King & Country

Director: Joseph Losey Joseph Losey

Overview

"This powerful anti-war drama from director Joseph Losey -- which features superb performances from Dirk Bogarde and Tom Courtenay -- had been given a simple presentation for its release on North American DVD. King and Country has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and the audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono. The dialogue is in English, with no multiple-language options included with this edition. As a bonus, this disc features text biographies of the key cast members."

Product Details

Release Date:	08/29/2000
UPC:	0089859824920
Original Release:	1964
Source:	MUSIC VIDEO DIST.***
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:26:00
Sales rank:	44,264

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dirk Bogarde	Capt. Hargreaves
Tom Courtenay	Pvt. Arthur Hamp
Leo McKern	Capt. O'Sullivan
Barry Foster	Lt. Webb
James Villiers	Capt. Midgley
Peter Copley	Colonel
Barry Justice	Lt. Prescott
Vivian Matalon	Padre
Jeremy Spenser	Pvt. Sparrow
James Hunter	Pvt. Sykes
David Cook	Pvt. Wilson
Larry Taylor	Sergeant-Major
Jonah Seymour	Cpl. Hamilton, MP
Keith Buckley	Corporal of the Guard
Richard Arthure	Guard `Charlie'
Derek Partridge	Captain at Court-Martial
Brian Tipping	Lieutenant at Court-Martial
Terry Palmer	Soldiers in Hamp's Platoon
Larry Adler	Composer

Technical Credits

Evan Jones

Joseph Losey	Director,Producer
Norman Priggen	Producer
Daniel M. Angel	Executive Producer
Evan Jones	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

King and Country is a distinctive anti-war effort that won't be to all tastes but one which those in tune with director Joseph Losey's take on the material will find both fascinating and utterly involving. Those not on the director's wavelength -- or those who don't necessarily appreciate its anti-war message or its denunciation of class favoritism -- will have a different reaction and will most likely find King slow going and predictable. Indeed, it's the kind of story that has been told many times; but Losey and his writers believe there is still a great deal of truth in some familiar tales. What's interesting about Losey's technique is that he makes the piece somewhat Brechtian, raising some walls that make the audience aware that what it is watching is a distillation of real life rather than the real thing, an approach that works well with a court martial-themed piece, in that such trials are themselves distillations of real life that take place in a faux-theatrical setting, with the purported (though not always actual) aim of arriving at the truth. The artifice that Losey employs doesn't negate the drama, but somehow heightens it. He is helped by the adept performances of his cast. Dirk Bogarde turns in an expert performance that takes advantage of all opportunities to plumb the contradictions of his character. Leo McKern is magnificent as an immovable object battling an irresistible force. And above all, Tom Courtenay is pure gold as the Everyman who is a pawn in a game that he in no way understands.