Various Locales
The Lighthorsemen (Australian, 1987) Very good story of Austrailian mounted infantry being used and abused by the Brits in WWI Palestine. Pulse-pounding assault on German/Turkish-held town near the end.

Gallipoli (Australian,1981) Patrick Wilson comments: "Aussie Light Horse winds up on the beachhead.  Grim, painfully realistic, and decidedly anti-British take on the slaughter. This one will drive home the futility of trench warfare."

The Lost Patrol (1934) John Ford's eerie colonial suspense-classic. A British cavalry patrol is pinned down by unseen Arab marksmen at an oasis in WWI Mesopotamia.

Action in Arabia -- Comments?

Ryan's Daughter (1970) Long, self-indulgent, achingly beautiful David Lean film about the doomed romance between an emotionally crippled British officer and a schoolmaster's wife in WWI Ireland, as the hard lads of the IRA mobilize the locals to retrieve a load of weapons landed by German submarine.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Long, self-indulgent, achingly beautiful David Lean film about the doomed charismatic figure who engineered the Arab rebellion against the Turks in order to help the British in WWI. One of the truly great historical films. Should not be missed. Take a lunch.

Hidalgo (2004) - American cowboy enters his beloved mustang in a long-distance race through the Arabian desert, as decadent Old-World types, both white and brown, try to do him in. Silly and contrived, it's just a bad film, but it has guys shooting jezails, Bedouins in bedsheets, mud-brick towns, bandit lord with pet cheetahs, spectacular scenery and (the world's shortest) killer sandstorm, not to mention Omar Sharif hamming it up as the noble-hearted sheikh, so it's probably worth a rental. Based on an actual bogus autobiography.

Secondhand Lions (2003) - Benevolent and heartwarming film, with some late colonial-era action. American kid in the Fifties spends the summer with his reprobate uncles - who may or may not have been adventurers in the Middle East in their youth. Their story is told in flashbacks to the period, but constitutes only a smallish part of the movie. The rest is worth seeing also, however.

Michael Collins (1997) The story of the legendary figure of the Irish civil war, which led to Britain's withdrawal from southern Ireland. Some short sequences of the 1916 Easter Rebellion at the beginning, and guerrilla warfare (or is it just murder?) throughout.

Nate and Hayes (1983) Patrick Wilson comments: "Disappointing South Seas gunrunning tale that could have been a classic.  Good action, but not very engaging.  Best feature is a wonderful (if fanciful) Imperial German Ironclad Gunboat that should have been the star of the film." Alternate title: Savage Islands

His Majesty O'Keefe (1954) Bumptious Irish-American carves out a copra empire. Burt Lancaster and girlfriend are irritating and unbelievable, but the film as a whole is quite enjoyable, with lots of Polynesian detail, the sunlit benevolence of Technicolor, and decent action. Warning: misguided musical score ends with an unforgivable Irish tenor solo.
--John Royal comments: "Lancaster tries his hand at the copra trade in the South Seas. There are nasty German colonial officals and marines, disgruntled natives and blood aplenty. I haven't seen it in years, but I remember it as a pretty good film."

The Man from Snowy River (1980, Australian) An appealing exotic 'western.' Young man in 1880s Australia rounds up wild horse herds.

Return to Snowy River (1988, Australian) -- Comments?

Quigley Down Under (1990) American sharpshooter in frontier Australia rebels when he learns his job involves exterminating aborigines.

Utu (1983, New Zealand) Mark O'Donnell comments: "A Maori scout returns home to find Government troops have razed his village. He then declares Utu (revenge) and embarks on a campaign against the whites. The film has a host of period details too good to miss."

Northwest Mounted Police (1940) Patrick Wilson comments: "A wartime paean to the Mounties (and the Empire),  this Technicolor version of the Louis Riel Rebellion is spirited and has some fine action scenes.  Use of huge squibs make the Gatling Gun that practically stars in the film look truly deadly.  Long winded, DeMille epic still worth it for the color and action."

Death Hunt (1981) John Royal comments: "Crusty Mountie Lee Marvin chases Charles Bronson around the Yukon in a post-WWI setting. Great action and photography; hey, and watch out for the 'mad trapper'!"
Alan Welch comments: "Early aviation buffs should note that one seldom sees footage of a Bristol fighter in the air, but this film has lengthy and excellent Brisfit sequences."

Saskatchewan (1954) Mounties (lots of them!) escort ammuntion wagons and battle the Sioux. Naturally the brash American must buck his ironheaded Brit officers - don't you wonder how these people built a worldwide empire? Decent action, spectacular scenery and pageantry make for a surprisingly engaging movie. Considering the Sioux's and the heroine's costumes, Canada must not be as cold as people think.

