The Four Feathers (2002)

41% of critics liked it
(150 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(37,252 ratings)

A.E.W. Mason's perennially popular tale of honor and adventure is brought to the screen yet again in this lavish period action-drama. In 1884, Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) is a young officer-in-training in the British Army who is soon to graduate and is expected to be shipped of to the Sudan,… More A.E.W. Mason's perennially popular tale of honor and adventure is brought to the screen yet again in this lavish period action-drama. In 1884, Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) is a young officer-in-training in the British Army who is soon to graduate and is expected to be shipped of to the Sudan, where the King's military are battling Muslim insurgents who are attempting to overturn English colonial rule. Feversham, however, has developed serious ethical reservations about going along, and on the eve of his departure, he resigns his commission. Feversham's best friend and fellow officer Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley) in response presents him with a white feather (a symbol of cowardice), and two of his classmates follow suit. Ethne Eustace (Kate Hudson), Feversham's fiancée, presents him with a fourth white feather shortly before breaking off their engagement. Sufficiently humbled, Feversham attempts to win back his honor and the respect of his family and friends by secretly becoming an undercover operative in the Sudan. His initial attempts to pose as an Arab are not especially convincing, but he makes friends with Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou), a local sympathetic with the British cause who proves to be a valuable source of insider information and advice on how to blend with the rebels. Meanwhile, Durrance is briefly ordered back to England to help recruit new soldiers for the colonial forces, and he takes the opportunity to begin wooing Eustace, the former flame of his former friend. This adaptation is the fifth film version of The Four Feathers, following two silent screen adaptations (released in 1915 and 1928), Zoltan Korda's memorable 1939 version, and a 1977 made-for-TV movie. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 5 min.
Directed By: Shekhar Kapur
Written By: Hossein Amini, Michael Schiffer
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Sep 20, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Feb 18, 2003
Studio: Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Kapur weighs down the tale with bogus profundities.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Ledger does a great job in the action sequences and the more tender scenes.
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
It's a pretty compelling yarn, not to mention full of pretty pictures, and yet it could be so much more than that.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
A movie that lacks the jingoistic bravura of earlier editions ... but hasn't replaced it with meaningful historical revisionism appropriate to our post-colonial age.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
What's missing, crucially, is the passion required to make this unlikely tale work.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
A spectacular-looking film, but its ambivalent story and viewpoint ultimately drag it down.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
A decent film with some intense battle violence.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
The Sahara desert, gorgeously photographed by Robert Richardson, displays the most personality in the entire picture.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's cold, misguided, confusing, illiterate, boring, badly acted and flat-out laughable.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
In this epic sweep from dusty, bloodied dunes to dainty British drawing rooms, little light is shed on wars, and what can be done about them.
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Michael Schiffe and Hossein Amini's screenplay adaptation (is) as full of holes as the tracks of a camel herd. [published 9-19-02]
Nick Rogers, State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
Ultimately, The Four Feathers is nothing more than a handsomely mounted escapist action flick.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Curtis L

Barring the lame and predictable love story, this movie was pretty great. Unique plot, as well as the always super badass Djimon Hounsou. In this one he plays a desert comando covered in white powder with neato hair and decor. In fact, I wish he had been the main focus. But alas,… More
Barring the lame and predictable love story, this movie was pretty great. Unique plot, as well as the always super badass Djimon Hounsou. In this one he plays a desert comando covered in white powder with neato hair and decor. In fact, I wish he had been the main focus. But alas, Heath Ledger was ok as well, as was Wes Bentley (once he had his cool scar makeup anyways). And Michael Sheen has yet to be in a bad role.
Conner R

I've actually always found this to be a good movie. Even though it is constantly bashed by critics, I think it's a beautiful story. It's not perfect, but it's not bad by any means. The acting was good and the scope of the film was as broad as an epic.
Wahida K

I tried so hard to keep awake on this Movie. What a shame great casting but very poor film.
jay n

good cast, slow film
Emily A

Have you ever watched a movie and realized halfway through that you're not so much watching as waiting for it to end? This movie is way too long and doesn't keep your interest; unless you are ravenously interested by turn of the century British imperial warfare. I can… More
Have you ever watched a movie and realized halfway through that you're not so much watching as waiting for it to end? This movie is way too long and doesn't keep your interest; unless you are ravenously interested by turn of the century British imperial warfare. I can probably count on one hand the things I liked about this movie. I kind of liked how Heath Ledger utterly fails the male assertion of bravery conundrum inherent to a Western at the very beginning of the movie. He then spends the rest of the movie trying to restore his honour to himself and redeem himself in the eyes of his friends and former fiancee. It all sounds good on papaer, but is aggressively boring to watch. This movie is big and sandy, and little else. Disappointing.
Dean M

This version of the thrice-filmed story to be totally captivating, at least as good as the 1939 original.
danny d

really good flick.
xGary X

Exremely flat and dreary retelling of the classic tale of derring-do full of pointless slo mo and unconvincing action, casted with pretty boy actors who have zero charisma or chemistry. Reasonably nice to look at, but ultimately dull.
Jens S

Thankfully not as pro-heroism and war as feared. Unfortunately the love story doesn't touch as much as it should, Kate Hudson just doesn't fit in somehow. But at least the cinematography is really pretty and the big battle is well done. And like so often, the great Djimon… More
Thankfully not as pro-heroism and war as feared. Unfortunately the love story doesn't touch as much as it should, Kate Hudson just doesn't fit in somehow. But at least the cinematography is really pretty and the big battle is well done. And like so often, the great Djimon Hounsou steals the show.
Rico Z

This movie was very much overlooked when it was released in 2002. The cast is excellent (even Kate Hudson is better than I expected for a rare appearance in a period piece), the cinematography is amazing and it does the original film justice. In the age of the Hollywood remake,… More
This movie was very much overlooked when it was released in 2002. The cast is excellent (even Kate Hudson is better than I expected for a rare appearance in a period piece), the cinematography is amazing and it does the original film justice. In the age of the Hollywood remake, it's rare when a new version can do an old version justice. Definitely a good view if you are in the mood for a period drama involving a love triangle.
Cameron J

Remarkable cenimatography, an excellent score and very good performances certainly made it above average. However, the slow pace, questionable editing and underwhelmingness kept it from being the truly spectacular epic it wants to be. But, then it got to that second act, where the… More
Remarkable cenimatography, an excellent score and very good performances certainly made it above average. However, the slow pace, questionable editing and underwhelmingness kept it from being the truly spectacular epic it wants to be. But, then it got to that second act, where the film makes a steady, but drastic advancement in compellingness until it fully realizes its potential perfectly at the point where it requires it the most. Ultimately, Shekhar Kapur's "The Four Feathers" is initially a fine but underwhelming epic, only eventually land its mark to an extent worth waiting for.
Dannielle A

It was boring and hard to understand at times. It was also difficult to sit through the violence.
Anthony V

The cast excels in this above par remake.
Nick G

I just remember this movie being incredibly boring and giving me a headache