The Silver Screen Oasis

What do you think of films about empire, such as "Khartoum," "Zulu," "Man Who Would Be King," "Wee Willie Winkie," "Gunga Din," "The Naked Prey" and so forth?

Which are your favorites? Which can't you stand?

I like this genre. I'm frequently amazed at the the work it takes to pull one of these off.

You mention a couple of my favorites, "Gunga Din" (which was on last night) and "Zulu" and the opposite in scope "The Naked Prey." "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" and "Four Feathers" are pretty good too.

I'm not as fond of "The Man Who Would Be King" as I think I should be. "Gandhi" is too long and slow for me.

Really my favorite is not a movie but a BBC production called "The Jewel In The Crown." It's a about a British family and the British army in WWII India. It's not an action picture but an incredible group of actors make the most of a story about racism and the underlying tensions of the Indian people.

Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Beau Geste, The Four Feathers (1939 version) and Wee Willie Winkie are my favorites. But I also like Another Dawn, starring Errol Flynn and to a lesser extent Gunga Din (I used to love this movie but now not so much, perhaps it's shown too often on TCM and I've tired of it).

What about Under Two Flags? I wish this movie were aired on TCM so I could record it. I remember so little about it from the one time I saw it on AMC ages ago, except that I loved it and it may be the first Ronald Comlan movie I ever watched. No one could play a Kiplingesque hero like Colman, except perhaps Flynn if he'd been given more opportunities.

A more contemporary movie about the end of the Empire rule in India that is underrated in my opinion is George Cukor's Bowhani Junction. Ava give one of her best performances, proving she could act, and the surprising choice for a director crafts an absorbing and fairly even handed tale of the end of the Raj, as well as the uneasy life Anglo-Indians had.

I've seen Jewel in the Crown and agree it was a very well produced series, I just couldn't abide the central female character---she was made to look so deplorably unattractive!

I've never seen "Under Two Flags."

I didn't watch "Jewel in the Crown" because I think that required a four month committment of Sunday evenings, which I couldn't swing at that point in my life.

Apart from Brian Donlevy in "Beau Geste," I didn't much care for that one.

This one might be more of a swashbuckler, but I recently saw "Damn the Defiant" on DVD. It is about the British navy in the French Revolutionary wars, and the battle scenes were terrific.

If you can handle the staunch & resolute Union Jackers being portrayed (pretty accurately) as absolute, blackhearted oppressors, I can unreservedly recommend Michael Collins.
I found Liam Neeson's performance captivating & briskly charged, nearly Oscar worthy; despite that, Alan Rickman nearly stole the film kit & kaboodle, as he wove in & out of the storyline as Sinn Fein icon Eamon deValere.
Even for non-Celtic viewers, this movie should prove compelling, at the very least.

I need to check this one out! Sounds fascinating...

Klondike:

I loved your comments on both Liam Neeson and Alan Rickman. I think both men are excellent actors - Liam is 'nearly' oscar worthy in everything he does and Alan steals EVERY scene he's in, all the way from Die Hard (where I first noticed him) to Harry Potter, when Alan's on screen, that's all I see. On the other hand, Liam wedges himself into every role he plays from drama to comedy and does both with great aplomb. I first noticed him in Suspect with Cher and later, he was the only good thing in that horrible High Spirits.

Both gentlemen from Europe are very welcome on my TV and movie screens.

Anne

I guess there is a new movie, "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" that also deals with the Irish struggle against the British after WWI, but it focuses on average people instead of a major figure like Collins.

Wouldn't THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE fall into this category?

I love that film - my second favorite of all Errol Flynn films.

Of course, I love LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER...but THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE is a very exciting film for a number of reasons! The cinematography in the charge itself is breathtaking...but the intertwined stories are all interesting. And Errol Flynn was at his peak here - both acting-wise and, erm....otherwise. And of course, any of the Errol Flynn/Olivia deHavilland efforts are wonderful to watch.

Bring on the empty horses!!!!