Rose Marie (1936) Some may laugh up their jaded sleeves, but the Major General likes Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Macdonald, and he especially likes this charming picture about a mountie and an opera singer.
Alternate title: Indian Love Call

The Undefeated (1969) Byron Crump comments: "Ex-Union cavalry and ex-Rebels have a little adventure down Mexico way and tie it up with the French at various points....fun stuff. The French uniforms are spot on."

Major Dundee (1965) Byron Crump comments: "This one can be strange at times. Charlton Heston, with a ragtag outfit of troopers and Confederate prisoners, chases Indians into Mexico, and runs into the French. The French uniforms are good, but I'm not so sure about the lancers."

Vera Cruz (1954) Byron Crump comments: "Funky adventure movie with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster as hired guns in Mexico. The French are dressed as rejects from the battle of Waterloo....what on earth were they thinking?"

Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) Allen Hansen comments: "Clint Eastwood is hired to capture a French fort in Mexico. Very good film is well worth it for the French uniforms and a great train."

They Came to Cordura (1959) Mark Henry comments: "Gary Cooper in a slow thoughtful movie set in Mexico during Pershing's "Pancho Villa" campaign. Good cavalry charge and dustup with the Mexicans."

A Fistful of Dynamite (Italian,1971) Laconic ex-IRA dynamiter helps Mexican revolutionaries, c.1917. Lots of neat equipment (much of it wrong, but still neat) and large, energetic combat sequences. It's a late Sergio Leone spaghetti western; expect brutality, much death, artsy coyness, self-indulgence, and a bizarre score. Doesn't really take place in this universe, but fairly exciting, and it does have troops in sun-helmets.
Alternate titles: Duck, You Suckers; Once Upon a Time...the Revolution; Giu la Testa.
Armstrong Levey comments: "Cheesy Sergio Leone drama, not very believeable, and terribly inaccurate, but Rod Steiger doing a Mexican accent is worth the price alone."

One Man's Hero (1999) Armstrong Levey comments: "Interesting story of the San Patricio (St. Patrick) Brigade - Irish Catholic US recruits who fought for Mexico against the American invasion. Great scenes of the siege of Monterrey, and a heartbreaking ending."

Fitzcarraldo (German, 1982) Acclaimed allegorical study of an obsessed businessman who must haul an Amazon steamer overland through headhunter country to fulfil his dream of bringing grand opera to the jungle frontier. Moody, intense and about two and a half hours long.

Charge of The Light Brigade (1968) Patrick Wilson comments: "Brilliant, bitter retelling of the real thing.  Beautiful uniforms, breathtaking action, and wonderful animated Victorian political cartoons.  Superb period piece with a late 60's attitude toward war and Empire.  Don't miss it!"

Miscellaneous
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (British, 1943) Sensitive and touching film about the career, loves, friendships and disappointments of a goodhearted, rather stuffy army officer, from Boer War hero to retired General training the home guard in WWII. No combat scenes - even the duel is panned away from after a lengthy setup - but not to be missed in its full 163-minute version. Don't bother with the butchered shorter versions, sometimes titled only "Colonel Blimp."

TheAssassination Bureau (1968) An entrepreneur/assassin feels that the family business has lost touch with its ideals, and puts a contract out on himself. His colleagues pursue him and intrepid newswoman Diana Rigg all over pre-WWI Europe. Great fun for the historically inclined. Terrific climax in which a beautiful German Army Zeppelin is hijacked for an attack on a conference of the European heads of state.

Zeppelin (1971) A WWI German commando raid by Zeppelin on the Scottish coast to steal the Magna Charta. To say the plot is a bit unlikely is to be charitable, but the Zeppelin itself is magnificently done, if you like such things, and the Major General does.

Around the World in 80 Days (1956.) David Niven's unflappable Phileas Fogg circles the globe with upper-class English panache in this long, lighthearted, Technicolor spectacle.

The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (British, 1960) Bob Cordery comments: "A gang of Irish Republicans plan to rob the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street in the early 1900's. Great fun, and just real enough to be believable."

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (1965) Rather silly comedy-spectacle about an international air-competition in 1910. Delightful replicas of pre-WWI aircraft, and the balloon-and-blunderbuss duel is preposterously memorable. Lots of national/cultural stereotyping which may offend the hypersensitive.

Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (1969) Tim Balzer comments: "A road version of 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.' Boring, but a few humorous scenes. Two racers are 'very British' Indian army officers. Pathans lurk in ambush, but somehow chimpanzees and crocodiles have migrated to the Northwest Frontier!"

