Monday 16 November 2009

Edward Woodward

Sad news that Edward Woodward has died, aged 79. I'd guess that, in the UK at least, all the talk will be of Callan, The Wicker Man and The Equaliser, but here he's pictured in what, for my money, was his finest moment, Breaker Morant.

It's a great film, with Woodward in the title role well supported by the likes of Bryan Brown, and it's more relevant now than it's ever been, I'd have thought. Woodward is superb throughout, although my favourite scene is the one where some of the guards are offering him and his co-defendants a chance to escape. One tells him that he could take a horse, ride to Portuguese East Africa. Morant asks what he'd do then. "Get on a ship. See the world," comes the reply.

"I've seen it," says Morant, and Woodward's delivery of the line wrings maximum value out of three small words.

4 comments:

Mike Bates said...

Wow that's such a shame that his family had to go through that I hope everything work's out for his family and may God Bless..

Andrew Shields said...

My favorite scene in BM is when he tells the priest offering last rites that he's a pagan, and then his friend asks him what a pagan is, and after BM explains it to him, he stands up proudly and says, "I'm a pagan, too," in his incomparable accent.

beauty salon london said...

A great British star has no more....RIP.

Matt Merritt said...

Yes, another great scene, Andrew. Brilliant film.