Source: Warner Bros.: DVD, 2017.
Year: 1936
Director: Michael Curtiz
Action Stars:
Genre: Adventure
Country: United States
Story Duration: 01:52:28
Act Duration:
1st Act: 00:30:05
2nd Act: 00:27:01
3rd Act: 00:27:17
4th Act: 00:28:02
Plot Turns:
1st: Perry tells Geoffrey his love for Elsa
2nd: Chukoti Garrison left exposed
3rd: Lancers vow revenge on Surat Khan
ASD Ratio: 46%
AAD Ratios:
1st Act: 21%
2nd Act: 57%
3rd Act: 65%
4th Act: 43%
Action Structure: 1423
Action Scenarios:
Capture
Escape
Fall
Fight
Rescue
Speed
Stampede (Speed Variant)
Transfer
Total Action Moments: 19
Notable Action Sequence: Charge of the Light Brigade
Duration: 00:11:21
Act: 4th
Action Scenarios:
Escape
Fall
Fight
Speed
Transfer
Description: The final act set piece of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) is at once celebrated for the scale of the recreation of the Battle of Balaclava and notorious for the claimed number of horses injured or killed during its production1. The sequence is unique beyond its reputation from an action scenario standpoint. The sequence is structured in terms of acceleration and a possesses a deadline structure that is interspersed with spectacular stunts.
From a character point of view, Major Geoffrey Vickers is motivated by a desire for revenge on Surat Khan for his orchestration of the Chukoti garrison massacre. As a result, the sequence is informed by a vengeance plot. Also structuring the sequence is the acceleration of the charge itself as the British Lancers commence their attack with a trot and gradually gain speed to a full gallop [Figure 1]. Surat Khan and Count Igor Volonoff, the leader of the Russian forces, observe the advance from their opposing position that is depicted in a series of shots that reveal the increasing proximity of the British forces, setting up a deadline as to when they will reach the Russian ramparts.
Once the Lancers are within range, Russians soldiers start firing volleys of canon fire at them, instigating a cause and effect editing pattern of shots of canons firing [Figure 2] followed by the impact of the explosions on the charging Lancers [Figure 3]. Along with this shot reverse shot pattern is the eventual charge of the Russian cavalry who commence their counter-attack, presented as an x-axis left to screen right vector. This movement is in opposition to the right to screen left vector of the speeding British Lancers. In such ways, the sequence appears to be cut using editing principles akin to Sergei Eisenstein’s concept of dialectical montage in which the juxtaposition of shots is expressive of conflict.
The sequence also provides an occasion to present spectacular stunts. In addition to the extensive use of tripwires to bring down horses and their riders, the sequence includes a variation on the transfer. Vickers is knocked down by canon volley and spots a riderless horse. He rushes to it while it is moving at speed and jumps on it [Figure 4]. Vickers continues on his vengeance mission and slows to grab an abandoned lance. After leaping over the Russian ramparts, Vickers spots Khan bringing the sequence to a close through a final one-to-one fight between protagonist and antagonist. Khan fires at Vickers with a pistol but despite being mortally wounded, Vickers lethally throws his lance at Khan, whose body if further impaled by passing British Lancers. Although the British forces lose the battle, the narrative twists the ending of the sequence to celebrate instead the death of Khan, metaphorically signalled by the final shot of a Union Jack waving in victory.
- Alan K. Rode. Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky. 2017. pp. 193-196. ↩︎