Rent The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
4.1 of 5 from 207 ratings
2h 36min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Roger Livesey brilliantly portrays a British officer, Clive Candy, through the trials and tribulations of three wars, three lovers and a lifelong friendship across enemy lines. During the Boer War, candy is sent to Berlin to trap a German spy. There he befriends a German officer, Theo (Anton Walbrook), who marries the girl (Deborah Kerr) 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 Brigadier General and once again encounters Theo. On joining a Home Guard exercise, Candy is captured, however, and the two are forced to either aid or betray each other. - Actors:
- Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook, James McKechnie, Neville Mapp, Vincent Holman, David Hutcheson, Spencer Trevor, Roland Culver, James Knight, Dennis Arundell, David Ward, Jan Van Loewen, Valentine Dyall, Carl Jaffe, Albert Lieven, Eric Maturin, Frith Banbury, Robert Harris, Arthur Wontner
- Directors:
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Producers:
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Writers:
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Studio:
- Carlton Video
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- British WWII Films: The Home Front and Europe, Cinema and the First World War, Drama Films & TV, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Powell and Pressburger, Top 10 British Actresses of the 1940s, Top 10 British War Films (1939-45), Top 100 BFI Films, Top Films, WWII Films: Beaches, Oceans and Camps
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 22/10/2012
- Run Time:
- 156 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 2.0
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- '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
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Reviews (3) of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
A wonderful film - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp review by Maureen
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is one of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's masterpieces. It covers the life of the Colonel, played by Roger Livesey, over WW1 and WW2 and is a mixture of comedy, pathos and propaganda. Messrs. Powell and Pressburger had a golden ten year period of highly original films, of which this is one. So many other film makers are content to churn out a series or to resort to a remake of an old film with a different cast, a very lazy approach. Colonel Blimp joins Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death, A Canterbury Tale, I know where I'm going, The Red Shoes and many more as something original, unlike any other films made then, the 1940s and 50s, or later. If you haven't seen it do put it on your list.
George - Shropshire.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Riveting and exceptional. - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp review by CB
A challenging film to make during WW2, but what a result. Nothing was skimped in the making of the film.
What it really comes down to is getting an actor who is
a) bloody good and b) able to transform from relative youth to ageing Colonel.
Livesey is brilliant in the role which is not an easy one.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Wartime Comedy. - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp review by Steve
The only British war film made in colour between '39 and '45 is a characteristic Powell and Pressburger reflection on English national identity. In this case, the stubborn, sentimental conservatism which was the friction in the British war machine. This is personified by the newspaper cartoon of Colonel Blimp, a rotund, blustering relic of the empire.
The central theme is that a sense of fair play was compromising the British military effort against the total war of the Nazis. This celebration of moral superiority might now surprise historians of empire and slavery, but may be excused in a time of national crisis. This is a propaganda film, which goes on to promote the Home Guard.
We follow Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey) from the headstrong adventurer of the Boer War, through the Great War to the stubborn diehard of WWII. He makes a lifelong companion of a German officer (Anton Walbrook) and is involved with three women (all played by Deborah Kerr). The war office wanted to ban the film for being insufficiently patriotic.
It is actually an unreservedly pro-British film. The objection could have been better framed as not being adequately anti-German. The screen is dominated by a boisterous performance by Livesey, aided by makeup, as he ages 40 years. It's a handsome, epic presentation by Powell and Pressburger. Many critics feel it is their best work. Certainly, it is typically unorthodox.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.