Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

BootinUp

(49,070 posts)
Mon Oct 19, 2020, 09:13 PM Oct 2020

Breaker Morant (1980)

Pretty good flick if you like military courtroom flicks, trues stories. Controversial because it rehabilitated the main character posthumously. Stars Edward Woodward in the title role.

7.8/10
11,943
Breaker Morant (1980)
'Breaker' Morant (original title)
PG | 1h 47min | Drama, History, War | 3 July 1980 (Australia)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080310/?ref_=nmbio_mbio


Breaker Morant is a 1980 Australian war drama film directed by Bruce Beresford, who co-wrote the screenplay based on Kenneth G. Ross's 1978 play of the same name.[3][4][5]

The film concerns the 1902 court martial of lieutenants Harry Morant, Peter Handcock and George Witton—one of the first war crime prosecutions in British military history. Australians serving in the British Army during the Second Anglo-Boer War, Morant, Handcock, and Witton stood accused of murdering captured enemy combatants and an unarmed civilian in the Northern Transvaal. The film is notable for its exploration of the Nuremberg Defense, the politics of the death penalty and the human cost of total war. As the trial unfolds, the events in question are shown in flashbacks.

In 1980, the film won ten Australian Film Institute Awards including: Best Film, Best Direction, Leading Actor, Supporting Actor, Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, and Editing. It was also nominated for the 1980 Academy Award for the Best Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaker_Morant_(film)

5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

TomSlick

(11,923 posts)
3. I saw the movie years ago at the Army JAG School during a week long law of war course.
Mon Oct 19, 2020, 10:01 PM
Oct 2020

Depressing flick but the teaching point was that the accused Australians were war criminals - the attempt to present them sympathetically notwithstanding.

BootinUp

(49,070 posts)
4. I dont know how close the movie is on how it played out
Mon Oct 19, 2020, 10:53 PM
Oct 2020

clearly the Aussies think there was a cover-up of important facts. But by the letter of the law and also morally, they were war crimes.

TomSlick

(11,923 posts)
5. I understand the Aussies thinking the British Army was running a railroad.
Tue Oct 20, 2020, 12:37 PM
Oct 2020

I have not done any independent study of the facts. I got the impression that the film makers were trying to make the Aussies sympathetic and assumed the facts were at least as bad as portrayed. There was no attempt made in the JAG School course to look behind the movie. The teaching point assumed the facts and asked whether war crimes were committed.

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Movies»Breaker Morant (1980)