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A Canterbury Tale [DVD] [1944]
 
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A Canterbury Tale [DVD] [1944]

DVD ~ Eric Portman
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Customers buy this item with Went The Day Well? [DVD] [1942] DVD ~ Leslie Banks

A Canterbury Tale [DVD] [1944] + Went The Day Well? [DVD] [1942]
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  • This item: A Canterbury Tale [DVD] [1944] DVD ~ Eric Portman

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Went The Day Well? [DVD] [1942] DVD ~ Leslie Banks

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Product details

  • Actors: Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price, Sergeant John Sweet, Esmond Knight
  • Directors: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
  • Writers: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
  • Producers: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell, Jock Laurence
  • Format: Black & White, Full Screen, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: U
  • Studio: ITV DVD
  • DVD Release Date: 11 Oct 1999
  • Run Time: 119 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004CZVF
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 4,850 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #96 in  DVD > Classics > War and Westerns

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the most beloved of all British films, A Canterbury Tale marks yet another occasion to celebrate the Criterion Collection's growing DVD legacy of Powell and Pressburger classics. Originally conceived as good-natured propaganda to support the British-American alliance of World War II, the film became something truly special in the hands of the Archers (a.k.a. writer/director/producers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger). Taking its literary cues from Chaucer's titular classic, it begins with a prologue that harkens back to Chaucer's time before match-cutting to present-day August of 1943, with the night-time arrival of U.S. Army Sgt. Bob Johnson (played with folksy charm by John Sweet, an actual American GI) on the shadowy platform of Canterbury station in the magically rural county of Kent (where Powell was born and raised). He is soon joined by two fellow train passengers: Alison Smith (Sheila Sim), a brashly independent recruit in the British Woman's Land Army; and Peter Gibbs (Dennis Price), a sergeant in the royal Army, and before long they're tracking clues to find "the glue man", a mysterious figure who's been pouring "the sticky stuff" on unsuspecting women as the midnight hour approaches. Their investigation leads to Thomas Colpeper (Eric Portman), a village squire whose local slide-shows celebrate life in an idyllic rural England threatened by wartime change. As Graham Fuller writes in an observant mini-essay that accompanies this DVD, is this a whodunit? Historical documentary? War film? Rustic comedy? It's all these and so much more: As photographed in glorious black and white by Erwin Hiller (faithfully preserved by one of Criterion's finest high-definition digital transfers), A Canterbury Tale has an elusive, magical quality that encompasses its trio of Canterbury "pilgrims" and translates into a an elusive, spiritually uplifting sense of elation that has made it an all-time favorite among film lovers around the world. --Jeff Shannon

DVD Description

A Canterbury Tale is a compelling drama set amidst the backdrop of World War Two Britain. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger ("A Matter of Life and Death"; "The Red Shoes"), it has been acknowledged as one of the duo's finest films. Their reworking of Chaucer's epic fourteenth century tale--largely set in Kent--revolves around an American army sergeant, a British soldier and a land girl who, before making a modern-day pilgrimage to Canterbury, solve the bizarre mystery of a man who pours glue over the hair of village girls at night.



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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Unease of Being English, 19 Dec 2002
By Edward Barry "Out of the ordinary comes..?" (Suffolk, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This is the most effective account of what it is like to be English within the encroaching tide of American popular culture.

That it was made when it was makes it truly prophetic.

It's blissfully hard to categorise. It is sentimental, it does have comedy but there is an underlying menace - a malevolent incongruity that seems to hallmark director Powell's best work. The whole notion of a midnight prowler deliberately pasting glue into women's hair is a good example of this kind of alternate reality. There is a specific scene where a many hands are vigorously washing the hair which seems disturbingly loaded with sadism.

Yet the subject (and the reason for buying) is history - what in the middle of WWII can be realistically retained. What has to give way? So we see the cocky GI find an affinity with an English carpenter, a cynical cinema pianist collaborating with a cathedral organist and a middle aged magistrate judged and sentenced by one of his own victims.

It's beautifully photographed, particularly the scenes of rural life yet contains a strangely powerful message for this generation, faced with the cultural narrowing of globalisation of the arts.

