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Kidnapped [1971]


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Good film on the whole...
Review date: 2008-10-13 Rating: 6 out of 10

This is an adaptation of two novels written by Robert Louis Stevenson in the nineteenth century. It has much to be said for it; such as excellent scenery and music and the acting, on the whole, is good, too. Yet there are a few problems.

The battle of Culloden is depicted in flashbacks and in its aftermath, but there are several blunders in so short a space of time. Firstly, heavy siege guns are shown on the field of battle; none were there as the guns employed at the battle were small calibre three pounders (a lot smaller than the large cannon). Secondly we are shown Jacobites charging uphill - the field was flat. Thirdly we are shown redcoats shooting from behind a low wall - none did so. It was the Campbell militia who did this. Finally the images of repression post Culloden are also dodgy - there is no contemporary reference to men being put agaisnt a wall and shot, and though some property was burnt and clansmen killed, many more were reprieved. This we are given a pro-Jacobite, one sided view of events. Cumberland's post Culloden statement is ok, but use of terms such as 'Bonnie Prince' are anachronistic.

We are also given the impression that this was either a Scots vs English struggle, or an English/Lowland Scots war vs the Highlanders. Yet there were Lowlanders, Highlanders and English on both sides. Not to mention the Irish, French, Dutch and Hessians!Breck appears as a proto-nationalist.

The scenes in Edinburgh's streets fail to show any of the dirt that was prevalent in all cities at the time and Barbara Grant's costume is late eighteenth century, not 1740s (apart from this the costumes are fine).

Expect not a few deviations from the novel; this story is set in 1746, not 1751, the Red Fox's killer is identified and later gives himself up; not wholly convincingly.

On the whole this is not a bad film, but it should be seen primarily as a story, not history. The problem is, is that most people who see it will come away with the impression that it is indeed what happened, rather than, at best, one version of events, though of course most films with historic dimensions are guilty of this. Very frustrating for the historian!

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Reviews


Great film
Review date: 2007-10-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

At last I have this film on DVD.
Kidnapped from 1971 is one of the greatest adventure stories every filmed.
Michael Cain is superb as Alan Breck.
Great locations.
Good to great acting.
A film not to be missed.


A hugely underrated elegiac adventure
Review date: 2007-04-29 Rating: 10 out of 10

Delbert Mann's hugely underrated 1971 version of Kidnapped takes a more fatalistic approach to the story than might be expected. Rather than opt for easy swashbuckling, Alan Breck is here a man in constant denial as he travels through a defeated landscape rife with disillusion in the wake of the Battle of Culloden, while David Balfour is trying to make sense of a world where those who are supposed to be on his side are far less honourable than those supposed to be his enemies.

Blessed with a superb script by Jack Pullman (with some elegantly witty dialogue), a beautiful score by Roy Budd and a wonderful use of location that really comes alive in widescreen, it also works as a pretty good adventure movie, and if Michael Caine is phenomenally miscast as the Jacobite rebel he makes a surprisingly good job of it, as do most of the impressive supporting cast. Only Freddie Jones in a typical display of stilted ham lets the side down. The film was a famously troubled production, with many of the cast and crew reportedly unpaid, but thankfully shows few signs of it on the screen.

Network's new impressive 2.35:1 widescreen release keeps the trailer and original featurette from the previous Carlton release and also adds a trio of unrelated Michael Caine interviews (two with Russell Harty and one with Gloria Hunniford) as well. Recommended - but be warned that the DVD menu is absurdly awkward to navigate.

A great historical epic, very well reconstructed
Review date: 2007-04-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

I spent two weeks last summer in Scotland, and went to all the places that figure prominently in this film: Culloden Moor, Edinburgh Castle, Ediburgh Old Town, saw the picturesque wild landscapes, and learnt about the story of the Jacobite rising of 1745 and of its defeat that is the setting for the film. Everything in the reconstruction is right, including the accents of the actors, the clothes, uniforms, weapons, as well as the atmosphere of the times, and these were sad and brutal times for Scotland.
The story, set in this background, is one of a young man, David Balfour, who comes to claim his inheritance from his uncle after his father's death. The uncle first tries to kill him and then sells him to the captain of a ship bound for America, the Carolinas more precisely, to be sold there as an indentured servant. Through a chance meeting with Alan Berk Stewart, a Jacobite gentleman fleeing from the defeat at Culloden, he manages to escape and land ashore. He then follows Berk as he tries to join other Jacobites who might help him to leave for France.
Our young hero, a very idealistic Scottish lowlander who fate decides should be friend of Jacobite rebels, finally manages to reclaim his inheritance and also to find love. All the while being caught in the middle of this Civil War. It is fought between the English red-coated army supported by Scottish lowlanders and the Highland clansmen. They support two different branches of the royal family claiming the combined thrones of England and Scotland, i.e. on the one hand the "legitimate" but absolutist Stewart heirs, of Scottish origin, or Jacobites ( after James II, expelled from the throne in 1688), against the Hanoverian or German princes chosen and backed by the English parliament.


shouldn't be this good
Review date: 2005-07-04 Rating: 8 out of 10

I approached this with some trepidation - Michael Caine as a jacobite sebel took a bit of believing! However he pulls it off even if the accent is a bit dodgy at times. I haven't read the novel (but will soon) however this has the feel of a fairly honest interpretation. In many ways this story is the precursor to a host of buddy movies - a mismatched pair making their way dodgy those out to get them while learning more about it other. What's interesting is the picture of Scotland post Culloden and the dawning realisation that times have changed and the clans will rise no more. Entertaining involving and thought provoking if a little dated - couldn't ask much more

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Lawrence Douglas
Jack Hawkins
Trevor Howard
Michael Caine
Vivien Heilbron

Creators:
Michael Caine (Primary Contributor)
Trevor Howard (Primary Contributor)
Paul Beeson (Cinematographer)
Peter Boita (Editor)
Frederick H. Brogger (Producer)
Hugh Attwooll (Producer)
James Franciscus (Producer)
Jack Pulman (Writer)
Robert Louis Stevenson (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Network
Manufacturer: Network
EAN: 5027626258849
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-01-15
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 102 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1974-12-27
Language: English (Original Language)

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