King And Country details
| Format: | PG DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Barry Foster, Dirk Bogarde, Tom Courtenay, James Villiers, Leo McKern |
| Director: | Joseph Losey |
| Genre: | Drama - General |
| Studio: | BRITISH HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
King And Country |
PG Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 1 hour 22 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 09 Aug 2011 |
| Main languages: | English |
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Most helpful review
For once Bogarde is disappointing
By Shane Brown from Norwich, Norfolk , 20 Dec 2004[Highly rated reviewer]
Dirk Bogarde apparantly said that he thought this movie was the least successful of his collaborations with Joseph Losey. I can see why. Rarely seen, this is a low-budget and relatively short film (about 80 minutes) based on the play 'Hamp.'
Sadly, there is something seriously awry here. Perhaps the film is too obviously stuck in it's stage roots. The sets seem obviously studio-bound, but whether this is for effect or not is hard to work out.
The story, about the court-martial of a deserter in the first world war should be extremely moving, and yet the whole film comes over as cold and as artificial as the sets. The opening seven or eight minutes are overly 'arty.'
The performances are mostly superb. Bogarde was always interesting in his 1960s movies - although perhaps he comes over as a bit too stereotypically stiff-upper-lip here. Tom Courteney is a revelation in a difficult role. It's also good to see former child-star Jeremy Spenser in a rare adult role (one of his last).
All in all the film is a disappointment, and yet it is essential viewing for fans of The Servant, Accident and the like - if only for curiosity value.
From a technical point of view, the picture quality is not great - but whether this was due to the low-budget the film obviously had or a slapdash remastering is difficult to determine.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(11)very bad sound
By jerym (34 reviews) from caerphilly uk , 15 Jul 2012Saw this many years ago and was very impressed and looked forward to seeing it again but the sound quality was appalling and the dialogue almost completely unintelligible. May try again sometime but as the disc showed no sign of damage I suspect it is a fault in the recording.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Stark war drama
By RJNeb2 (924 reviews) from London , 16 Oct 2010There are a few missteps - Larry Adler's jaunty harmonica score is totally wrong for the film, and director Joseph Losey doesn't entirely succeed in making us forget this was originally a play - but generally this is a sobering and absorbing examination of war guilt, bolstered by some very strong performances. During WW1, Dirk Bogarde is the officer assigned to defend young private Tom Courtenay who's facing the firing squad after deserting the front line. The film's points about shellshock translate tellingly into the modern day phenomenon of Gulf War Syndrome. Similar to - but nowhere near as good as - Stanley Kubrick's 'Paths of Glory'.- Was this review helpful to you?
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King And Country
By a customer from North of Watford , 11 May 2010Director Joseph Losey made this film a year after he made ‘The Servant’ which also starred Dirk Bogarde. This time the setting is World War 1: Bogarde plays an officer sent to defend a simple young soldier who faces court martial for walking away from the war. The soldier is played convincingly by Tom Courtney. Still photographs from National War Museum lend authentic touches to the background as the drama unfolds. Music is by harmonica player Larry Adler. Picture quality is OK but the dialogue is indistinct at times and I might have used subtitles if there had been any.- Was this review helpful to you?
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King and Country
By edragobkrid (8 reviews) from Bestwood , 01 Oct 2009THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS Show review anywayHide
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Missed.
By SteveMason (58 reviews) from Nottingham , 12 Apr 2009Poorly focused and superficial film misses as big and obvious a target as the misery of WWI trench warfare.
This film covers too little ground, emotionally as well as historically and struggles to express the humanity of its unfortunate characters.
Some game performances, interesting cinematography and a brief running time serve to make it a worthwhile diversion, but a disappointment for this enthusiast of many Joseph Losey films.
Paths of Glory covers the same sort of territory with a far greater impact.- Was this review helpful to you?
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