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From Amazon.co.uk
Set in Victorian England, Robert Hamer's 1949 masterpiece Kind Hearts and Coronets remains the most gracefully mordant of Ealing Comedies. Dennis Price plays Louis D'Ascoyne, the would-be Duke of Chalfont whose Mother was spurned by her noble family for marrying an Italian singer for love. Louis resolves to murder the several of his relatives ahead of him in line for the Dukedom, all of whom are played by Alec Guinness, in order to avenge his Mother--for, as Louis observes, " revenge is a dish which people of taste prefer to eat cold". He gets away with it, only to be arraigned for the one murder of which he is innocent. Guinness' virtuoso performances have been justly celebrated, ranging as they do from a youthful D'Ascoyne concealing his enthusiasm for public houses from his priggish wife ("she has views on such places") to a brace of doomed uncles and one aunt, ranging from the doddery to the peppery. Miles Malleson is a splendid doggerel-spouting hangman, while Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood take advantage of unusually strong female roles. But the great joy of Kind Hearts and Coronets is the way in which its appallingly black subject matter (considered beyond the pale by many critics at the time) is conveyed in such elegantly ironic turns of phrase by Dennis Price's narrator/anti-hero. Serial murder has never been conducted with such exquisite manners and discreet charm. --David Stubbs
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is one of my favourite films and and after a long wait for the DVD release, finally it came out and of course I snapped one up on the day it came out.
Imagine my disappointment when I played it and all the written material in the film (credits, letters, a warning sign) was in French! I purchased the disk from a UK store so am mystified about this.
Needless to say I returned the disk and now await a proper re-release appropriate to the UK market. Five stars to the film itself, but zero stars for the UK DVD release.
61 of 62 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
"Kind Hearts and Coronets" is probably the best of the
Ealing comedies. The acting, the characters, the storyline and
especially the wonderful black humour blend together perfectly. What's
more, the print used by Warner Home Video for this DVD release is
absolutely immaculate...unfortunately it's also in French!!! Whilst
the DVD contains an English soundtrack, the opening credits and even
parts of the film appear on screen in French (such as a letter written
by Louis D'Ascoyne). I thought at first that they'd put the wrong disc
inside the case, however the small print on the back confirms it is
indeed the French version. With the possibility of further Ealing
comedies being released on DVD in the future, I made my feelings =
known to Warner by returning this DVD for a refund. Five stars for the
film, none for this poor DVD.
Ealing comedies. The acting, the characters, the storyline and
especially the wonderful black humour blend together perfectly. What's
more, the print used by Warner Home Video for this DVD release is
absolutely immaculate...unfortunately it's also in French!!! Whilst
the DVD contains an English soundtrack, the opening credits and even
parts of the film appear on screen in French (such as a letter written
by Louis D'Ascoyne). I thought at first that they'd put the wrong disc
inside the case, however the small print on the back confirms it is
indeed the French version. With the possibility of further Ealing
comedies being released on DVD in the future, I made my feelings =
known to Warner by returning this DVD for a refund. Five stars for the
film, none for this poor DVD.
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
This is one of the classic Ealing comedies which lingers long in the memory and leaves a very happy aftertaste. It is unique because of Alec Guinness's tour de force in personifying all the D'Ascoignes, but it has many other virtues too - the suave and solid work of Dennis Price and of Valerie Hobson, beautiful and remote with just a hint of earthy lustfulness, and Joan Greenwood, much more worldly and playful and every bit as characterful. The screenplay is full of intelligence - I have always enjoyed the superannuated parson's description of the west window of his church as having 'all of the exuberance of Chaucer without, happily, any of the concomitant crudities of his period' - and the plot is neat and clever, with the irony of Price's downfall resulting from the one death he was not responsible for and then, when all seems well after all, the strong hint that it may not be. I've seen the film a number of times and it always gives delight. It is one film which fully justifies the epithet 'well-liked', and that is just what it deserves to be.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
present for a friend
This was a birthday present, and very well received . . . . . . . . . . .
Published 22 days ago by kml
2.0 out of 5 stars
Kind Hearts and Coronets DVD
A good film, with wonderful performances by Alec Guinness in so many different roles, but unfortunately the sound quality on the DVD was very poor and detracted from my enjoyment... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ian Binnie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kind Hearts
We enjoyed the restored version of Kind Hearts. Excellent repro - excellent acting - excellent film. Good to watch quality
Published 3 months ago by Netta Brodrick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Another classic film which stars Alec Guiness playing seven different characters as only a top class actor could. A must see film.
Published 4 months ago by Maureen B
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best British film comedy of all time
Quite simply the very best and most sublime of all the fabulous Ealing comedies with peerless performances from Dennis Price, Alec Guiness and the deliciously voiced Joan... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Fergus Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly the Best Ealing, if not the Best (sophisticated) British...
Possibly never has there been such a subtle but savage satire on the Upper Classes as in this delicious classic Ealing, the highlight must still be Alec Guinness doing what Peter... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Tim Kidner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark, Innovative and Sophisticated
Robert Hamer's 1949 film was one of the early Ealing comedies and it is undoubtedly one of the darkest made by the studio, providing a sharply satirical take on the machinations of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Keith M
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kindness is Magic
Kind Hearts has to be the most charming film ever made, the script tickles the soul. Simply the best of british.
Published 8 months ago by RCC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kind Hearts and Coronets - DVD
An excellent classic. My brother is replacing all classic videos and this is one he definitely wanted to have. Very funny and for all the family.
Published 9 months ago by Ealing112
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Gem
I remember watching this as a child and enjoyed it then. Even now it does not disappoint, from a era where the film is not so in your face as the present ones are. A true classic
Published 19 months ago by Bookaholic
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