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If you know Australian movies then this is a Who's Who
of the local industry. There's Peter Phelps, Sigrid Thornton,
the tragic Jon Blake, Tony Bonner, Gary Sweet, John Walton,
Tim McKenzie, Serge Lazareff and many others. Add a touch
of English class in the shape of Anthony Andrews and you have
a very appealing cast. Let us put it this way, when actors
the calibre of John Poulson only get one line of dialogue
there must be some damn good performers in the movie!
Phelps plays a young volunteer to the Lighthorse and he sets
out to do the right thing by King and Country. The only problem
is he discovers he doesn't want to kill the enemy and this
sets off some fierce ructions within his section. Not that
he doesn't have courage, he just has no desire to shoot people.
His comrades - Blake, Walton and McKenzie - try to help him
but, eventually, they agree he needs to be told he's endangering
both himself and them. This leads him to becoming a field
stretcher bearer and helps bring in the love interest of a
rather fetching Siggy Thornton.
What follows is a reasonably historically accurate account
of the lead-up to and battle of Beersheba.
The photography is by Dean Semler and so, of course, is absolutely
gorgeous to look at. The transfer is, unfortunately, not up
to the class of the imagery and can only be classed as acceptable.
There are a heap of issues with the look of the DVD - grain
and lack of sharpness being only two. The sound is nothing
special and for those of us with more than two speakers disappointing
is the word.
Having said that, however, the excitement of The Lighthorsemen
builds and if you are a red-blooded Australian then few images
will stir the emotions as much as those guys hurtling on horseback
towards Turkish cannons and machineguns. Semler's photography
during the charge - and the excellent cutting - make this
an absolute highlight.
Conclusion: Movie 80%, Extras 20%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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