Search - An Ungentlemanly Act on DVD

About 24 hours depicted in the history of the 1992 Falkland

Rudolf Schmid | Kensington, CA | 09/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"?This is a very good, made-for-TV 1992 movie that apparently fairly accurately depicts the opening salvos of the Falkland-Islands war between Argentina and Great Britain. The events shown take place over an approximately 24-hour period on 1-2 April 1982. Surprisingly, only one person died on that first day, although subsequent hostilities claimed 255 British and some 645 Argentine lives. The always watchable Ian Richardson gives an excellent performance as the beleaguered governor. There is a fair amount of humor--some of it black humor, which testifies to the absurdity of war in general and this little war in particular.

Bonus materials include cast biographies, a detailed (26 frames!) timeline describing events from 2 Feb. to 12 Oct. 1982, and a brief fact file for the Falkland Islands. The DVD is only in standard (4:3) aspect ratio and, especially in the first third or half, focus is very soft and colors are off (on the reddish side). Nevertheless, the movie is quite viewable and has some good scenery shots and superb performances."

Great Film!!!!

Movie buff | Georgia, USA | 03/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""An Ungentlemanly Act" is a gem of a film. The movie recounts the events leading to the Argentine capture of the Falklands in early April 1982. Without background music or typically staged settings, the story allows the viewer to almost act as a witness to the actions of Governor Rex Hunt and the Royal Marine Garrison as they prepare for an invasion they cannot hope to halt by themselves.

If the portrayals are true, as the opening pre-credit text indicates, one cannot come away with anything but admiration for Governor Hunt and Major Mike Norman, the newly minted commander of the garrison, as they prepare the colony and its modest military contingent for the inevitable. Both the Governor and Major Norman act pragmatically, yet temper themselves and their compatriots with a great sense of national pride and patriotism as they steadfastly work to repel the invaders and up hold sovereignty until the absolute end. The films credits both men with the calm leadership that gives an example of people performing at their best when their circumstances are very dire.
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I'd give it 6 stars if I could.

Mr. A. M. O'donnell | Australia | 03/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I will begin by saying that I have not actually bought this DVD, I first saw this film when it was shown on the BBC for the tenth aniversary of the outbreak of the war. It has the taste of an Ealing comedy, laced with delicious black humour.

The previous reviewer seems to have completely missed the point with the regard to chauvanism or nationalism. This film is devoid of either. The news footage at the end of the fim serves to illustrate the cost in lives of this pointless war, a contest between two vastly unpopular governments, redeemed only by the courage of the men who fought in it.

I will admit, if you are american the first few minutes of this film wont make much sense. Mention of Scrap Metal merchants on South Georgia will have no meaning. Those of us who were living in the UK at the time will have no problem recalling the newspaper headlines and the TV coverage.

The film itself offers an accurate depiction of the comic-opera start to Britain's last great Imperial adventure. The Falkland Islanders were none to pleased by the way they were depicted in the movie and some of the British military personnel's low opinion of them was shown as well.

The acting was uniformly excellent, Ian Richardson and Bob Peck never do a bad turn. The script was terrific too, there are some great one-liners. For anyone thinking of buying this I would say go ahead and give yourself a treat."

25th Anniversary of the Falklands War

Roger Kennedy | 10/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great film to see on the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict. A very British film, a lot of the details may at first be unclear to American viewers. The film chronicles the hectic moments leading up to the illegal Argentine Invasion of the islands in April 1982.

Fans of Ian Richardson will love him in the role of Rex Hunt, the fussy British governor of the Island. The film is very much seen from his perspective. Both the absurdity and absolute confusion on the eve of the Argie invasion is conveyed very well. Hunt was given only very basic information from the British Foriegn Office concerning Argtentine actions. He is left on his own to piece things together while trying to stay within the rules of diplomatic formality. In the end he is left with little choice but to piece together a scratch defence with a weak company of Royal Marines.

The film shows how the British tried to stage a symbolic defence. Hunt opts to concentrate his meager forces around government house, thus sparing the inhabitants the ordeal of a house to house battle in Port Stanley. With the limited resources at hand, the Royal Marines none the less put up a stout little defence of the island. Contrast this with the US Marines at Teheran who surrendered without a fight in the Iran hostage crisis just a few years before.

The film really keeps the viewer in suspense as to what will actually happen. The invasion comes across as a confused, almost comical affair for both sides. The ensueing firefight at Government House is extremely well done. Both sides actually did fire a lot of rounds ineffectively at each other. Those viewers use to seeing bullets and bodies will be surprised here. I suspect this is how most firefights at night appear, and the film really does a superb job at conveying this.

This is one of the few films available in the US about this conflict. It won't give you the complete story of course, but it will stimulate your interest to find out more. Fans of Ian Richardson will love him in this role, and the film has all the absurd qualities of a classic British film. An Ungentlemanly Act deserves greater noteriety for sure, and what better way to mark the 25th Anniversary of this fascinatingly absurd little war. The DVD features some minor extras to round out the package."