So much average

Simply A Masterpiece

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

In our times of seemingly endless war against ISIS and the collapse of the left over scars of European colonialism, and the big game of influence among foreign and regional powers, here's a tonic to brace up sagging spirits and wash away the feeling of gloom and doom and impotence to do anything against Islamic terrorism. 'Storm over the Nile' is a film for you then. A credible remake of 'Four Feathers', it has all the dash and stiff upper lip of those who won wars on the playing fields of Eton, perhaps. We are in the Anglo Egyptian time of the Mahdi the secret imam who has claimed the mantle of the prophet in the Sudan. Already his forces fired up by the tenets of militant Islam had beheaded 'Chinese' Gordon, the British general sent in not by the UK but by Egypt to blunt the Mahdi's thrust and destroy his hold in an age of expanding European land grab in Africa. But he didn't count on Lord Kitchner and the British army and here with Harry Fathersham, receipt of a white feather for cowardice. The film is shot in brilliant color with long and close shots. The costumes are lavish in military and upper class garb. You will see a parade of British stars mostly long forgotten but in the UK and the Commonwealth: Anthony Steele, Maria Ure, Laurence Harvey, James Robertson Justice, Ian Carmichael and Christopher Lee. The atmospherics are there, too. Will you tremble with excitement as the black flag of fundamentalism is lowered and the Union Jack raised/ In any case, it less than two hours of mindless and feel good entertainment.

Being something of a pacifist, Harry Faversham (Anthony Steele) has the misfortune to be born into a staunchly military family with all the expectations of an overbearing father (Michael Hordern) weighing down on his shoulders. Harry toes the line to please his dad, but when the old boy pops his clogs, he swiftly resigns his commission. As a consequence, he receives a white feather (the symbol of cowardice) from each of his best friends (Laurence Harvey, Ronald Lewis, and an out-of-place Ian Carmichael) on the eve of their departure to war in the Sudan. Harry awards himself a symbolic feather on behalf of his fiancée (Mary Ure) whose disappointment is clear. Harry determines to make his former friends take back their feathers, which is the signal for much derring-do to begin (hurrah!).The tale of the four feathers is the epitome of the schoolboy adventure yarn with heroic soldiers blinded in battle, heroic soldiers captured by the fuzzie-wuzzies (not nice, I can tell you!), heroic cowards braving forehead-branding and boot polish to go deep under cover in darkest Africa, and pompous old boors endlessly recounting their role in the battle of Balaclava back in the Crimean. It should really be boredom-proof, but the sad truth is that this version comes perilously close to inducing that state at times. The film is practically a word-for-word remake of the 1939 version – and even makes scandalously wholesale use of the earlier version's battle scenes – which means it probably came across as a bit staid back in 1955, but looks positively creaky today.Anthony Steel isn't a particularly convincing hero: at thirty-five he's playing a twenty-five year old who somehow looks forty-five, but the problem is more in the lack of sympathy Steel creates for his character. His Harry Faversham is the sort that sits in the corner and speaks when he's spoken too, and is therefore a little too bland to be a dashing hero, despite his acts of heroism. And exactly what sort of reaction did he expect to receive when he resigned his commission? Doesn't trotting off to the desert to regain his honour in the eyes of his friends and fiancée simply negate the strength of character required to resign in the first place? A young Laurence Harvey fares better as Faversham's upper-crust chum who suffers sun blindness when hiding from the fuzzies, and would arguably have been better suited to the leading man role. Ronald Lewis has practically nothing to do, while Ian Carmichael, on the cusp of his comedy career, comes off as a plummy-voiced twit.The film isn't awful by any standards, but it really could have benefited from fifteen minutes being pruned from its running time, and a little more fire in young Faversham's belly.

Sweeping new adaptation plenty of idealism ,heroism, friendship, redemption and overwhelming battles. It's a great classical British imperialism adventure , a genuine ripping yarn picking up several images and with some stirring action of the quite better 1939 version . This fifth rendition about known story by A.E.W. Mason concerns on a British young officer named Harry Faversham (Anthony Steel). Resigning from Army , he's rejected by his father-in-law (James Robertson Justice) and his engaged fiancée (Mary Ure), branded a coward and sent four white feathers by his friends( Ronald Lewis, Laurence Harvey, Ian Carmichael) . Determined to save his honor he heads to Sudan campaign against Derviches who previously (thirteen years before) had murdered General Gordon in Karthoum. There arrives the expedition of help commanded by General Wolsey and Kitchener for stifle the rebellious Sudan's tribes ruled by 'the Madhdi', the ¨expected one¨(events developed in ¨Khartoum¨film-1966- with Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier, directed by Basil Dearden).The Madhi along with Arab tribes had besieged Khartoum(1884) and vanquished General Gordon . Faversham disguised himself as native will save his friends from certain death and he will retrieve the lost honors.This spectacular adventure detailing the epic feats of a brave hero, contains noisy action,idealism, romance, unlimited courage, breathtaking battles and impressive landscapes. It's a typically polished British and packs enthusiasm of imperialist arrogance with standard issue heroics. Anthony Steel as stubborn officer is fine , Laurence Harvey as his best friend is convincingly played and Mary Ure as his girlfriend is enjoyable. Special mention to James Roberson Justice as swagger general Burroughs . Solid performances all around and excellent plethora of secondaries as Christopher Lee, Ferdy Mayne, Michael Hordern, Geoffrey keen among them. Sensational battle scenes staged by thousands extras though partially taken from former film. Evocative cinematography with superb Technicolor camera-work reflecting the late 1800's and spectacular African landscapes by cameraman Edward Scaife and Osmond Borradaille for exterior photography in Sudan and interiors filmed in Shepperton studios. Rousing and impressive musical score by Benjamin Frankel. The motion picture is professionally directed by Zoltan Korda and Terence Young with imagination and fair-play . Other adaptations about this famous story are : the ancient and silent take on filmed in 1915, 1921, and 1929 directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper with Richard Arlen, Fay Wray and Clive Brook ; the classic rendition by Zoltan Korda(1939) with John Clemens, Ralph Richardson and Jane Duprez ; and for TV(1978)with Beau Bridges, Jane Seymour and modern rendition with Heath Ledger , Kate Hudson and Wes Bentley

One Sunday afternoon in 1982 BBC 1 broadcast STORM OVER THE NILE . Nothing remarkable in itself with this scheduling but later that evening the ITV channel broadcast THE FOUR FEATHERS remake from the late 1970s ! Two different versions of the same story broadcast a few hours within each other on the two network channels ! Amazing , and not something that was unnoticed since myself and several school colleagues remarked upon this the next day . We were all in unanimous agreement that STORM OVER THE NILE was the much superior movie . Strangely over the years every time Terence Young's version is broadcast the TV guides don't have kind words for the 1955 film version of AEW Mason's story and after seeing the original 1939 version of THE FOUR FEATHERS I understand why - It's a rip off ! In the past I have criticised movies like CRITICAL MASS and RANGERS that use extensive film footage from other movies like TERMINATOR 2 and NAVY SEALS . With STORM we see the exact same thing . The truly great battle scenes weren't directed by Young they were directed by Zoltan Korda almost 20 years earlier . To be fair I don't think the producers are claiming that this is an entirely original movie hence the credit for both Korda and Young in the directors slot but I did see the 1939 version a week earlier on channel 4 and this spoils the enjoyment of STORM since the script is identical as are most of the action scenes . If you've never seen the original you'll like this movie but if you remember the unforgettable 1939 version by the Korda brothers you'll be left with a cynical feeling watching this