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Breaker Morant (1980)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaker_Morant_(film)

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 J.F. 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.

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. Other South Australian locations included Ayers House and Rostrevor College.

After the success of Breaker Morant, Bruce Beresford was offered dozens of Hollywood scripts including Tender Mercies, which he would later direct. The 1983 film earned him his only Academy Award nomination for Best Director.

IMDb – The Internet Movie Database

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080310/

Directed by
Bruce Beresford

Writing credits
Kenneth G. Ross (play “‘Breaker’ Morant”)
Jonathan Hardy (screenplay) and
David Stevens (screenplay) and
Bruce Beresford (screenplay)

Kit Denton additional material (from “The Breaker”)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete
Edward Woodward … Lt. Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant
Jack Thompson … Maj. J.F. Thomas
John Waters … Capt. Alfred Taylor
Bryan Brown … Lt. Peter Handcock
Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell … Lt. Col. Denny (as Charles Tingwell)
Terence Donovan … Capt. Simon Hunt
Vincent Ball … Col. Ian ‘Johnny’ Hamilton
Ray Meagher … Sgt. Maj. Drummond
Chris Haywood … Cpl. Sharp
Russell Kiefel … Christiaan Botha
Lewis Fitz-Gerald … Lt. George Ramsdale Witton
Rod Mullinar … Maj. Charles Bolton
Alan Cassell … Lord Horatio Kitchener
Rob Steele … Capt. Robertson
Chris Smith … Sgt. Cameron
Bruno Knez … Rev. H.V.C. Hess
John Pfitzner … Boer leader
Frank Wilson … Dr. Johnson
Michael Procanin … Visser
Ray Ball … Court reporter
Wayne Bell … Lt. Reed
Halifa Cisse … Black guide
Norman Currer … Boer singer (as Norm Currer)
Bridget Cornish … Hunt’s sister
Judy Dick … Mrs. Shiels
Barbara West … Mrs. Vanderberg
Ria Erskine … Boer girl
Ian Gray … B / M Thomas
Sylvia Horseman … Boer pianist
Dick Henderson … Capt. Nicholson
Alan Lovett … Scots sentry
Trevor Mann … B / M Little
Jon Nicholls … Lt. Baxter
Peter Osborn … Minister
Ron Peterson … Feist
Don Quin … Witton’s father
Maria Reed … Boer girl
Ron Rodger … English orderly
Nellie Seidel … Boer girl
Laurie Walton … Judge Advocate
Hank Bernard … Large Boer
Elspeth Radford … Handcock’s wife

Breaker Morant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaker_Morant

Harry ‘Breaker’ Harbord Morant (9 December 1864 27 February 1902) was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, poet, and soldier whose renowned skill with horses earned him the nickname “The Breaker.” Articulate, intelligent, and well-educated, he was also a published poet and became one of the better-known “back-block bards” of the 1890s, with the bulk of his work appearing in The Bulletin magazine.

During service in the Second Boer War, Morant was responsible for the summary execution of several Boer (Afrikaner) prisoners and a German missionary, Daniel Heese, who had been a witness to the shootings. His actions led to his controversial court-martial for murder; his death warrant was personally signed by the British commander in South Africa, Lord Kitchener, although Lord Kitchener subsequently denied the issuance of it. Morant was executed for murder by a contingent of Cameron Highlanders (a regiment of the British Army) in Pretoria gaol (South Africa) on 27 February 1902.

In the century since his death, Morant has become a folk hero in Australia. His story has been the subject of several books and a major Australian feature film. Even during his lifetime, there was a great deal of conflicting information about this romantic but elusive figure, much of what we ‘think’ we know about him relies on what he, himself, told people – thus many of the stories about him are undoubtedly apocryphal. …(ARTICLE CONTINUES)

Court martial of Breaker Morant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaker_Morant_-_court_martial

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