Hard to believe that much of this spectacular was filmed around greater LA— Chatsworth, Agoura Hills, et al. The final charge across open spaces is remarkable for its time. Where, I wonder, did Warners get enough horsemen to fill out the screen. In fact, the entire movie is bursting with massive troop movements that remain impressive. Still, many of those sudden horse plunges during the fabled cavalry charge were brought about by trip wires sending horses and men head over heels. Dramatic, yes; but even crueler since many of the mounts were killed as a result. Thankfully the practice was discontinued largely as a result of the body count here.The storyline fills in a background to Tennyson's famous poem, taking the usual Hollywood liberties with the original. Here it's not just the Russians opposing the Empire: it's also perfidious west Indians. Likely what we would now call Pakistan. Here they ally with the Russians after massacring civilians from the British fortress who believe they're being given safe passage. Of course, this sets up the brigade's desperate cavalry charge in revenge.Certainly, Flynn is at the peak of his swashbuckling career. In my book, he's never had an equal, and a much better actor than he credited himself. De Haviland has only an ancillary role, mainly to provide a little relief from all the guys and inject a little romance and plot rivalry between brothers (Flynn & Knowles). I still don't know how they did the desert fortress. It looks so real I couldn't spot a hint of matting. But did they build it, in addition to all the other expenses. All in all, the production is a marvel, never losing the human element that is always a risk with the new-fangled digital.Anyway, in my little book, it's a look back at vintage Hollywood hitting on all eight even if the message is "rah, rah, British Empire".

At the beginning the tale is set in Suristan , it could be seen as part of the "Great game" that was fought for nearly a century between the British and Russian empires for control in the Middle East . After that , a massacre takes place at Chukoti , it seared into the minds of the 27th Lancers , a livid scar never to heal . International events , however , were soon to overshadow it in the world at large ; for the hounds of war had been unleashed and England was pouring troops into the Crimea to oppose the Russian hordes , the wave of war preparations swept into Calcuta . This drama deals with the chronicle of events that led to the British involvement in the Crimean War against Russia . In Balaklava is the Allied Headquarters , Army of the Crimea , and the new post of the 27th Lancers . Later on , occurs the siege of Sevastopol and the fierce ¨Battle of Balaklava¨ on October 25, 1854 which climaxed with the heroic, but near-disastrous cavalry charge made by the British Light Brigade against a Russian artillery battery in a small valley which resulted in the near-destruction of the brigade . As military minds blunder and six hundred Britishers , sabers flashing , ride to their deaths . The film is dedicated "to the officers and men of the Light Brigade who died victorious in a gallant charge at Balaklava for Queen and Country - A.D. 1856." It is based on Lord Tennyson's famous poem : Half a league , half a league onward , all in the valley of death rode the six hundred . Cannon to right of them , cannon to left of them , cannon in front of them volley'd and thunder'd . ¨Forward , the Light Brigade ¡ Charge of the guns¨ he said , into the valley of death rode the six hundred . When can their glory fade ? O the wild charge they made ¡ All the world'd . Honor the charge they made ¡ Honor the Light Brigade , Noble Six Hundred ¡ . Good film with lavish production values dealing with events leading up to British involvement in Crimean war with stunning final battle sequence . This epic movie contains feats , a romantic love story , adventures , thundering action , thrills , and historical events . The film was originally set entirely in India, but the Crimean War was added due to fears by Warner Brothers that the story was too similar to Paramount's The lives of a Bengali Lancer (1935). Exquisitely made battle scenes being magnificently directed by action specialist B. Reeves Eason . Although during the filming of the charge sequence, a stuntman was killed when he fell off his horse and landed on a broken sword that was lying on the battlefield . The original script used the real-life siege of a British fort at Cawnpore , and subsequent massacre of its survivors , during the Sepoy Rebellion -, a nationwide mutiny of Indian soldiers in the British army - as the reason for the famous Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava during the Crimean War . The second of nine movies made together by Warner Brothers' romantic couple Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn , here playing star-crossed lovers . The success of this film set the seal on Olivia and Errol Flynn's super-stardom . The support cast is frankly excellent such as Patrick Knowles , David Niven , C. Henry Gordon , Henry Stephenson , Nigel Bruce , Donald Crisp , EE Clive , Roger Barrat and J. Carrol Naish . The picture climaxes with one of the most dramatic and immortal cavalry charges in history . For the filming of the climactic charge, 125 horses were trip-wired ; of those, 25 were killed outright or had to be put down afterward . Superb and evocative cinematography in black and white by Sol Polito , though is also shown in a lousy computer-colored version . Breathtaking score by the maestro Max Steiner in his first one for Warner Brothers . The motion picture produced in big budget by Hal B. Wallis , Harry Warner and Jack Warner was compellingly realized by Michael Curtiz .

This is a film that comes with a lot of baggage . Directed by Michael Curtiz and inspired by the immortal poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson it has been heavily criticised by the large number of horses killed during its action scenes and the callous disregard of historical fact , so much so Warner Brothers published a disclaimer caption that the film is heavily fictionalised This has done nothing to reduce the complaints but as a Briton watching this in 2013 I think I can safely say that after watching the likes of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and BAND OF BROTHERS that I failed to notice anything along the lines of " Mr Spielberg and Mr Ambrose wish to apologise for the very American-centric tone of this film . The crusade against Nazism was of course a joint effort and we wish to apologise for portraying the British as incompetent fools who were mere passengers and to the citizens of the Soviet Union for totally ignoring their sacrifice which was instrumental in defeating Hitler rather than the one sided Hollywood view that in was all down to American fighting prowess " I'm afraid a simple disclaimer is the best you can hope for It should also be pointed that no one should be watching Hollywood movies as a history lesson . That's what books and classrooms are for not film studios . Movies are all about spectacle and entertainment and if I remember correctly the problem with the 1968 British version of THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE is that it tried too much to be a history lesson of what life was like in 1850's Britain and the frontline of the Crimean War . Here everything is romanticised and gives a Hollywood eye view of the British Raj and one can't help thinking it's seen through somewhat envious eyes One point the film probably fails upon is to disguise the fact that it doesn't look like it was filmed in India but rather it was filmed in sunny California ( Hey guess what ? ) but I doubt if very few of the audience would have noticed or cared . Also considering the title the Crimean war in general and the charge in particular only takes up a small portion of the film . That aside it is a memorable film from the golden age of Hollywood and the horses that died in its making should be proud of that

I give it a decent grade for action and drama. But like the poem of the same name, the movie glorifies a fine example of stupidity. The charge accomplished nothing militarily. While the brigade was not completely destroyed, it suffered terribly, with 118 men killed, 127 wounded and about 60 taken prisoner. After regrouping, only 195 men still had horses. The futility of the action and its recklessness prompted the commanding French Marshal Pierre Bosquet to state: "It is magnificent, but it is not war. It is madness." The Russian commanders believed that the British soldiers were drunk.So, the next time someone says, "Ours is not to reason why, ours but to do & die," remind them that it's from a poem about a military suicide run.