In his study of the british film industry, a mirror for england faber and faber, 1971, raymond durgnat notes that the true story of the 1789 mutiny on the h. It is the height of the napoleonic wars and, at sea, capt. Set about the time of the spithead mutiny, the defiant is sent to the mediterranean with a crew who are aware that the mutiny is about to take place and with officers in conflict. Wellliked by his crew, crawford clashes with the newest man on board, lt. Led by film advocate john farr, the best movies by farr team works as a quality filter for the discerning moviegoer. The continual sadism of defiants first officer makes this difficult, and when the captain is disabled, the chance for violence increases. The film was directed by lewis gilbert, now mostly remembered for his contributions to the james bond series of movies but who also directed a host of classic british films between 1944 and 1995.
Damn the defiant whats it about during the napoleonic wars of the late 18th century, captain crawford guinness runs a tight ship, the h. Defiant, during the french revolutionary war, fair captain crawford is locked in a battle of wills against his cruel secondincommand lieutenant scottpadget, whose heavyhanded command style pushes the crew to mutiny. It was also shot in cinemascope, which means that the dvd is a major revelation. Defiant, the humane crawford guinness strives to maintain order throughout the ship against the ceaseless brutality of sadistic first mate scottpadget dirk bogarde. The cast is a roll call of british film actors of the period, alec guinness, dirk bogarde. This is a stirring british film made with american money. Alec guinness must battle a mutinous crew and napoleons fleet in the rousing. Defiant shipmate receives 24 lashes with the cat o.
Defiants crew is part of a fleetwide movement to present a petition of grievances to the admiralty. After crawford is injured in a fiery battle with a french treasure. This is an older film and looks like it, but the transfer still turns out to be of passing grades. The cast is a roll call of british film actors of the period. Alec guinness plays the stern but compassionate captain of a british warship, engaged in the napoleonic wars. Although this is a hollywood depiction it is nevertheless true. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, the times does. It does get a bit confusing at times, especially if youre not up on your history, but it is well worth watching. The story has enough twists to keep your attention, as you never know what will happen next on the h. This movie goes along the same lines as mutiny on the bounty so for any true film buff, no explanation needed. This is a digitized version of an article from the timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996.
The crew of a royal navy ship embarks on a mission to fight the flotilla of napoleon. With alec guinness, dirk bogarde, maurice denham, nigel stock. The violent scottpadget goes head to head with crawford on disciplinary issues, and when crawford is injured during a battle with the french, scottpadget ruthlessly takes command. Captain crawford alec guinness is the firm but fair. As a british naval pic id place it below master and commander and hornblower and quite a ways above any of the bountys. Alec guinness must battle a mutinous crew and napoleons fleet in the rousing, historical adventure damn the defiant. Defiant, during the french revolutionary war, fair captain crawford is locked in a battle of wills. The commander of a british warship fighting in the napoleonic campaign faces bitter opposition from his righthand man, a cruel and sadistic officer hated by the crew. Guinness is popular with his men, which is more than can be said for his new secondincommand dirk bogarde. The continual sadism of defiant s first officer makes this difficult, and when the captain is disabled, the chance for violence increases. Director lewis gilbert spares no expense on detailsthe elaborate sets and lavish costumes are of the utmost believability, making the film. It tells the story of a mutiny aboard the fictitious ship of the title at around the time of the spithead mutiny. Forty years before master and commander, damn the defiant. Defiant, even bringing on his young son as apprentice crewman in his pursuit of the french at sea.
Advertisement autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a suggested video will automatically play next. Bounty was never filmed in england but was filmed twice in america, in 1935 and 1962. Alec guinness, dirk bogarde, anthony quayle is a british adventure cinemascope and technicolor film from 1962 starring alec guinness and dirk bogarde. Based on the novel, mutiny, by frank tilsley, damn the defiant. The defiant ones stumbles most in the final halfhour, which often feels like a commercial for beats headphones, the latest megasuccess for iovine and dre. British naval protocol during this period was harsh. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. That said, i have a weakness for the subject matter since i grew up on c. Damn the defiant hms defiant 1962adventure abounds when guinness, as captain of the hms defiant during the napoleonic wars, finds himself up against not only the french but his cruel secondincommand bogarde and a mutinous crew as well. Scottpadget dirk bogarde is a ruthless career opportunistand borderline torturerwhom the captain is at pains to keep at bay. In the end, both a fleetwide mutiny and a french invasion of england are avoided.
Staring anthony quayle, dirk bogarde and alec guinness. I am quite surprised that this film only has a rather ordinary score of 7. Film stars alec guinness, dirk bogarde and anthony quayle. Foresters hornblower and alexander kents captain bolitho books i. Alec guinness dirk bogarde maurice denham 1962 the 18thcentury captain alec guinness of the h. Alec guinness stars in this british sea adventure set during the napoleonic wars as capt. In the historical suspense thriller, damn the defiant.
There are currently two videos available for the film, of which one and only one is a trailer, as listed below. Director lewis gilbert told virtually the same tale albeit set in a different war in sink the bismarck. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our fandango. Defiant s crew is part of a fleetwide movement to present a petition of grievances to the admiralty. Alec guinness must battle a mutinous crew and napoleons fleet in the rousing, historical adventuredamn the defiant. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing damn the defiant. Guinness is popular with his men, which is more than can be. Although, by that point, i didnt really care because i had heard so many interesting stories over the previous threeandahalf episodes. Defiant finds the mate dirk bogarde has driven the men to mutiny. Looking for damn the defiant visit decluttr for great deals and super savings with free shipping today. Director lewis gilbert delivers a captivating drama, damn the defiant. Music composed by clifton parker, and conducted by muir mathieson.
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