Tuesday night, I saw The Four Feathers at the Oak Tree. This was the preview. ladylygeia picked up preview passes and issued an invitation. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It's a pretty good story. THe main character, Harry Faversham (Heath Ledger), resigns from the British Army just as his unit is about to go to the Sudan to fight the enemy Mahdi which has massacred a large contingent of the Queen's men.

Of course, Faversham's army buddies don't like this turncoat action too much, and neither does his fiance. They shun him and call him a coward. Just after they ship out, he has a change of heart and decides to follow them to the Sudan to redeem himself.

While watching the movie, I was able to put aside a lot of problems and just enjoy the scenery, the costuming, and the pretty people. However, after we exited the theater the problems became more and more apparent. A couple of things I found pretty hard to follow even during the movie. The climactic battle left me confused as to what actually happened, especially near the end. Some of Harry's choices just seemed odd, and they left a lot out with regard to explaining the characters' motivation. For instance, why does Harry have a change of heart? And why does the African warrior befriend him and help him along?

balzacq liked the 1977 version better. There are also versions done in 1915, 1921, 1928 and 1939. Six actual verions! I'll have to check out at least one or two of them.

The other odd coincidence regarding this is that the novel on which the movie was based was written by A.E.W. Mason. The current book I am reading is The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. The chapter I read read yesterday contains a reference to a character reading an A.E.W. Mason novel.