Sword of Honour (2001)

Guy Crouchback,heir to a declining English Roman Catholic family returns to England from Italy at the start of World War Two and joins the Royal Corps of Halberdiers,along with various ... See full summary »

Director:

Bill Anderson

Writers:

William Boyd, Evelyn Waugh (novel)

Stars:

Will Adamsdale, Nick Bartlett, Christopher Benjamin

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Will Adamsdale	...	HOO headquarters officer
Nick Bartlett	...	Popforce soldier
Christopher Benjamin	...	Doctor
Jane Bertish	...	Mme Kanyi
Peter Blythe	...	Gen. Graves
Nicholas Boulton	...	Bertie
Monica Brady	...	Hotel receptionist
Tim Briggs	...	Sgt. Glass
Selina Cadell	...	Angela Crouchback
Rebecca Cardinale	...	Italian woman
Katrin Cartlidge	...	Julia Stitch
Simon Chandler	...	Maj. Irvine
Josh Cole	...	Sapper Capt. Beech
Richard Coyle	...	Trimmer McTavish
Daniel Craig	...	Guy Crouchback

Storyline

Guy Crouchback,heir to a declining English Roman Catholic family returns to England from Italy at the start of World War Two and joins the Royal Corps of Halberdiers,along with various eccentrics though his attempts to get back with his wife Virginia,from whom he is separated,fail. After being implicated in a colleague's death he is sent to train a commando brigade on a Scottish island and ends up on Crete,taking part in its evacuation and escaping to Egypt with fellow officers Ludovic and Ivor Claire. He is returned to England courtesy of Mrs Stitch to possibly prevent him from naming Claire as a deserter. Guy marries Virginia a second time by which timer she has a child by ex-lover Trimmer. Whilst Guy is in Yugoslavia having a confusing time with the partisans Virginia is killed,along with Guy's uncle Peregrine,by a doodlebug bomb. Guy returns to England after getting involved in charitable agencies and eventually remarries.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Channel 4 [United Kingdom]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 January 2001 (UK)

Also Known As:

En busca del honor

Company Credits

Production Co:

TalkBack Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

191 min 191 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Officers and men are often seen saluting when not wearing any headgear. In the British army you never salute if not wearing a hat of some kind.

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Connections

Version of Sword of Honour (1967)

User Reviews

A Splendid Effort But...Read The Book

This is a splendid effort by all concerned, especially given the time constraint of about 200 minutes. As well as men and women are still marching off to war to save Western civilization, the movie has a contemporary message. The brevity of the movie, given that it tells a story, originally told in three novels goes against it. So much plot and many characters have been left out seriously compromising Waugh's comic vision. Waugh's original novels contain very amusing dialogue and much of the novels are just dialogue, the writer creating character out of what people say. Although the script used snippets of Waugh's dialogue,there is lots and lots unused. However, the script writers and all the people involved in the production did a masterful job of salvaging something of Waugh's original story. The other major flaw is in the casting of Daniel Craig as Guy Crouchback. Craig does not have the aristocratic presence to play Guy. His features, stature,and movement suggest a working class hero; he is great for contemporary characters where class is not an issue. But Waugh's works are all about class and Daniel Craigdoes not look the part of an aristocrat. He would be fine as a Lawrencian hero, Birket in Women in Love, for example. The rest of the casting is more or less spot on with some splendid choices of actors for Guy's father, Virginia, Ivor Claire, Ritchie-Hook,and Trimmer and everybody else. The book is both so much more outrageously funny and profound about life than the movie. Read the book but enjoy the movie,too; the chaps who made the film have obviously put on a good show in difficult circumstances. I am now going to reread the book for the umpteenth time. The movie inspires that.