Ben Larson Wow, a 19-year-old Mia Farrow in her first credited role.But, eye-candy aside, the real stars are Richard Attenborough (Gandhi, Jurassic Park) as the Regimental Sergeant Major, and Flora Robson as MP Barker-Wise.Upheaval in Africa as a newly independent country decides to change leadership, provides a backdrop for conflict between the RSM and the mutinous Lieutenant (Errol John) who supports the new government.The stiff discipline of the British Army is on full display as the RSM tries to protect his charges.The acting by all was excellent, and the story was both dramatic and funny at times.

thinker1691 Africa is no stranger to revolutions. There, few countries can boost of a lasting stable government. This film called " Guns at Batasi " is based on the novel written by Robert Holles called 'The Siege at Battersea. ' Although the country in turmoil is never mentioned by name, it resembles the Country of Keneya. There, in a military compound call Batasi, an British Outpost is surrounded and taken hostage by Rebels, enclosing a group of British Sargents who must surrender to the New Government. It's up to their Royal Sargent major to maintain order and defend the hostages until proper authorities send written orders to them. Sir Richard Attenborough plays Regimental Sgt. Major Lauderdale who is in charge of discipline to one and all. His tour De force is one of the best performances ever given. Jack Hawkins plays Colonel Deal the last of the out-going British authorities. John Leyton and Mia Farrow give a brief Stein as besieged lovers during the takeover. All in all, the movie is a great testimony to British Military life in the fading days of the British Empire. A Good English military movie and one which is exemplary of Richard Attenborough's work. Easily recommend. ****

verbusen Let me preface that I am a huge militaria buff, history books, TV shows and especially movies, if they are British they are even better (even though I'm American, go figure). I also live and travel in parts that were once part of the British Empire and let me tell you, there remains a little of that colonial sense to these places concerning whites and the natives at least thats the way I feel about it. in the I bought this DVD from Amazon for about $10.00, not really knowing what to expect. Well I was expecting a tense escape from the heart of Africa of the last of the white Brits to be honest, kind of like a Wild Geese escape. Did it turn out that way, not at all. That's the best part of not reading IMDb before you see a movie, it won't spoil the movie for you! So what do I think this movie is? I think it's the last of the line in many ways. While probably not the absolute last one made, this is a pro military guys movie. While probably not the absolute last one made, it's also a black and white film from a large studio in the 60's. God, I'm listening to John Leyton's commentary on the DVD as I write and he just said (again) "I don't mean to remind you, this film was all shot on a stage", now that was really cool to hear it at 30 seconds into it (I kid you not that was his first point) but this is minute 45 and he has told us over ten separate times how this was all made on an indoor stage, hurrah already! That gets old really fast after the 5th time, lol. John Leyton also has glowing comments about everyone here EXCEPT, you guessed it, the black actors, unbelievably shallow and so obvious a mistake. OK now I probably sound like a liberal who bashes others, on the contrary I'm not. But even though the black actors will not go near the heights that Lord Attenborough will, he could have at least acknowledged Errol John who plays the mutinous officer and has a lot of face time, Leyton didn't once say his name or anything about him. Errol John would also play a mutinous African officer in an episode of Dangerman made around the same time, he plays an effective nemesis in my opinion. OK my pluses of the film, Attenborough's RSM in a verbal debate with the liberal MP (she fits the part too, doesn't she?), pretty much summing up England's future with the conservative pro empire voice ceding to the guilt trip liberal voice that trusts everyone except those defending their own countries interest's. Mia Farrow, for Mia Farrow fans , this was her first film role, she's very hot. In the commentary Leyton said a lot of their footage was cut out. Why was it cut? Well you have Attenborough in this great dramatic performance and in the context of a small group of whites in a revolutionary African nation where anything could happen. And than you have a light hearted Mia Farrow/Leyton young 20's fling and everyone else not really showing any tension that they really could be in a serious predicament, I'm glad they trimmed their bits down or this film would have been horrible. So, in summary, good time piece film. Its a guys feel good movie (white guys), not to be taken too seriously, with a great performance by Attenborough. In war movies from then on the action would get heavier, and there would be much more moral consequences to be introduced. Also, if your looking for a British black and white military drama made close to the same time, I recommend "The Hill". Guns Of Batasi 7/10

Piafredux I first saw 'Guns At Batasi' several times in its butchered for television version shown mostly on late-night TV, a pan-&-scan version which also deprived the film of its Cinemascope format. But I just saw the DVD which reproduces the original Cinemascope (and which includes an entertaining commentary track by John Leyton who plays Pte. Wilkes in the film) which let's us see 'Guns At Batasi' to its deserved advantage.It's a splendid character study of a British Army Regimental Sergeant Major set in an absorbing - and rather accurately prophetic - plot of a post-colonial African revolution.After Richard Attenborough, properly dominant as the thoroughly professional, no-nonsense Regimental Sergeant Major, the almost uniformly solid casting gives us nice turns by the four sergeants, Leyton as Pte. Wilkes, Flora Robson as the gullible MP keen to believe her ilk's pie-in-the-sky Marxisant p.c. propaganda, Errol John as the African rebel officer, and the always splendid Jack Hawkins as Lt. Col. Deal (an apt name considering the part his character fulfils in the story). Teenaged Mia Farrow has a small role (her first in cinema, I think) as a events-stranded UN secretary who shares a mutual lust interest with Leyton's Pte. Wilkes (Farrow's scenes were re-shoots owing to the originally-cast Britt Ekland's desertion from the filming to fly to her then-paramour Peter Sellers' side while he was working in the U.S.). The writing is very good and, as I said, prescient in view of the continuing undeserved credibility placed in chiefly venal Third World leaders by Western politicians, media, and p.c. types; Guillermin's direction is sure-handed; and production design and cinematography - some very good B&W work here aided by capable lighting - are a cut or two above workmanlike.Though shot entirely at England's Pinewood Studios on a rather low budget, the strong script and fine acting raise 'Guns At Batasi' to the level of a minor classic well worth appreciating.