command in the Second Anglo-Boer War: lieutenants Harry Morant, Peter Handcock and George Witton. The 3 officers are accused of war crimes; they are Australians serving in the British Army. Morant, Handcock, and Witton stand accused of murdering captured Boer fighters and a German missionary in the Northern Transvaal. The facts of the case are presented in flashbacks. As a result, such scenes alternate with developments in the court martial, which follows, itself, the classical format of a court case.
A wide range of issues are touched upon in the movie. What is a war crime? What if officers were merely following orders? Could they avoid doing what they did? This may all sound dry and even academic, but the movie is constructed in such a way that it never feels that way at all. There are many striking battle scenes inserted in the narrative too.
Overall, this is a remarkably good film, which grips the viewer from beginning to end. It reconstitutes the context - Britain's imperial expansion across Southern Africa in the early 20th century - extremely well, and the characters feel very real and, in fact, very modern. I recommend this historical drama, which dwells on a dark page of British colonial history that is well-known in Australia, but not in Britain.
[I had problems with the DVD. I have informed Cinema Paradiso. It may have to do with the way it was recorded.]
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.