Everything about Breaker Morant Film totally explained
Breaker Morant is a
1980 Australian
feature film, directed by
Bruce Beresford and starring British actor
Edward Woodward as
Harry "Breaker" Morant. The all-Australian supporting cast features
Bryan Brown as Lieutenant Handcock,
Lewis Fitz-Gerald as Lieutenant Witton, and
Jack Thompson as
Major Thomas.
The 1978 play
Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts, written by
Kenneth G. Ross, was the source material for the screen story.
Beresford co-wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens and Kenneth G. Ross.
The film was produced by
Matt Carroll. Although the action is set in
South Africa, principal photography took place entirely in Australia.
The film was a top performer at the
Australian Film Institute awards, with ten wins. It was also nominated for the 1980
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay.
Plot summary
Breaker Morant concerns the murder trial of three Australian Army officers of the
Bushveldt Carbineers serving in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1900-1902). Lieutenants Harry "Breaker" Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton are accused of the murder of one
Boer prisoner and the subsequent murders of six more. In addition, Morant and Handcock are accused of the sniper-style assassination of a German missionary, the Rev. H.C.V. Hesse. Their defense counsel,
Major Thomas, has had only one day to prepare their defense.
Lord Kitchener, who ordered the trial, hopes to bring the
Boer War to an end with a peace conference. To that end, he uses the Morant trial to show that he's willing to judge his own soldiers harshly if they disobey the rules of war. Although, as Major Thomas mentions in court, there are great complexities associated with charging active-duty soldiers with murder during battle, Kitchener is determined to have a guilty verdict, and the chief of the court, Lt Colonel Denny, supports him.
The causes and occurrences relating to the trial are developed. Morant's execution of the Boer prisoners was revenge for the mutilation and death of his friend and commanding officer, Captain Hunt. Enraged by the incident, Morant led an attack on a Boer camp, where a Boer wearing Captain Hunt's khaki battle jacket was captured. Morant had him executed on the spot.
Morant later executes, again by firing squad, six other Boer prisoners for the same reason. He later said of the incident, "You know the orders from Whitehall. If they show a white flag, we don't see it. I didn't see it." Before their execution, Morant notices the German missionary, Rev. Hesse, speaking with the Boer prisoners. Morant, furious, is convinced that Hesse is a spy, though he's no proof. A conversation with Handcock leads to the latter taking a rifle and horse and following the missionary, who is found shot the next morning.
During the trial, the court's bias toward a guilty verdict becomes apparent, as are the political machinations behind it. Morant and Handcock repeatedly display their contempt for the proceedings by insulting their accusers and lashing out at the prosecuting attorney, Major Bolton. At one point, the presiding officer of the court, Lt Colonel Denny, warns Handcock that if he doesn't behave, he'll find himself in "very serious trouble" (this to a man on trial for multiple murders). In a poignant scene between trial sessions, Morant tells his friend Captain Taylor, an intelligence officer who had come to testify in his behalf, that he knows he and Handcock are going to be shot, and that the trial had been a sham from the beginning. Morant makes it clear that he doesn't care what happens to him any more, since his life in England was in shambles and there was nothing to go back to. He declines an offer from Taylor for assistance in an escape. In an effort to bolster Morant's spirits, Taylor describes him as a "black sheep" (Morant) and Handcock as "a simple and wild fellow". Morant replies sardonically, "We won't be missed".
The main focus of the trial is on whether or not orders were issued by Kitchener to shoot Boer prisoners. Major Thomas' case is that there were standing, though unwritten, orders to execute Boer prisoners in the field, which Morant acknowledges he did. But since these orders were
verbally relayed to Captain Hunt, and by Captain Hunt to Morant, there's no way to prove that they were really issued. To the surprise and delight of his three clients and the growing discomfort of the British High Command, Major Thomas proves to be a very skilled defense lawyer, although his only previous legal experience had been in handling land conveyances and preparing wills. He repeatedly scores points for the defense by proving that many of the prosecution's witnesses were biased against the accused, and that the high command was actively interfering with his efforts to defend the three officers. He also establishes that both Morant and Handcock were admired by their men for their courage and effective leadership in battle. In one scene, Thomas forces a witness for the prosecution (former Bushveldt Carbineers Captain Robertson) to admit that Handcock's irregular tactics had proven to be effective in suppressing train ambushes by the Boers. In what is perhaps the most dramatic scene in the film, Major Thomas delivers a brilliant summation in which he indicts the British government's policy in South Africa as well as its case against the defendants, whom he describes as sacrificial pawns to be offered up in the name of international politics. He lists the atrocities and brutalities that he himself has seen performed by other British Empire troops, and describes these actions as standard operating procedure instituted with the knowledge and blessing of the General Staff (but again, without putting the orders in writing). Thomas points out to the court that it's impossible to fairly judge men for their behavior under the circumstances of war, where conventional norms don't apply. As the camera pans the faces of the board of judges, it's clear that they've been shaken by Thomas's words, and that some are in grudging agreement with him. Finally, Thomas pleads with the court to at least show mercy to Witton, who had nothing to do with the alleged crimes of Morant and Handcock and was guilty of nothing more than "having shot a Boer who was trying to shoot him".
