Breaker Morant

"A powerful true story of bitter revenge..."

1980 1h 47m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 164

DramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants are on trial for shooting Boer prisoners. Though they acted under orders, they are being used as scapegoats by the General Staff, who hopes to distance themselves from the irregular practices of the war. The trial does not progress as smoothly as expected by the General Staff, as the defence puts up a strong fight in the courtroom.

“A powerful true story of bitter revenge...”

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Cast

Edward Woodward
Harry 'Breaker' Morant
Jack Thompson
Major J.F. Thomas
John Waters
Cpt. Alfred Taylor
Bryan Brown
Lt. Peter Handcock
Charles Tingwell
Lt. Col. Denny
Terence Donovan
Cpt. Simon Hunt
Vincent Ball
Col. Ian (Johnny) Hamilton
Ray Meagher
Sar. Maj. Drummond

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Bruce Beresford
Writers: Bruce Beresford, Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens
Languages: Afrikaans, English
Countries: Australia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

46 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Afrikaans, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Bruce Beresford, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by H.H. Morant. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Catherine Lamey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Edward Woodward and Jack Thompson and John Waters carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bruce Beresford directs. Donald McAlpine behind the camera. H.H. Morant scores. Catherine Lamey cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Australia. Dialogue in Afrikaans, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 8.2× over at the box office.
346 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Afrikaans, English.
5Directed by Bruce Beresford, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by H.H. Morant. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Catherine Lamey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Edward Woodward and Jack Thompson and John Waters carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A powerful true story of bitter revenge...".
10IMDB entry: tt0080310 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "war crimes", "writing", "mythology", "south africa".
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Donald McAlpine
Original score: H.H. Morant
Editing: Catherine Lamey
Production design: David Copping
Costume design: Anna Senior
Makeup / hair: Judy Lovell
Stunt coordinator: Heath Harris
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Box office: $8,200,000
Return: 820% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Breaker Morant (1980)

Awards

AACTA Award for Best Cinematography
AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
AACTA Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay
AACTA Award for Best Sound
AACTA Award for Best Editing
AACTA Award for Best Direction
AACTA Award for Best Costume Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Bruce Beresford

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-06-07
★ 7/10
Told by way of a court retrospective, this film depicts the brutalities of the Boer War between the British Colonial authorities and the immigrant Dutch farmers who just wanted to be left to govern themselves. Though largely suppressed by the overwhelming military force, the Boers did have success with guerrilla tactics that resulted in the pretty brutal skirmishes described here. A court martial has been constituted to investigate the activities of three Australian solders and to basically scapegoat them. Only the legal skills of the inexperienced lawyer "Maj. Thomas" (Jack Thompson) can hope to prevent the three from going to the gallows. What soon becomes clear is that the soldiers lead by "Morant" (Edward Woodward) were certainly no saints, and that the ghastliness of this war is writ pretty largely, but what it also identifies is the complicity of their otherwise "civilised" officers. It's got a solid cast, the dialogue is gritty and plausible, the cinematography presents us with the grand scale of the South African countryside and of the often rather subsistence existence of farmers and soldiers alike, and as the momentum builds, Australian director Bruce Beresford manages to sustain a fair degree of interest in the future of the accused and take quite a swipe at the colonial mentalities that prevailed at the time (and not just the British ones) too. Well worth a watch.
dfle32025-03-31
★ 10/10
An all time great war movie/court room drama "Breaker Morant" is one of those movies I had placed on a "Really should see this movie one of these days" list. Well, in some ways I'm sorry I waited so long to see this masterpiece and in other ways, the current world situation with "The war on terror" has made this movie even more relevant and topical. The plot of this movie is based on real events that occurred during the Boer War, in South Africa. Three Australian soldiers (well, during the course of this war, Australia had become a nation) are courts martial for the killing of some South African fighters and a South African priest. The colonials are fighting for Britain against the Boers, and concerned that Germany (or what would later become Germany) would enter the war on the side of the Boers, Britain seeks to contain things and perhaps prevent German involvement by trying the three Australian colonials. Here is a movie which made a list of the greatest war movies of all time (http://www.historynet.com/movies/11719756.html). In my opinion this movie should have topped the poll, or ranked even higher than the 91st position it got, out of 100. In fact, I think that this movie is also one of the all time great court room dramas as well (the movie has many court scenes and occasionally gives a magnificent insight into war and the conditions on the ground). Script-wise, this film is a towering achievement. So many insights into the bigger picture occurring through understated dialogue. Made before the current "War on terror", it perhaps unintentionally makes complex our response to that. In other words, this is not a film that panders to liberalism or conservatism. Times have changed, and this movie challenges us, in a way that it perhaps didn't foresee or intend, as a consequence of the event of September 11, 2001, in the USA. Superb performances all around from an All Star Australian cast. Poignant, funny, enlightening and intellectually stimulating. This is the movie that blows away the notion that I had that Australian movies are poorly scripted and acted. An all time great movie. Nominated for an Oscar. Should have won many. Perfect. [Posted on another site 4 July 2008 by their dating]