Other Titles • The Four Feathers • Die Vier Federn (2002)
Synopses for The Four Feathers (2002)
1.
Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) is admired by comrades as one of the finest British soldiers in his regiment. Passionately devoted to his beautiful bride-to-be, Ethne (Kate Hudson), Harry has a promising future in the military and a happy life ahead of him with the woman he loves. But when an army of Sudanese rebels attacks a colonial British fortress in Khartoum and his regiment is sent to active duty in North Africa, Harry becomes overwhelmed by self-doubt and uncertainty and resigns his commission as his regiment is being shipped off to war.
Shocked by his son's actions, Harry's father disowns him. Assuming he is afraid, three of Harry's friends, and even Ethne his fiancee, each send him a white feather, a symbol of cowardice, none of them able to understand what Harry has done.
Tormented, isolated and alone in London, Harry learns that his best friend Jack (Wes Bentley) and his former regiment have fallen under brutal attach by rebels. Instantly, the bond he has with his comrades inspires him to transcend his uncertainty and self-doubt in order to take on the one mission that is stronger than his resolve against war, saving his friends at all costs.
Undertaking the perilous journey into the Sudan alone, he strikes up an alliance with Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou), a wise mercenary warrior. Harry then disguises himself as an Arab and goes behind enemy lines to rescue Jack and the rest of his regiment, in an act of unparalleled self-sacrifice and bravery.
(16 votes)
2.
After an admired soldier (Heath Ledger) leaves his regimentiin disgrace, he sets out onia sweeping adventureito regain his honor, recapture his love (Kate Hudson) andisave theilife of his best friend (Wes Bentley).
(13 votes)
3.
The seventh filming of AEW Mason's classic 1902 novel, this near-epic production of The Four Feathers looks great, sounds great and feels rather average. It would be difficult to diminish the rousing adventure of Mason's novel and director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) certainly gets more bang for his buck, with massive battle scenes and rugged, sun-baked harshness enhanced by Robert Richardson's masterful cinematography. Kapur preserves the universal appeal of the story, set in the 1880s, in which a promising soldier (Heath Ledger) resigns on the eve of battle in Britain's Sudanese campaign, is labelled coward by his fiancée (Kate Hudson), and redeems himself by posing as a Muslim warrior to rescue his best friend Jack (Wes Bentley) from certain death in the desert. For all its heroics, however, the film seems oddly passionless; Djimon Hounsou is excellent as Ledger's desert guardian, but these young Hollywood stars lack the authenticity of Zoltan Korda's 1939 film, which remains the definitive version. --Jeff Shannon
(9 votes)
4.
In the tradition of Braveheart and The English Patient comes this lavish screen epic that combines thrilling adventure, soaring romance and rousing battle sequences.
Heath Ledger stars as Harry Feversham, a British soldier with a golden future -- until he inexplicably resigns from his regiment. Harry is branded a coward, disowned by his family, his beautiful fiancée (Kate Hudson) and his best friend (Wes Bentley). Heartbroken and abandoned, Harry receives news that his regiment has been brutally attacked by Sudanese rebels. Suddenly Harry's course becomes clear and he sets out on an unforgettable journey of redemption - to regain his honor, recapture his love, and save the lives of his comrades.
(11 votes)
5.
A gripping adventure of epic proportions, "The Four Feathers" is a story of heroic redemption, undying loyalty and rivalry in love. Exquisitely filmed against the austere beauty of the Moroccan desert as well as within the grand walls of English aristocracy, this thrilling tale takes audiences into exotic cultures seldom seen on film and explores the fascinating contrast between disparate civilizations. A sweeping saga that captures a friend's bond and a hero's destiny, "The Four Feathers" is a look at man's indomitable spirit to survive. The story is about Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger), admired by comrades as one of the finest British soldiers in his regiment. Passionately devoted to his beautiful bride-to-be, Ethne (Kate Hudson), Harry has a promising future in the military and a happy life ahead of him with the woman he loves. But when an army of Sudanese rebels attacks a colonial British fortress in Khartoum and his regiment is sent to active duty in North Africa, Harry becomes overwhelmed by self-doubt and uncertainty and resigns his commission as his regiment is being shipped off to war.
Shocked by his son's actions, Harry's father disowns him. Assuming he is afraid, three of Harry's friends -- and even Ethne his fiancee -- each send him a white feather, a symbol of cowardice, none of them able to understand what Harry has done.
Tormented, isolated and alone in London, Harry learns that his best friend Jack (Wes Bentley) and his former regiment have fallen under brutal attack by rebels. Instantly, the bond he has with his comrades inspires him to transcend his uncertainty and self-doubt in order to take on the one mission that is stronger than his resolve against war -- saving his friends at all costs.
Undertaking the perilous journey into the Sudan alone, he strikes up an alliance with Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou), a wise mercenary warrior. Harry then disguises himself as an Arab and goes behind enemy lines to rescue Jack and the rest of his regiment, in an act of unparalleled self-sacrifice and bravery.
"The Four Feathers" takes place during the heyday of imperialism when the nations of Europe were scrambling to divide Africa among themselves. In 1884, a Muslim religious leader, Muhammad Ahmed, known as the Madhi, led the Sudanese Arabs in a revolt against British rule, and General Charles Gordon was dispatched to quell the rebellion. But the Madhi's warriors proved to be too much for Gordon, and he and his men found themselves besieged in Khartoum, which eventually fell in 1885, sending the general and much of his army to their graves.
Inspired by A.E.W. Mason's classic novel, the film begins in 1875, ten years before the fall of Khartoum to the Mahdi's warriors. It is the extraordinary story of the courageous British reinforcement troops sent to raise the siege of Khartoum, and it exemplifies the pride of those young soldiers as well as their vulnerability against an enemy unafraid to die.
"The Four Feathers" is perhaps more contemporary today than ever because of the nation's passion for patriotism, a theme which is at the heart of the film. But while young Harry Feversham is certainly proud to serve his country, he is concerned about fighting blindly in the name of England's imperialist expansion, and that is what sets the film in motion.
(9 votes)
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