Not a Multiplex fave...but you should see it for just this reason.

Recommended unreservedly.

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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A magical film, 19 Sep 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: A Canterbury Tale [VHS] [1944] (VHS Tape)
I had the extreme luck of watching this film for the first time at a special showing in Canterbury itself. I found it compelling and wonderful. It is British in the same sense as 'Brief Encounter'. Both of them capture the nuances of midcentury England. This film focuses on the beauty of the dwindling countryside, evoking wonderfully a way of life that was disappearing even then. The director, Michael Powell, came from Canterbury, and it shows. This film is clearly a labour of love. It even understands the magic of Canterbury cathedral, with each of the main characters setting out on a pilgrimage of their own, to have a boon granted or do penance. Even though it is in black and white, it is a film filled with sunshine. I recommend it to anyone who feels nostalgia for the past, even a past they never experienced.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a canterbury tale, 12 Jul 2002
This is one of my all time favourite movies, it has a wonderful nostalgic feel for England before the 2nd World War, and an eerie timeless quality as you imagine all the lives played out through the ages on the Pilgrims Way which leads into Canterbury. The theme of the Glue Man who pours glue on girls' hair is just a part of it, the real theme is peoples lives then and how they lived through the war. As I was brought up 7 miles from Canterbury it is also an interesting historical document as you get to see what it was like right after the bombing - something you cannot imagine until you see just how much of the city was left as piles of rubble. A classic bit of British life circa 1930s if you like old b&w "brief encounter" type movies you will love this one. The photography is lovely and shows English countryside in its heyday. The plot is about three young people whose lives are changed after an eventful weekend in the East Kent countryside and arrive in Canterbury on the day a local regiment embarks for the Second Front. This is intercut with the pilgrims travelling to Canterbury in the Middle Ages. Trust me, it works! This film is just a lovely modest little treasure everyone should see - I highly recommend "A Matter of Life and Death" by Michael Powell too, which stars David Niven and is, again, set in the Second World War.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING ARCHERS AGAIN: THE 2ND OF 7 MASTERPIECES IN 7 CONSECUTIVE YEARS
Another masterpiece from this team: the 2nd of 7 in a row over a consecutive 7 year period from 1943 to 1949. Think of that. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Simon Turner

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor
Turgid. It starts well but the pace is slow and there isn't really a story. If you like a plot, then dont buy this film. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Alex da Silva

5.0 out of 5 stars Sunday Afternoon Treat
Like most of the reviewers I have given this film 5 stars - why? simple really; do you remember, those of you of a certain age, those Sunday afternoon films, you know the ones,... Read more
Published 8 months ago by A. Roberton

4.0 out of 5 stars A real curiosity with much to recommend it
How do you categorise this curious film? A war prop movie - that's essentially what it is, but it's so unlike the others of the period, and so indirect and subtle that it is... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Lou Knee

5.0 out of 5 stars Scorsese liked it
I heard about this film on radio 4 and it was mentioned in the item that it had been instrumental in Martin Scorsese's decision to become a director. Read more
Published 18 months ago by The holo-man

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful film
Just like all the Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger films "A Canterbury Tale" is just super - outstanding. Read more
Published 23 months ago by "Smith" Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars A luminous, magical masterpiece from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
In 1980, Emeric Pressburger said, "A script can only create nests in which magic may settle." With A Canterbury Tale, he and his partner, Michael Powell, created one of the most... Read more
Published on 5 Jun 2007 by C. O. DeRiemer

5.0 out of 5 stars a miraculous pilgrimage to penance and blessings
'A Canterbury Tale' - set during the war-torn days of the 40s in Kent where the paths of three young people, alighting from a train during the black-out, fortuitously converge in... Read more
Published on 8 April 2007 by Nigel C. Jackson

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT ALWAYS WHAT IT SEEMS - BUT A MASTERPIECE
Powell and Pressburger films are usually hard to pigeon-hole, none more so than this one. Is it a thriller (who is the mysterious glue-man)? Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2007 by Klingsor Tristan

4.0 out of 5 stars Very refreshing window on an era
I'm not specifically familiar with the dvd; I recorded this film from a showing on Turner Classic Movies. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2007 by Webfarer

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