At this point, it develops that Morant and Handcock were in fact responsible for the murder of Reverend Hesse, the German missionary and suspected spy for the Boers. Handcock, who took care to set up an alibi with two "lady friends", admits to Witton that he did follow Hesse and shot him. When Witton recoils at the killing of the clergyman, Handcock explodes and rails against the war and the British Army. He points out that they're all about to be shot for the sake of political expediency for simply fighting a commando war using commando tactics, and that the Boers were under no such legal restraints. Morant expounds on this, explaining to Witton that "This is a new kind of war for a new century, George. I suppose this is the first time our enemies have not worn uniforms. Some of them are women, some are children, and some....are missionaries." In any event, the court acquits Morant and Handcock of the murder of Hesse, but finds them guilty of the other two charges of murdering Boer prisoners.
Some time after the conclusion of the trial, each of the three accused is marched one at a time from his jail cell into the office of presiding court officer Denny, who informs them, "You have been found guilty of murder and are sentenced to death." Morant stiffly comes to attention, salutes, and clicks his heels as he shouts out "Sir!" As he's marched back to his cell, Morant shouts out to Witton, "Shot in the morning." As Handcock returns to his cell after receiving his sentence, he growls to Witton "Same as Harry." That afternoon, both Handcock and Morant listen as carpenters on the other side of the prison wall construct their coffins. Handcock sarcastically says "You'd think they could at least measure us for those first", Morant quips "I'm sure they don't get too many complaints." Morant begins to write his last poems, one of which serves as the backdrop as the men are led off to be shot the next day. He hands his last work to Major Thomas and thanks him for his skilled defense efforts in court. He asks Thomas to post the poems as soon as possible, since he fears government censorship. He remarks, "After all, we poets do crave immortality." When the execution detail comes to get Morant and Handcock, the military chaplain asks their religious affiliation. "Pagan." replies Morant. "What's a pagan?", inquires Handcock. Morant replies, "Well, it's somebody who doesn't believe there's a divine being dispensing justice to mankind." Handcock nods and says to the chaplain, "I'm a pagan too." As the march to meet their firing squad begins, Morant quips "Well Peter, this is what comes from empire building!" While walking to their execution site (two chairs in a vast open field), Morant and Handcock nod to each other and hold hands in a display of solidarity. After being seated, and just before the execution squad opens fire, Morant yells "Shoot straight, you bastards! Don't make a mess of it!"
Kitchener conveniently makes arrangements to be absent from his headquarters in the aftermath of the execution, and is therefore unavailable for pleas for a reprieve, although he does commute Witton's sentence to life imprisonment before leaving. Morant and Handcock are shot as Witton is taken to a railway station, the first step on his way back to a prison in England. As a final indignity, Handcock's coffin is found to be too small for his tall frame, and the soldiers of the burying detail are forced to clumsily cram his body in as the soundtrack plays a stirring paen to the British Colonial Armies.
A summary at the end of the movie reveals what later happens to some of the characters. Major Thomas returns to his native Australia and continues his civilian law practice, which is confined to estate planning and wills. Witton serves three years of his sentence, then is released after a national outcry. In 1907 he writes a book entitled
Scapegoats of the Empire, an account of the Breaker Morant affair (it was reprinted in 1982). Witton's book proves so inflammatory and anti-British that it's suppressed during both World Wars.
Background
The film was shot almost entirely on location in and around the South Australian town of
Burra, with the Pietersburg courtroom scenes filmed at the former Redruth Gaol (jail). Other South Australian locations included
Ayers House and
Rostrevor College.
Release
A DVD video is available by REEL Corporation (2001) with a running time of 104 minutes.
Image Entertainment released a
Blu-ray Disc version of the film in the U.S. on
February 5,
2008 (107 minutes), including the documentary "The Boer War", a detailed account of the historical facts depicted in the movie.
Cast
Awards
Wins
Australian Film Institute (1980)
- Best Achievement in Cinematography, Donald McAlpine
- Best Achievement in Costume Design, Anna Senior
- Best Achievement in Editing, William M. Anderson
- Best Achievement in Production Design, David Copping
- Best Achievement in Sound, Gary Wilkins, William Anderson, Jeanine Chiavlo, and Phil Judd
- Best Actor in a Lead Role, Jack Thompson
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Bryan Brown
- Best Director, Bruce Beresford
- Best Film, Matt Carroll
- Best Original Screenplay, Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens, and Bruce Beresford
Cannes Film Festival (1980)
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards (1982)
Nominations
Academy Awards (1981)
Golden Globes (1981)
Quotes
Morant: We caught them and we shot them under "Rule Three-Oh-Three!" (a reference to the .303 caliber Lee-Enfield rifle used by British and Commonwealth troops of the time).
Thomas: "Soldiers at war shouldn't be judged by civilian rules."
Morant (to the suggestion that a jailbreak could be arranged, then he could go "see the world"): I've seen it.
Morant: There is an epitaph I'd like, though. Matthew 10:36. ["Anda man's foes shall be they of his own household."]
Morant (to firing squad): Shoot straight, you bastards! Don't make a mess of it!Further Information
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