Breaker Morant (DVD)

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As strong as Woodward´s performance is, I would hesitate to call Harry Morant one of cinema´s most memorable characters. The film always maintains a cool distance from its subject, preferring to let Morant be defined mostly by the words of others, either in the courtroom or on the battlefield. The Morant we get to see is more the tamed, captured beast than the wild tiger of legend.

In the end, Beresford doesn´t really intend for us to see Morant as an unfairly accused victim. Quite the contrary, Breaker eagerly carried out his duties, showing not even the slightest compunction about executing a group of helpless prisoners. He might well have been following orders, but he sure as heck followed his orders with abandon. Rather, the focus is on the injustice of war, and the cowardice and duplicity of the British officials. War is hell, and modern warfare is no longer a gentleman´s affair (not that it ever was). The message is hardly original, but it´s still relevant and timeless.

"Breaker Morant" sticks mostly to familiar territory, and sometimes wears its cramped courtroom like a straitjacket. The uniformly impeccable cast and gorgeous photography also add up to a film a bit too neat and proper to portray the bloody mess of modern war. Nonetheless, the movie remains an enduring and effective drama with several unforgettable scenes and a superb lead performance. "Morant" is, by far, Beresford´s best work.

Video:

The Masterworks Edition features a new high definition transfer and is offered in an Anamorphic 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The muted color palette really makes flesh tones stand out, and the faces in this film are remarkably vivid. Some of the scenes in the courtroom appear a bit blurry, but this is likely from the source material and the room´s featureless white walls. The outdoor scenes are drop-dead gorgeous. Overall, this is an excellent transfer.

Audio:

The DVD is offered in both Dolby Digital 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Beresford doesn´t use a score for the film at all, relying only on occasional musical interludes from a military brass band that appears in the movie. The sound design is simple and sparse, mostly dialogue, all of which is clear. You might need to rely on subtitles for some of the characters with thicker accents. There are no noteworthy surround sound effects to discuss.

Option English, French and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:

The Masterworks Edition offers several features not available on Wellspring´s previous barebones DVD release. Most of them are informational or promotional in nature, including brief Character Breakdowns (one or two screen text descriptions of the real life characters), filmographies, and a short Director Biography. The most interesting offering on the Special Features menu is a sixteen minute interview with lead actors Edward Woodward, who reflects on his involvement with the film and what it meant to his career.

The DVD also includes a commentary track with Bruce Beresford. Unlike many such offerings, this is not a wall-to-wall commentary track, with quite a bit of dead air along the way. Still, Beresford has a lot to say about the production, and about its relation to the real events on which it was based. Needless to say, he made a few "creative decisions" along the way to adapt the historical event to film.

Closing Thoughts:

I was half-tempted to start my review with the following line: "Breaker Morant", it´s Australian for "Paths of Glory." The film does bear a certain resemblance to Kubrick´s masterpiece, but the similarities end with the subject matter. Where "Morant" is sober and realistic, "Paths of Glory" embraces exaggeration and parody, though both films wind up in the same, tragic place. If you like "Breaker Morant" and haven´t seen the Kubrick film, you should check it out. "Paths of Glory" may well be the greatest war film ever made, and every self-respecting film buff needs to see it.

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