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The Four Feathers

Play trailer Poster for The Four Feathers PG-13 Released Sep 13, 2002 2h 5m Adventure War Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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42% Tomatometer 148 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
The story, set in 1875, follows a British officer (Heath Ledger) who resigns his post when he learns of his regiment's plan to ship out to the Sudan for the conflict with the Mahdi. His friends and fiancée send him four white feathers which symbolize cowardice. To redeem his honor he disguises himself as an Arab and secretly saves the lives of those who branded him a coward.
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The Four Feathers

The Four Feathers

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Critics Consensus

Though beautiful to look at, The Four Feathers lacks epic excitement and suffers from an ambivalent viewpoint.

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Critics Reviews

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J. R. Jones Chicago Reader As a cultural comeuppance, Kapur's take on The Four Feathers is weirdly reminiscent of Black Hawk Down... Jun 23, 2022 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media A decent film with some intense battle violence. Rated: 4/5 Dec 28, 2010 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 2/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com The Sahara desert, gorgeously photographed by Robert Richardson, displays the most personality in the entire picture. Rated: 1.5/4 Dec 28, 2008 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid It's cold, misguided, confusing, illiterate, boring, badly acted and flat-out laughable. Jan 24, 2008 Full Review Steve Crum Kansas City Kansan Michael Schiffe and Hossein Amini's screenplay adaptation (is) as full of holes as the tracks of a camel herd. [published 9-19-02] Rated: D Feb 18, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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alan g Beautiful to watch, boring to watch. Watch tge original. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 05/06/24 Full Review Jelisije J A man who is deemed a coward for not fighting in a war for his country and eventually proves the courage to the soldiers that he will rescue in this inspiring movie starring the late great Heath Ledger. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/05/24 Full Review Robert N Heath Ledger should have won an Oscar. Very poignant film dealing with the themes of courage and how far would you go to win back your honor. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/15/23 Full Review Frances H Although it has good production values and cast struggles well to try to bring it to life, a classic film it's not! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/18/21 Full Review Audience Member Harry Faversham (Heath Ledger), a young British officer completing his training, celebrates his engagement to Ethne (Kate Hudson), in a ball with his fellow officers and father. When the Colonel announces that the regiment is being dispatched to Egyptian-ruled Sudan to rescue the British General Charles "Chinese" Gordon, young Faversham has serious ethical reservations about the war, and resigns his commission. Harry's father disowns him. Perceiving his resignation as cowardice, three of his friends and his fiancée each give him a white feather, the symbol of cowardice. Ethne breaks off their engagement. Harry learns that his best friend Jack (Wes Bentley) and his former regiment have come under attack by rebels. Undertaking the perilous journey into the Sudan alone, he strikes up an alliance with Abou Fatma, a mercenary warrior. Harry disguises himself as an Arab. Harry and Abou Fatma follow a group of army workers he believes to be Mahdi spies, and reach the garrison of Abu-Klea, which they realise has been overrun. Harry begs Abou Fatma to warn his friends that their destination is under siege and an attack is likely... This version of "The Four Feathers", with altered plot events, is the latest in a long line of cinematic adaptations of the 1902 novel "The Four Feathers" by A.E.W. Mason. I agree to what Rotten Tomatoes says, "Though beautiful to look at, The Four Feathers lacks epic excitement and suffers from an ambivalent viewpoint." This film tries to be something like the epic "Zulu" (1964), but fails due to a weak cast, weak dialogue and a silly framestory shot in a overdramatic way. Trivia: This is the sixth film version of the source novel. The first was Four Feathers (1915). Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Entertaining and fun to watch. Djimon Hounsou is great as always... Heath was amazing too... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis The story, set in 1875, follows a British officer (Heath Ledger) who resigns his post when he learns of his regiment's plan to ship out to the Sudan for the conflict with the Mahdi. His friends and fiancée send him four white feathers which symbolize cowardice. To redeem his honor he disguises himself as an Arab and secretly saves the lives of those who branded him a coward.
Director
Shekhar Kapur
Producer
Stanley R. Jaffe, Robert Jaffe, Marty Katz, Paul Feldsher
Screenwriter
A.E.W. Mason, Michael Schiffer, Hossein Amini
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Miramax Films, Paramount Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Intense Battle Sequences|Disturbing Images|Some Sensuality|Violence)
Genre
Adventure, War, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 13, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 21, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA)
$18.3M
Runtime
2h 5m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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