ruby stevens
8Jul11
olivier was certainly awful but anton walbrook made up for it :)
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Ace Craven
11Dec11
"There is a new wind blowing from the east, a great storm coming across the sea, a hurricane which will sweep aside all the old outmoded ways of life..." There are some very mixed up messages in this one. The premise is amazing, the editing is sub-par. What surprises -and scares- me most is the relatively fair treatment of both points of view. In the beginning and end this is propaganda but in-between i'm not sure.
Brad S.
5Jul11
Powell and Pressburger were so ahead of the fighting Nazis curve, they opened up a whole new front to the war, Canada. I was skeptical of this conceit as the film started, but its bullheadedness won me over. It wasn’t satisfied with the physical results of battle and intrigue, but went after the ideology, and not subtly. P&P keep us off guard in two effective ways. First, due to the Canadian setting itself, being so unfamiliar to WWII iconography. Also, we are following the Nazi escapees. In essence, sharing their point of view while never sympathizing with them. This is quite a narrative accomplishment and more than makes up for Lawrence Olivier’s hilarious attempt at a French accent.
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Mysterious F.
24Aug11
Olivier wasn't necessarily awful, it's just that his performance was just SO WEIRD.
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ruby stevens
24Aug11
and what about leslie howard's bizarre character?? the film is just strange enough to be completely awesome :D
Hector Camero
4Aug10
Great storytelling. I find this film familiar with Grand Illusion in a sense that both portray mankind, fragility, even though there's an permanent intention on punishing the Nazi ideology. Anyways, I don't like elocuent stuff such as "In this country (Canada) freedom is respected, not in yours" kind of lines. Ironically, for instance, you start to emphatize with the germans being in a hurry, don't you?
Ehsan Khoshbakht
30Oct09
The most striking moment in this masterpiece was Nazis' meeting with the farmers. Only a master like Powell could show us that fascism is only a concept based on various issues like money, power and public mania. And how fragile is this outward order and discipline! how stupid and savage!
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Byron Brubaker
2Jun09
Suspenseful road movie. Interesting look at Canadian countrysides and villagers. Character study of marooned German U-boat soldiers trying to blend in till they can make their way to the safe US border (takes place before the US entered World War II).