Stars: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, Charles Tingwell, Terence Donovan, John Waters, Vincent Ball

Director: Bruce Beresford

Summary: This award-winning film is set in 1901 during the British war against the Boers in South Africa. A court martial becomes one of the most controversial trials in military history. Includes interview with Edward Woodward (filmed in 2000).

One of a crop of impressive films to arrive from Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s, BREAKER MORANT marked Bruce Beresford as a director to watch. Based on a play by Kenneth G. Ross, the film is a tersely dramatic account of the true story of the court-martial of three soldiers attached to the Bushveld Carbineers, a guerrilla warfare unit of the British army that operated during the Boer War (1899-1902). Edward Woodward stars as Lt. Harry "Breaker" Morant, the primus inter pares of this trio that includes Lt. Peter Handcock (Bryan Brown) and Lt. George Witton (Lewis Fitzgerald). Attorney Major J.F. Thomas (Jack Thompson) is given only one day to mount a defense of the officers, who have been charged with the death of Boer prisoners and a German minister. Weaving flashbacks into the trial proceedings, Beresford tells the story of the controversial killing, an act of revenge against the Boers for having killed and mutilated a close friend of Morant's. While the young Witton fears for his life, Morant and Handcock display only a caustically witty stoicism as they await the trial's outcome. Superbly executed in every area, the film is a memorable evocation of the hypocrisy of empire.

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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on July 12, 2006 8:19 PM

The film that brought world acclaim for Edward Woodward , tells the
true story of Lieutenant Harry ( Breaker ) Morant in the Boer war in
South Africa , which has deteriorated into a bitter guerilla war . His
Australian unit , the Bushveldt Carbineers , are ordered by the British
High Command to fight the Boers and to ' take no prisoners ' . In revenge over the death and mutilation of his friend during a Boer ambush , Morant's unit captures and then executes prisoners - an act which leads to one of the most controversial court - martials in
military history .

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Before coming to America to make such acclaimed films as Tender Merciesand Driving Miss Daisy, Australian director Bruce Beresford made a lasting impression with this compelling courtroom drama, considered one the finest films of the Australian new wave of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Based on a true story about three soldiers in the Boer War who are served up as political scapegoats of the British Empire, the film uses a flashback structure to dramatise the courtroom testimony. It begins when the three Australian soldiers are railroaded for the justified killing of a German missionary and placed on trial for court-martial not as a matter of justice, but to mollify the German government for the sake of political expediency. Burdened with a competent but inexperienced and hopelessly disadvantaged lawyer, the soldiers realise that their fate has been sealed and the outcome of their trial is a fait accompli. Unfolding with urgent precision and a riveting focus on its well-drawn characters, Breaker Morantwas the all-time box-office hit in Australia at the time of its release in 1980, and it remains one of the very best historical dramas ever made. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive Menus, Character Biography, Interview With Edward Woodward
Year:	1980
Release Date:	September 1, 2001
Runtime:	120 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P P A 2001
Label:	Stax Entertainment
Keywords:	Breaker, Morant, General, Wide, Screen, Drama
Genre:	Drama