The Four Feathers (2002)

A British officer resigns his post just before battle and subsequently receives four white feathers from his friends and fiancee as symbols of what they believe to be his cowardice.

Director:

Shekhar Kapur

Writers:

A.E.W. Mason (novel), Michael Schiffer (screenplay),

Stars:

Wes Bentley, Mohamed Bouich, Kate Hudson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wes Bentley	...	Jack Durrance
Mohamed Bouich	...	Sudanese Storyteller
Campbell Brown	...	Dervish Ansar
Daniel Caltagirone	...	Gustave
James Cosmo	...	Col. Sutch
Andy Coumbe	...	Colonel Other Regiment
Angela Douglas	...	Aunt Mary
Karim Doukkali	...	Egyptian Orderly
Lucy Gordon	...	Isabelle
Megan Hall	...	Millie
James Hillier	...	Drunken Corporal
Nick Holder	...	British Lion
Djimon Hounsou	...	Abou Fatma
Kate Hudson	...	Ethne Eustace
Alex Jennings	...	Colonel Hamilton

Storyline

Set in 1884 Sudan, this fifth film to be adapted from the A.E.W. Mason novel follows a British officer who resigns his post right before his regiment ships out to battle the rebels. Perceiving his resignation as cowardice, his friends and fiancée give him four white feathers, the symbol of cowardice, but little do they know he's actually going undercover and plans to redeem his honor.

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Plot Keywords:

cowardice | battle | friend | white feather | british | 

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Taglines:

What would you kill for?

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, disturbing images, violence and some sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Paramount

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Las cuatro plumas

Filming Locations:

Bledlow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$165,725 (Japan) (19 September 2003)

Gross:

$495,874 (Japan) (26 September 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Miramax Films, Jaffilms

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min 125 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jude Law was the original choice for the role of Harry Feversham.

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Goofs

When Jack is chasing the sniper, the sniper is shown running through an alley way with two adults and a child in front of him. After climbing onto the roof, jumping off, and climbing a couple of walls...he is shown again in the same scene running through the alley with the same three people there.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: By 1884 over a quarter of the earth's surface had been conquered by the British Army. There was no greater honor for a young man than to fight for Queen and Country. Those that refused the call to arms brought shame and humiliation on their friends and families...
Title Card: The Symbol of their disgrace was the white feather of cowardice...

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Connections

Version of Storm Over the Nile (1955)

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Soundtracks

"The British Grenadiers"
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Despite what all the critics say, I must admit that I liked it.

I've always been a fan of historically inspired epic movies and although I'm not a fan of costume drama's, I don't really care about the time period these movies are set in. This one has been set at the end of the 19th century, a time period that comes close to the one that I like most in the movies (1914-1950), but even movies set in medieval, Greek and Roman times I can enjoy...

As I already said, this movie has been set at the end of the 19th century, in 1898 to be more precise. When a British officer is about to be sent to Sudan to fight a war he doesn't approve of, he is seen as a coward. He has to resign his post, right before his regiment ships out to battle the rebels, and to make things even worse for him, he receives four white feathers from his friends and his fiancée. These feathers symbolize how they feel about him, they see him as a coward, but what they don't know is that he plans to go to Sudan anyway, undercover, so he can save his friends from a certain death and redeem his honor...

The story certainly is interesting and offers an interesting approach to a story that has been told many times before. But what I liked even more than the story was the photography. Everything was portrayed in a very nice way, especially when they are in Sudan. I'm not saying that the part of the movie showing England isn't any good, but I'm not too much a fan of those Victorian costumes and habits. I prefer the dust and dirt from the desert and the battles in which good manors only come later and the true human nature gets the upper hand.

Even though many people seem to hate this movie, I can't join them in their opinion. All actors did a nice job and even though it is perhaps true that they could have found a better actress than Kate Hudson to play the role of Ethne, it never bothered me in such a way that it spoiled all the rest of my fun. And about the historical accuracy I can be brief as well. It looked good enough to me to be believable. Perhaps there were some minor details that weren't right, but since I'm not too familiar with the time period shown in this movie, I certainly didn't notice them. Anyway, I liked what I saw and even though many people gave it a bad review, I certainly liked it for what it was: A very decent movie about honor, freedom, friendship,... I know that these words are too often abused in many Hollywood movies, but this time it worked for me and that's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.