The Four Feathers DVD Review:


The Movie

Shekhar Kapur's The Four Feathers is the fifth (perhaps sixth) re-imagining of A.E.W. Mason's famous novel. This time around, the film features a hot young cast consisting of Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Kate Hudson, and Djimon Hounsou. Michael Schiffer's screenplay went back to the book in an all-new adaptation of the novel.

Harry (Ledger) and Jack (Bentley) are two friends and soldiers serving in the British Army during the late years in the 19th century. When the Army announces it's taking part in the Sudan to fight the local rebels, Harry becomes conscious of his marriage to Ethne (Hudson) and resigns his post in the regiment. Labeled a coward by receiving four white feathers, Harry must combine his feelings and strength to lead an adventure through the Sudan in order to prove to his friends he is not a coward.

Four Feathers is exquisitely photographed and acted, but the flaws of its script cause the film to break down in mediocre entertainment. The major setback of the film is the way characters are introduced and play out. The characters' emotions don't translate, because of the absence of a true connection between them. As a member of the audience I was unable to feel much empathy or sadness for them, because they all felt a bit too superficial. The pace of the film is another setback as the total running time clocks in at a long 130 minutes. Much of this has to do with Harry's adventure and battle in the Sudan.

Since Four Feathers is so reliant on its characters to drive the story, not too much can be attributed to the overall effect the otherwise well-executed sequences in the Sudan have. Director Shekhar Kapur has created an epic, no doubt, but along the way forgot to make the characters part of it.

6 out of 10

The Video

This transfer comes in a glorious widescreen presentation. Shekhar Kapur exploits this format so well, because many of the film's scenes look really beautiful. I didn't notice anything wrong with the picture quality, except for a few blurs during blackness. Colors are cold in all the sequences in England and shiny bright in all the sequences in the Sudan. Colors in some scenes come off as too flushed out and make the focus loose its effectiveness. Nonetheless, a transfer done well.

8 out of 10

The Audio

Presented in 5.1 English Dolby Surround, this DVD makes great use of all speakers during the battle sequences. However, the rest of the film doesn't use its audio capabilities well enough to impress any audiophile. James Horner's score pops in once in a while, but it doesn't impress much either. It feels like the film should have been a lot more audio driven than what is presented. Nevertheless, this audio transfer does the job.

8 out of 10

The Extras

Considering the dismal box office run, I didn't except this DVD release to get much attention. However, Paramount proved me wrong. There's some interesting stuff on here that is worth the price of a rental, but then there is other stuff that is not.

Director's commentary - Shekhar Kapur offers an entertaining insight into the filmmaking process of this film. His comments translate well to what is seen in the film.

A Journey From Within: Making Of - This particular making of goes more in-depth than most of its kind. This one features interviews with the cast and crew, offering valuable insights as well.

7 Featurettes - These break-down featurettes add a lot of detail and background to not only the film and story but the entire process behind it as well. Interviews and on-location footage are spliced together in these well-done featurettes.

Trailers - You get the Feathers theatrical trailer and a very long trailer for Spring 03's The Core.

8 out of 10

Overall

The Four Feathers lacked character development and a sensitive pace, but featured beautifully shot sequences to make it mediocre entertainment. With a nice video/audio transfer and a great set of special features, including an informative commentary, this DVD is definitely worth the price of a rental.

Overall DVD Rating: 7 out of 10

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