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From Amazon.co.uk
Powell and Pressburger's first Technicolor masterpiece, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) transcends its narrow wartime propaganda remit to portray in warm-hearted detail the life and loves of one extraordinary man. The film's clever narrative structure first presents us with the imposingly rotund General Clive Wynne-Candy of the Home Guard (Roger Livesey in his greatest screen performance), a blustering old buffer with spreading handlebar moustache and stomach to match. Confronted by a youthful regular army Captain he seems the epitome of stuffy, outmoded values. But travelling backwards 40 years we see a different man altogether: the young and dashing officer "Sugar" Candy, just returned from earning a Victoria Cross in the Boer War. Through a series of affecting relationships with three women (all played to perfection by Deborah Kerr) and his touching lifelong friendship with a German officer (Anton Wallbrook), we see Candy's life unfold, and come to understand how difficult it is for him to adapt his sense of military honour to modern notions of "total war".
If Livesey's engaging Clive Candy is the film's heart, Anton Wallbrook's Theo is its conscience; his exile speech delivered to an uncomprehending immigration officer is a heartfelt tour de force made all the more poignant by the Austrian actor's own circumstances, as well as those of Hungarian scriptwriter Emeric Pressburger. Powell's technically masterful and innovative direction illuminates every scene, from the surprising camera move in the duel sequence to the hunting montage of stuffed animal heads on a wall. Notoriously, this is the film that Churchill tried to have banned, and indeed its sympathetic portrayal of a German officer was contentious in 1943, though one suspects that Churchill's own blimpishness was a factor too.
On the DVD: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp looks in excellent condition on this special edition DVD. The mono sound is crisp and the picture largely free of grain, allowing the subtle lighting and muted colours to be seen as intended. The main extra is a 25-minute documentary feature which tells us nothing revelatory about making the film, but has good new interviews with cinematographer Jack Cardiff (then an apprentice) and eloquent admirer Stephen Fry. Text biographies and stills are also included.--Mark Walker
Product Description
This very special collection includes a DVD and Blu-ray, plus four art cards.
• A Profile of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp--This exclusive 25-minute documentary includes interviews with cinematographer Jack Cardiff, Powell and Pressburger biographer Ian Christie and fan of the film Stephen Fry.
• Martin Scorsese restoration piece
• Stills gallery
• Biographies
• Four exclusive art cards
From the celebrated team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger comes this artistic masterpiece. Roger Livesey brilliantly portrays a British officer, Clive Candy, through the trials and tribulations of three wars, three loves and a lifelong friendship across enemy lines.
During the Boer War, Candy is sent to Berlin to trap a German spy. There he befriends Theo, a German Officer, who marries the girl Candy is in love with. During the First World War, Candy marries a girl who resembles his lost love and helps Theo--now a POW--to get repatriated.
Candy comes back in the Second World War as a Brigadier General and once again encounters Theo. On joining a Home Guard exercise, Candy is captured and the two are forced to either aid or betray each other.
Starring Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook.
Special Features:
• A Profile of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp--This exclusive 25-minute documentary includes interviews with cinematographer Jack Cardiff, Powell and Pressburger biographer Ian Christie and fan of the film Stephen Fry.
• Martin Scorsese restoration piece
• Stills gallery
• Biographies
• Four exclusive art cards
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By Sally-Anne
Format:DVD
The film starts with a silly old soldier being affronted by the rude disdain of a young officer who is using his initiative - and cheating in order to win. The old fellow is made to look ridiculous. The message thrown in his face is that "fair play never won a war". Then the scene travels back 40 years to see the pathetic old fool when he was young and his ideals were the norm, at a time when fair ends didn't justify foul means. He's just returned from the Boer war with a Victoria Cross, but he's still young and impetuous. We accompany him through his own brash youth, when he annoys his grumpy elders, upsets the diplomatic apple cart for his government and has to fight a duel with an equally "good egg" in the army of Britain's enemy, in order to save face on both sides and restore the balance. Lifelong friendship blossoms from this violent ritual and love is almost found with the young lady who dragged him into the situation that led to the dual. He loses the girl with good grace to his new friend and returns to England. Then he goes off to distant lands to convert beautiful, live animals into sad, dead trophies for a few years, until another war comes along. He's the same man of honour through WWI, even though the lessons about doing whatever it takes to win are there if he should choose to learn them. He never changes. He'll never choose to do what's expedient over what's right. By WWII the atmosphere has changed and the young officer introduced at the beginning of the film, doesn't have any respect for a bumbling old buffoon who doesn't understand modern warfare. But by the time we come back to the scene of the disrespectful youth insulting and abusing the venerable old gentleman, we're seeing things from the old gentleman's point of view and sharing his sense of outrage.
