The Lighthorsemen (film)

The Lighthorsemen
DVD box art
Directed by	Simon Wincer
Produced by	Jan Bladier Antony Ginnane Ian Jones David Lee Simon Wincer
Written by	Ian Jones
Starring	Peter Phelps Sigrid Thornton Tony Bonner Gary Sweet John Walton Tim McKenzie Anthony Andrews Bill Kerr Jon Blake
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Editing by	Adrian Carr
Distributed by	Hoyts Columbia TriStar
Release date(s)	1987
Running time	124/131 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English

The Lighthorsemen is a 1987 Australian feature film about the men of a World War I light horse unit involved in the 1917 Battle of Beersheeba. The film is based on a true story and most of the characters in the film were based on real people.

It follows in the wake of other Australian New Wave war films such as Breaker Morant (1980), Gallipoli (1981), and the 5-part TV series Anzacs (1985). Recurring themes of these films include the Australian identity, such as mateship and larrikinism, the loss of innocence in war, and also the continued coming of age of the Australian nation and its soldiers (the ANZAC spirit).

Plot

The film follows Four Australians, Frank (Gary Sweet), Scotty (Jon Blake) an Irish-Australian, Chiller (Tim McKenzie) and Tas (John Walton) in Palestine in 1917, part of the 4th Light Horse Brigade of the British and Commonwealth Dominion forces. When Frank is wounded and dies of his wounds, he is replaced by Dave (Peter Phelps). Dave finds himself unable to fire his weapon in combat and is transferred to the Medical Corps, where he will not need to carry a weapon, but where he will still be exposed to the fighting.

The British plan the capture of Beersheba. During an attack by Turkish cavalry, Major Richard Meinertzhagen (Anthony Andrews) deliberately leaves behind documents indicating that the attack on Beersheba will only be a diversion.

The Australians leave for Beersheba, with limited water and supplies. They bombard the town and the 4,000 Turkish-German defenders prepare for an assault. However, the German military advisor believes it is a diversionary attack and advises the Turkish commander he does not need reinforcements.

With time running out and water in short supply, the British command suspect any attack upon Beersheba will probably fail. However, the Australian commanders ask the British to send in the Australian Light Horse—the British consent to what they think is a suicide mission. The 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments are ordered to attack. Dave and the rest of the medical detachment prepare for casualties and are ordered in behind the Light Horse.

The Turks report the Australian mounted soldiers lining up to charge, however the officer in charge orders the Turks not to open fire until they dismount. The Australians begin advancing on the Turkish positions, gradually speeding up to a charge. The Turks realise too late that the soldiers are not dismounting and open fire. Artillery fire is sporadic and of limited effect and the attack so fast the Turkish infantry forget to adjust the sights on their rifles as the Light Horse get closer, eventually firing straight over the Australians' heads.

During the charge, Tas is killed by an artillery shell. The remaining Australians make it "under the guns" (advancing faster than the artillery can correct its aim for the reduced range) and reach the Turkish trenches.

The Australians capture the first Turkish defences. Scotty and a few others take control of the guns. Chiller is wounded in the trench fight. Dave is struck by a grenade and is seriously wounded while protecting Chiller. Scotty continues to fight on into the town. When most of the remaining Turks surrender, a German officer tries to destroy the wells, but is captured by Scotty.

Overall, the attack was a success and the Australians miraculously suffered only 31 dead and 36 wounded.

Production

Despite being set in Palestine and Egypt, the film was shot entirely on location in Victoria and Hawker, South Australia.

After the final day of filming had wrapped on 1 December 1986, actor Jon Blake was injured in a car accident near Nectar Brook, South Australia. He suffered permanent paralysis and brain damage.

The musical score was composed by Mario Millo. The original soundtrack recording was produced for compact disc release courtesy of Antony I Ginnane by Philip Powers and Mario Millo for Australian distribution in Australia by 1M1 Records and as a coupling with Shame on LP in America.

Historical inaccuracies

The flag on General Kressenstein's car is in the film red-white-black. In reality the flag of the German Empire was black-white-red (black-white stands for Prussia, white-red for the Hansa).

Reception

The film received mixed views by critics, many claimed the film lacked a clear message about war, where "The result is a sort of pacifist-aggressive war adventure". Other critics have cited average acting (e.g. "None of the performances are really bad, but none are very good") or undynamic script (e.g. "Mostly it's equine cinematography, a four-legged coffeetable movie about the Australian cavalry.").

The Lighthorsemen is included in the Australian Film Commission's Top Australian films at the Australian box office list at number 83. The film grossed A$1,617,288 in Australia after its release in 1987. It was also released in Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States in 1988.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 80% critic rating, based on five reviews.

The film won an AFI award in 1988 for Best Original Music Score and another for Best Achievement in Sound. It was also nominated for Best Achievement in Cinematography.

Box Office

The Lighthorsemen grossed $1,617,288 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $8,250,749 in 2009 dollars.

See also

• Cinema of Australia

External links

• The Lighthorsemen at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lighthorsemen at the National Film and Sound Archive