← Back to Reviews
in
#156 -
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Archers, 1943)
This film has always been mind-boggling and it continues to be so today. It basically crystallizes what the Archers are about: not just being "British", but being alive and unable to confess to one's own sins. The other thing about this film is that the writing (mostly Pressburger) and the direction (mostly Maestro Powell) are so personal that it takes film to a whole new level. Yeah, past Citizen Kane, but of all the RKO Films released in 1941, I prefer The Devil and Daniel Webster to Citizen Kane, so there, and I've been to Hearst's Castle five times.
This film is mostly about love and war. Since they seem to go so "well" together it make sense. However, I'm talking about things which aren't purely visual or emotional. Michael Powell is just about the most-visionary director in film history. Some of you here probably implied it but didn't take it that far. I'm totally obsessed with his subjective shots of motorcycles and cars. He also just uses effects, angles and unique lighting to convey emotions which even van Gogh would find difficult. Major General Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey) is a very sincere British officer who has been honored from 1943 back to 1902 (and then back again since the storytelling is so damn great), but he still believes in some kind of military code involving "gentleman officers" even though it didn't occur in either World War. The thing is that "Sugar" Candy's fave male person in the world is one he met quite by accident. This friend is Teo, a German officer who "drew lots" and "won" the honor to fight Clive in a duel even if he's never seen him. It will become the key event in both men's lives since it involves Miss Hunter's presence.
Something, which you'll have to decide is important or irrelevant is that Clive is such a big-game hunter and that Edith's surname is Hunter. One of the awesome things about this flick is that the gorgeous, 22-year-old, red-headed Deborah Kerr is so important and so visionary (ahead of her time) in each of her three encarnations.
I don't mean for this to be a or even my final word about The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, but you can easily write a book about it and more than one has been written. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of Powell's "long takes" in the final film. The first one involves Clive fighting a young punk in the "bath". He went in as a 70-year-old and came out a 30-year-old, so that's planned. The other thing which HAS to be mentioned is that Anton Walbrook was/is one of the greatest actors to have ever lived. His scene prior to Britain entering WWII, where he has to explain why he didn't ditch Nazi Germany earlier (his wife and kids were being "absorbed/destroyed") turns into a scene which can almost only rival Quint's speech about the U.S.S. Indianapolis in Jaws.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Archers, 1943)
This film has always been mind-boggling and it continues to be so today. It basically crystallizes what the Archers are about: not just being "British", but being alive and unable to confess to one's own sins. The other thing about this film is that the writing (mostly Pressburger) and the direction (mostly Maestro Powell) are so personal that it takes film to a whole new level. Yeah, past Citizen Kane, but of all the RKO Films released in 1941, I prefer The Devil and Daniel Webster to Citizen Kane, so there, and I've been to Hearst's Castle five times.
This film is mostly about love and war. Since they seem to go so "well" together it make sense. However, I'm talking about things which aren't purely visual or emotional. Michael Powell is just about the most-visionary director in film history. Some of you here probably implied it but didn't take it that far. I'm totally obsessed with his subjective shots of motorcycles and cars. He also just uses effects, angles and unique lighting to convey emotions which even van Gogh would find difficult. Major General Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey) is a very sincere British officer who has been honored from 1943 back to 1902 (and then back again since the storytelling is so damn great), but he still believes in some kind of military code involving "gentleman officers" even though it didn't occur in either World War. The thing is that "Sugar" Candy's fave male person in the world is one he met quite by accident. This friend is Teo, a German officer who "drew lots" and "won" the honor to fight Clive in a duel even if he's never seen him. It will become the key event in both men's lives since it involves Miss Hunter's presence.
Something, which you'll have to decide is important or irrelevant is that Clive is such a big-game hunter and that Edith's surname is Hunter. One of the awesome things about this flick is that the gorgeous, 22-year-old, red-headed Deborah Kerr is so important and so visionary (ahead of her time) in each of her three encarnations.
I don't mean for this to be a or even my final word about The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, but you can easily write a book about it and more than one has been written. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of Powell's "long takes" in the final film. The first one involves Clive fighting a young punk in the "bath". He went in as a 70-year-old and came out a 30-year-old, so that's planned. The other thing which HAS to be mentioned is that Anton Walbrook was/is one of the greatest actors to have ever lived. His scene prior to Britain entering WWII, where he has to explain why he didn't ditch Nazi Germany earlier (his wife and kids were being "absorbed/destroyed") turns into a scene which can almost only rival Quint's speech about the U.S.S. Indianapolis in Jaws.