The Charge of the Light Brigade: The British Film Guide 5

by Mark Connelly

Tony Richardson's 1968 The Charge of the Light Brigade, with its star cast, lavish sets and location shoots, was one of the most expensive British films ever made. Mark Connelly examines the film and its difficult production history, the role of its stars David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave and John Gielgud, and director Richardson's running feud with the press, all culminating in the film's subsequent fame. He shows the film to be representative of its time, in its visual style and its use of sixties themes such as youth, sexual infidelity and class, to discuss how Charge of the Light Brigade, while meticulously reconstructed from authentic sources, reveals the horror of war to a world struggling to come to terms with American involvement in Vietnam.

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2003

Reviews

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good dissection of Tony Richardson's 1968 film. Connelly runs down the movie's arduous production and analyzes its Crimean War satire in the context of '60s radicalism. Most notable (though obvious upon reflection) is his look at Richardson's juxtaposition of war and sexual prowess. It's an interesting analysis though I'm not sold on Connelly's argument that the movie's tonal unevenness is an asset rather than a virtue.