Watch
The Four Feathers

The Four Feathers

1939
Adventure, War
2h 9m
A British army officer who resigns his commission on the eve of his unit's embarkation to a mission against Egyptian rebels seeks to redeem his cowardice by secretly aiding his former comrades disguised as an Arab. When his unit is overwhelmed and captured by the rebels, the hero finds an opportunity to return the 'feathers' of cowardice sent to him by his former comrades by freeing them. (imdb)
Your probable score
?

The Four Feathers

1939
Adventure, War
2h 9m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 63.82% from 127 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(127)
Compact view
Compact view
Rated 07 Mar 2010
66
45th
While this is an entertaining 'boys adventure' film, it's also symptomatic of the type of movie that later, revisionist war films... revised. In the face of WWII, the film celebrates the British Empire & colonialism, death in battle, and the stiff upper lip, all of which got a considerable thrashing in the 60s and 70s. Though rendered quaint, the spectacle still gleams, thanks to technicolor.
Rated 26 May 2008
82
67th
A very well hidden secret it would appear. Most people don't even recognise the 2002 remake as such. This has some excellent character acting and the cinematography is outstanding for its time. Well told tale that deserves more airings than it gets.
Rated 05 May 2015
80
99th
A grand production done by the Korda Brothers in the UK with extended exotic shooting in Sudan, looks and feels superior. A wonderful film. John Clements does a natural performance in the lead role and let the other characters bring more color to the personalities, where Ralph Richardson comes in handy as his rival in love. Combined strong acting and realistic settings makes this a thrilling adventures and one of Britain's most important films of 1939! I love it!
Rated 28 Aug 2021
70
43rd
Made when colonialism was still in full swing, this is clearly a product of its time. Luckily there is enough light social commentary to keep this feeling from completely outdated. All in all, it's a very decent epic adventure movie with splendid early Technicolor cinematography. Most impressive are the very impressive big action set pieces shot on location in Sudan. The acting is stiff, stand out among the cast is a young Ralph Richardson as the officer that goes blind.
Rated 21 Mar 2009
4
55th
A light, enjoyable romp with an old-time adventure flick.
Rated 02 Jun 2008
75
89th
Classic.
Rated 13 May 2008
100
95th
One of the great adventure movies, shot in that gorgeous pastels-like colour that only British films made around this time have. I'm astonished that nobody added this movie to the Criticker database before now
Rated 17 Jun 2013
39
15th
Interesting from a historical perspective but doesn't make a whole lot of sense from the motivation perspective of the protagonist. No explanation for his complete about-face in attitude is ever supplied, and the method of his redemption is beyond plausibility. The entire story is full of contrivances that seem only like a vehicle for the author to tell a yarn.
Rated 10 Apr 2009
100
93rd
The standard version of the story, perfectly cast and presented, with battle scenes which have since turned up in a score of other films from _Zarak_ to _Master of the World_; also a triumph of early colour.
Rated 06 Feb 2012
65
25th
I was pretty underwhelmed throughout. It's a decent adventure tale with some light social commentary. The scenes of John Clements cleverly coming to the aid of his friends were somewhat intriguing. The battle scenes are occasionally impressive, but sometimes repetitive. The Technicolor is used well, very natural. Nice Rozsa score as well. I just didn't care all that much about what was going on. Overall I didn't struggle to get through it or anything, but I wasn't all that interested either.
Rated 11 Oct 2018
80
92nd
Epic in scope, with great locations and amazing cinematography. I still can't believe that they made this in 1939 what a spectacle. The only unremarkable this about the production was the acting which wasn't bad it was solid but I felt that for a movie as amazing as this you needed equally amazing acting.
Rated 17 Apr 2022
82
62nd
The technicolor production still stands out, while the story, despite numerous strong scenes, feels very outdated, especially in its moral message.
Rated 17 Sep 2022
3
21st
Wow, courage is so brave. I'm listening and learning.

Collections

(23)
Compact view
Showing 1 - 23 of 23 results

Similar Titles

Loading ...

Statistics

Loading ...

Trailer

No Trailer