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) The classic, funky Disney version of the Jules Verne novel. That great Nautilus design! All those rivets! And was there ever a more Nemonian Captain Nemo than James Mason?

Mysterious Island (British, 1961) Fast-paced and surprisingly good Verne story about balloon-borne castaways on Captain Nemo's island hideout.
--Patrick Wilson comments: "Marvelous sequel to "20,000 Leagues," with Harryhausen dynamation and a brilliant soundtrack.  Great period feel, action, and a rousing finish.  Herbert Lom is a worthy successor to James Mason's Nemo." (The Major General would take mild exception to Mr. Wilson's soundtrack comment, mainly in view of the buffoonish comic scoring of the giant-bird sequence.)

Master of the World (1961) Patrick Wilson comments: "Disappointing, low-budget version of the Verne novel.  It tries to be an aerial "20,000 Leagues" but goes over like...well, a lead balloon.  The comic book that came out for it was a lot better.  I wish Spielberg would try his hand at it!"

First Men in the Moon (1964, British) A pretty, datedly-updated version of H.G. Wells' tale of travel to the moon by antigravity from Victorian England, with a trumped-up love interest and a snitched touch from The War of the Worlds. The film's interpretation of the Cavorite sphere is marvelous, and I want a model of it for a game someday.
--Patrick Wilson comments: "Charming Victorian science fiction supported by superb Harryhausen effects and an evocative score.  If you like Space:1889 ( I DON'T!), you'll love this (I DO!)."
"Madam, the chances of bagging an elephant on the moon are remote." --Prof. Cavor, in First Men in the Moon

Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1959) Patrick Wilson comments: "My all-time favorite Victorian Adventure Film!  James Mason leads four remarkable companions there and back.  Thayer David's Count Saknussem is BRILLIANT!  Good special effects and a classic score, coupled with the best Victorian dialogue and manners of all such films, makes for a sublime experience.  Don't see it for the geology, see it for the wit and style!  What are you waiting for?"

The Time Machine (1960) Patrick Wilson comments: "A fine and spirited version of the Wells novella with excellent FX and a particularly haunting soundtrack.  The sense of Victorian stability and order is beautifully communicated. Top flight performances by veteran character actors and very scary Morlocks."

The Wild Wild West (1999) This comic Victorian SF romp is fairly stupid, but more fun than you might imagine, with a giant steam-powered spider walker and big-budget effects.
Jim Shaner comments: "If you're a fan of the original, you'll hate it. Lots of modern cliches in the dialog. But for the contraptions and gadgets, including a steam tank, it's worth enduring. Train buffs will like the railroad action as well."

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) Capt. Nemo, Alan Quatermain, and other Victorian characters team up to save the world from Dr. Moriarty's superscience. Too big, too frantic, too modern, this VSF superhero movie is much less fun than you might imagine. Little period feel (except for Quatermain and his African club), less jollity, and no believability. Magnificent concept is sacrificed to quick-cut action and over-the-top special effects. Sad, really. Might have been good, with a smaller budget.

The Lost World (1925): Comments?

The Lost World (1960): Comments?

The Lost World (1992): Neil Bell comments: "Professor Challenger and company journey to a plateau (in Africa in this version) where dinosaurs still exist. It's my vision of what the book should be, even though it uses stop-motion technology and is politically correct."

From the Earth to the Moon (1958) Jules Verne's novel is shoehorned as ungraciously into this stilted and dreary Cold War parable as is Debra Paget's torpedo bra into her high-necked black dress (which is the only thing even faintly Victorian about this film). Chockablock with appalling non-sequiturs as well as scientific groaners that would have embarrassed Verne in the 1870s. Very possibly the worst movie on these pages.

Topsy-Turvy (British, 1999) Gilbert and Sullivan squabble and write The Mikado. This critically acclaimed film is rich in authentic Victorian detail, stunningly acted, touching and entertaining. As a bonus, one gets to see many G&S songs sung by first-rate talent with the elaborate sets and costumes of the original Victorian-era productions.

The Pirates of Penzance (1983) Energetic and beautiful setting of Gilbert and Sullivan's third-most-beloved comic opera (but the Major General's personal favorite). Kevin Kline shines as the Pirate King. Purists may be offended by the changes to the original opera, but the Maj. Gen. is hardly a slack revisionist when it comes to G&S, and he loves it. Well, most of it. Great fun.
"For what, we ask, is life, without a touch of Poetry in it?" --The Pirate King, in The Pirates of Penzance

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