I enjoy this film so much that I can watch it over and over. There are one or two things I could object to in it. For example, the reason young Candy gets in a bind in Germany and has to fight a duel, is that he's there to deny that Britain did some terrible things in the Boer war, involving concentration camps and the deaths of large numbers of Boer women and children. The concentrations camps and the deaths of the women and children are well documented and no longer denied. Churchill may have tried to have the film banned for other reasons, but it was still a propaganda film. It was made during WWII after all. General Candy seems such a nice old buffer though, it just seems he'd have been as shocked about the treatment of the innocent Boer non-combatants as any decent person, if he'd known. In order to really enjoy the cosy view on offer here, you have to accommodate a couple of uncomfortable carbuncles like the wildlife slaughter (not shown, but represented by a wall of mounted heads) and the concentration camp denial. Those bits only take up two or three minutes of this almost 3 hour film and both offer us a bit of information about what went on back in "the good old days" that Blimp harks back to with such nostalgia and detachment from reality. It's nice to share the rosy view of an idealised past from time to time. I recommend it.
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I saw this film a few nights ago, and although it was almost 3 hours long, I stayed glued to the screen the entire time. The plot, writing and acting is perfect, and by the end I felt as if I had been watching an old friend. The film is about an idealistic man who was a young solider in the Boer war, who was brought up on the idea of 'gentlemanly' fighting, with no dirty tricks. We see him progress from being a young man, to a man as a senior officer in WW1, already seeing him out of place. Then we go through the years until we finally see him in WW2. He's the same man, but the world around him has changed completely. The film affected me on many levels.
Will I end up like Clive Candy when I'm older, disillusioned and out of place in an ever changing society, will I have to change my ideals and beliefs to fit in with the people around me? I'm 16 and this film is definatley an eye opener and I already know that this film has changed my view on things. Now, if you haven't already, GO SEE THIS FILM!
Will I end up like Clive Candy when I'm older, disillusioned and out of place in an ever changing society, will I have to change my ideals and beliefs to fit in with the people around me? I'm 16 and this film is definatley an eye opener and I already know that this film has changed my view on things. Now, if you haven't already, GO SEE THIS FILM!
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
As the film opens, our hero Clive Candy seems a bumbling, unsympathetic character, shouting red faced at a young British soldier from behind his enormous moustache. As the plot develops, however, we see a touching portrait of a man whose unchanging sense of fair play becomes out of step with the values of war torn Europe. Roger Livesey is excellent as Candy, with Deborah Kerr as the various incarnations of the woman he has always loved, and Anton Walbrook as his equally decent and honorable German friend. The film is, perhaps, a little dated for some tastes, but there is a point at which I reach for my hanky and start to snuffle. I will always love it.
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4.9 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great film
This restoration brings this film alive and it is a good film in any case, spanning an important era in British history.
Published 1 month ago by Percy T
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great British Cinema
Classic film. Super blu-ray !! The cinema writers and critcs past and present have expounded fully and with more authority on this movie.
Published 3 months ago by Mr. William S. Creighton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good
I enjoyed the dated film quality and period settings, together with the fact that winston Churchill didn't approve of it, which made me suspect that it would have a useful point to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by D. Jefferies
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unusual movie, to say the least!
We follow Colonel 'Blimp' through his life, during WWI and through to WWII. A film that's a mix of action, war, comedy and a lot more! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Eriksson Tord
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting period piece.
The past is a foreign country, as they say, and this is an interesting trip. It portrays the ideals of a professional soldier - patriotism, chivalry, uniformed men under arms... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Caroline Macafee
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Incurable Condition of Being British
I watched this movie in three sittings due to its Hobbit-like length.
The first sitting was like - OK when is the action starting? Read more
The first sitting was like - OK when is the action starting? Read more
Published 5 months ago by Merlin's Owl
5.0 out of 5 stars
The life and death of Colonel Blimp.
At last a fully restored version of a British classic,looking great on Blu-Ray featuring a superb performance from Roger Livesey as Clive Candy a professional soldier whose career... Read more
Published 6 months ago by mihos
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Restoration
I saw this film being worked on in 2011 at Reliance Mediaworks (Lowry Digital that was), where much care was being taken. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Donald M. Craig
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect Restoration of A Truly Delightful Film
Im not going to review the plot of this title as their are other reviews to do that. I wish to review this restoration edition by the BFI and David Lean Foundation. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr Pickwick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blimped
I purchased this film in a Powell/Pressburger compilation, not thinking I would be at all interested. Read more
Published 7 months ago by LeBrit
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