Cirrus@Austlit

Set during World War I, The Lighthorsemen recreates the incidents that led up to the battle for the Middle Eastern city of Beersheba in 1917. The British campaign was stalemated in Palestine when a mere eight hundred cavalrymen rode against thousands of Germans and Turks and captured the desert town, thereby changing the course of history. The story focuses on the heroic deeds of a four-man section of the Australian Lighthorse Regiment and climaxes with the last great wartime cavalry charge. Largely reviled at the time, Wincer's film demonstrates his mastery in shooting equine stories.