I saw two war-as-antiwar movies over the weekend, Apocalypse Now (1979) and Charge of the Light Brigade (1968). They provide a study in contrasting techniques Although enjoyable, the great scenes from Apocalypse seem hopelessly over-the-top now. Because it has been parodied so extensively, it is tough to remember what aspects of it were cliché when it came out versus which parts have become cliché due to its influence. For those of you who watch West Wing, it is also fun to see the Martin Sheen of twenty five years ago as a slim somewhat psychotic wise guy rather than the puffed up, evil leprechaun persona of President Jeb Bartlett. But Apocalypse is made by its scenes, fabulist plot and soundtrack rather than its acting, even though it boasts a lot of star actors, (Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, and Harrison Ford).
By contrast Charge is an acting clinic. This debunking remake of the 1936 action flick of the same name starring Errol Flynn boasts wonderfully measured performances by John Gielgud, as Lord Raglan (the aging commander of British forces in the Crimean War), Vanessa Redgrave, the love interest, and David Hemmings, a young cavalry officer and protagonist, as well as an over the top but highly enjoyable performance by Trevor Howard as Lord Cardigan, the highly eccentric, slightly sadistic and egomaniacal commander of the light horse. The movie is beautifully shot in epic drama form. You will find its animation of 19th Century political cartoons, which it uses as segues between major scene changes, to be clever or annoying or both. Overall, it is a mix (albeit a precursor) of Merchant-Ivory/Masterpiece Theatre school of aesthetics and the “oh the madness of war” school of British military flicks perfected by movies such as Gallipoli and Breaker Morant. Although Charge’s pace is much slower than either of those films, it will give you the time to drink in the highly realistic period detail it so painstakingly put forth.
So the antiwar message is made in very different ways in the two films. Apocalypse takes germs of truth and blows them up into an absurdist fantasy. Charge attempts to hew as close as it can to the truth and the absurdity comes through in the sharp clarion notes of a bugler’s call. Both are decent enough entertainment, but it helps to be in the right mood.