# British Empire War Movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2011, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833 "2011-11-04T10:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Chicago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Dr\_Chicago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Chicago)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/1 "2011-11-04T10:10:48Z")
A significant part of a thesis I just wrote was on colonialism. Which is bad. However, I’ve gotten really interested in movies about the British Empire essentially policing the world, especially Africa. Which are usually good. The only ones I’ve seen are Zulu!, Khartoum, Four Feathers (the newer) and Lawrence of Arabia (one of my favorite movies of all time). From a previous thread, I heard of Breaker Morant. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? Are there any more in this vein? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/2 "2011-11-04T10:30:34Z")
I’ve never seen the [1953 film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heart_of_the_Matter_(film)) but [The Heart of the Matter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heart_of_the_Matter) by Graham Greene is a good book about colonial policing in Sierra Leone. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/3 "2011-11-04T10:44:09Z")
Charge of the Light Brigade was one of Dad’s favorite movies; he wasn’t much into realism, but epic, dashing going-ons oh yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/4 "2011-11-04T11:05:22Z")
[Kim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_%28film%29) [Carry On Up The Khyber](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On..._Up_the_Khyber) ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/5 "2011-11-04T11:20:59Z")
Not quite an Empire war movie, more of a high adventure movie with a backdrop of British imperialism (among other things), but I was always really fond of _The Man Who Would Be King_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/6 "2011-11-04T12:51:50Z")
[Zulu Dawn](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080180/), a prequel to **Zulu** , about the events just before Roarke’s Drift. **[Young Winston](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069528/)** ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/7 "2011-11-04T13:00:03Z")
There’s the obvious one adapted from a Kipling poem- [“Gunga Din”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031398/) ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/8 "2011-11-04T13:09:47Z")
OK, so it’s the _French_ Empire in North Africa, but the main characters in [Beau Geste](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031088/) are very English gentlemen who have joined the French Foreign Legion. There are several versions but the 1939 one is probably the best. ---
**Author:** ![Zweedo\_Rodriguez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b487fb/32.png) [@Zweedo\_Rodriguez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zweedo_Rodriguez)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/9 "2011-11-04T13:34:25Z")
[North West Frontier](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053126/). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/10 "2011-11-04T13:35:34Z")
[The Man Who Would Be King](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073341/) is tangentially related (and an excellent movie). ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/11 "2011-11-04T13:46:05Z")
I share your interest in the genre (or sub-genre, or whatever)…maybe I just have a thing for pith helmets. You got all the ones that immediately came to mind. Stretching the definition a bit, you could add: Mountains of the Moon (1990) about Burton & Speke and the search for the source of the Nile 55 Days at Peking (1963); the Boxer Rebellion Stanley and Livingston (1939) ---
**Author:** ![Zweedo\_Rodriguez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b487fb/32.png) [@Zweedo\_Rodriguez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zweedo_Rodriguez)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/12 "2011-11-04T13:46:17Z")
[Guns at Batasi](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058166/) ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/13 "2011-11-04T13:50:45Z")
For The End of Empire, look up the miniseries [Jewel In The Crown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jewel_in_the_Crown_(TV_series)). Or read the books. - Kim\* was mentioned, but I don’t know if any of the filmed versions are as fine as the book. Really reading Kipling shows he was more than a simplistic fan of Empire. Yes, he thought it a worthwhile enterprise; but he knew things were far from simple. (As did Kim. And The Man Who Would Be King.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/14 "2011-11-04T13:51:48Z")
Everybody has already listed all the movies I recommend for my AP kids. If you really want to stretch the OP’s request, there is [Nate and Hayes](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085994/). OK, it’s German imperialism, and it really isn’t that good a movie, but Tommy Lee Jones chews some scenery and there are explosions. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Chicago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Dr\_Chicago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Chicago)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/15 "2011-11-04T14:11:52Z")
Awesome! Thanks guys, I’ll check them out. Sounds like I’ll be busy for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/16 "2011-11-04T14:22:17Z")
[Last of the Mohicans](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104691/), of course. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/17 "2011-11-04T14:23:13Z")
_Master and Commander_ is set somewhat earlier and in a different part of the world, but it fits the general theme. ---
**Author:** ![Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/das_glasperlenspiel/32/2944_2.png) [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Das_Glasperlenspiel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/18 "2011-11-04T14:23:32Z")
A couple of John Masters books were made into films: “The Deceivers” and “Bhowani Junction”. (Sorry - can’t figure out hyperlink). I can also recall “The Bengal Lancers”, which had Cary Grant as the hero. Stretching the “Empire” connection - “Gallipoli” is excellent. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/19 "2011-11-04T14:45:30Z")
For a slightly … different … take, there’s the one sketch in _Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life_ And here’s a link for [The Deceivers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deceivers_%28film%29) - the Pierce Brosnan film. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833/20 "2011-11-04T14:58:33Z")
the four feathers. > **[The Four Feathers (1939) - Plot - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031334/plotsummary/)** > > The Four Feathers (1939) - Plot summary, synopsis, and more... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-empire-war-movies/601833.md?page=2)