Would this be for Brits only?
Are there subtitles?
Hey Robert……..I’d of said it was definitely universal in its appeal. Even more appealing now being able to look back at that period of war with the hindsight of what we no now. Marty Scorsese is a massive fan and offers a great commentary along with Michael Powell so i reckon anyone with an appreciation for great story telling on film would love it.
There is an “english” subtitled track included
Okay I’ll boot it up.
My ancestors marched with Boudicca in 61AD to burn the Roman garrison at St Albans Hertfordshire, where they left for the new world in 1635 – naturally I love anything British. Gotta have subtitles though ….
A new film is planned for release in 2010 entitled Boudicca, written by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, directed by Gavin O’Connor, and produced by Mel Gibson
awesome i’ll be sure to check that “Boudicca” flic out man cheers for the heads up!
A very great film. Churchill tried to have it banned because he believed it was going to be a movie version of the satirical cartoon character that inspired it. But it’s not a cartoon at all. Rather it’s a thorough investigation of the British National Character in wartime. The big patriotic speech is delivered not by an englisheman but a German emigre — played by the great Anton Walbrook.
All that and Deborah Kerr in three different roles.
Apparently Churchill continued to try to have it banned well after it was made, Hence it wasn’t released in the US until almost two years after its UK release, and then only with its running time reduced from its original 163 minutes to 90 minutes. Churchill had already made its production difficult by preventing the use of any military hardware during its making, and many continued to view the film as too sympathetic to the Germans because of the portrayal of Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff. It took until 1983, when the BFI restored and re-released it for it to be seen once again in its entirety.
Two other P & P movies had been slated by the authorities prior to TLADOCB, One of Our Aircraft is Missing and 49th Parallel; again, both had been seen as being too sympathetic to the Germans, particularly 49th Parallel, where a group of Germans , stranded in Canada after their U Boat is sunk travel through the country attempting to find an escape. One of the group is shown as rather a nice young man, unwillingly caught up in the Nazi movement and decides to stay with a group of German Hutterite farmers they come across, only to be shot by his captain.
Again, with the release of Battle of the River Plate in 1956, the portrayal of the captain of the German destroyer by Peter Finch was criticised for being too sympathetic, The reasoning for much of this criticism was that Pressburger was a foreign national – he just wasn’t British enough, and therefore not to be trusted. In hindesight this kind of criticism seems rather naive, but we forget how much was at stake during the Second World War and the paranoia that was endemic throughout the British psyche of the time, and how British jingoism prevailed for decades after the war. The British film industry was still making anti-German war movies well in to the 1970s.
@David
In many ways it is more than just a thorough investigation of the British National Character during wartime, it can also be seen as a satire of the British class system over the first half of the 20th century. The idea of everybody knowing their place, and playing by the rules is a central theme of the film. These ideas evolved directly from the British public school system, and the British Army’s structure was based on the idea of public schoolboys running the army as their personal fiefdom. The slaughter of the Great War had been seen as a result of the idiotic decisions made by the upper classes. The opening of the film shows us just how irrelevant the thinking of these public schoolboys had become, and it would be rational decision making by the rank and file that would help us win the war against the Nazis.
@Robert
Irony is always difficult to detect in these threads, but I assume you are joking about subtitles?
Was it Wilde who said: America and Britain, two countries separated by a common language
@Whittle
True but the film goes into things about the British well beyond class. it’s all about character (a word hijacked by the Rethuglicans who have none.)
@David
That’s very true, and it’s a kind of character that no longer exists in Blighty, much to the chagrin of middle England!
I recently watched The Titfield Thunderbolt which again is a study of the English character, and how the English would fight for what is right under difficult circumatances. One of the problems of many of these films is that what is considered British is very often really English, and a southern Englishness at that. P & Ps I Know Where I’m Going is a reflection of the other parts of the British Isles during the war. I’ve always seen it as a celebration of of the cultural diversity of the UK at the time, and a statement of how people from the far flung parts of the UK had been a part of the British war effort.
The P & P films just surprise you every time you sit down with one of them, with their humanity, wit and intelligence. Also, they weren’t afraid to ‘run long’ to get their point across, even though the films were for commercial release at a time when 2 hours was unusual.
“Blimp” is wonderful; it nails that unique British combination of tea-and-homeliness and matter-of-fact courage so well.
Its approach to a level playing field regarding the Germans was certainly ahead of its time. Small wonder it got in trouble. Anton Walbrook’s speech is one of the great moments in film history.
It’s a pity that so many of the TV generation will take one look at the title and the year and consign it to the bin as something their grandparents liked. One can only hope their eyes might be opened…..
@Robert
It has always intrigued me that the British have no trouble understanding the American spoken language (Ok except for The Wire) but Americans at times appear to struggle with the English spoken language! If you haven’t seen Blimp or any other P & P movies, I don’t think you will find it too difficult. Why not check out A Canterbury Tale while you’re at it. A movie that helped us all understand how much we really had in common during those dark days of the war….
Sam
An absolute gem……..grab a whiskey, put ya feet up in your film den (possibly surrounded by the spoils of your hunting endeavors) and enjoy this stunning piece of celluloid goodness!!!! Superbly crafted/structured with amazing performances across the board it just gets better and better with each viewing!!! Long live Colonel Blimp I salute you!!!