376 49th Parallel

[ellipsis7]

Thanks, Tommaso, for that 'Airman's Letter...' info...

Yes, EDGE is great, and the BFI disc highly recommended - there's also an interesting OOP book (reprinted by Faber & Faber in 1990) written by Powell in 1938, 'Edge of the World: The Making of a Film'...

Have a soft spot for ILL MET..., insofar as a close relative had some involvement in the actual operation...

[Tommaso]

Ellipsis7, I didn't know about "Airman's Letter" being on the Image disc before I looked at the Beaver comparison, too. Ah well, I always hoped it would show up on some CC edition as an extra, now I know why I didn't...

That book by Powell you mention was originally called "200.000 Feet on Foula" (the title referring to the feet of film he originally shot), and if you've got 2.750$ and don't know how to spend them, well, here you go. Good that Faber have reprinted it, although I like the original title far better...

[HistoryProf]

I don't care much for "Moonlight", but would also very much recommend "The Spy in Black" and "Contraband", and most of all "Edge of the World". Truly a masterpiece with a lot of intensity and fascinating views of the rough landscape of the island, though it's not entirely free of melodrama. But if you like Flaherty's "Man of Aran", you will certainly love this. According to the Beaver, the BFI disc is much superior to the R1 Image/Milestone release, which however has the distinction to have the only release of Powell's short "An Airman's Letter to his Mother" as an extra. And normally I think that Milestone tries to deliver high quality discs, so I don't suppose it's too bad (though the BFI really looks fantastic for a film of that vintage, and the early silent documentary on St. Kilda is fascinating).

Kino's "Contraband" disc isn't too great (video-sourced, unrestored print with somewhat faded contrast IIRC), but certainly watchable. A great, noirish spy thriller, and there are some rather sexy scenes with Valerie Hobson, too. Not to be missed.

So do you suppose the Kino and Image discs of these are all we're gonna get in R1? I have nowhere near the knowledge of who owns what as many of you here (one of the reasons the forum is such a wonderful resource!) so can't begin to guess...are these in the "no chance in hell" category for a criterion release or might they join the many other P&P releases in the CC? I have a hard time shelling out $30 for a "watchable" video sourced disc.

[Tommaso]

Well, unless Image/Milestone and Kino lose the rights for these films, which seems unlikely in both cases, there won't be an alternative. However, you could easily shell out only a little more than 30$ and go region-free, which won't help you with "Contraband" (the only release of it worldwide, as far as I know), but might open the field for the BFI "Edge of the World", not to speak of the French editions of IKWIG and "Black Narcissus" (all better than the CC) or "Gone to Earth" (not available in R1).

As to "Contraband": when I wrote 'watchable', I meant it. I can be rather picky about image quality, and "Contraband" is still quite okay in my view. It's just not as good as a new transfer/resto would inevitably be. That Kino disc is from 2001 or so.

[hearthesilence]

This is becoming quite an enjoyable sub-genre for me - those British and American films released in the earliest years of WWII (usually prior to U.S. involvement) that are essentially propaganda pieces urging the U.S. to join in. I wouldn't call Man Hunt and Foreign Correspondent masterpieces for either Lang or Hitchcock, but they're still excellent in their own way, strong thrillers that hold up very well.

This is possibly on par with those films - not a great film or a masterpiece for Powell, but again, holds up surprisingly well, especially when this is more overtly propaganda. Maybe it has to do with the portrayal of the Nazis? Much more nuanced than you'd expect for a WWII propaganda film, they're sketched out in more human detail.

And again, yet another film that echoes my previous regret that Olivier's talents were probably best seen on stage, something I had no chance of ever witnessing. Hammy here, but while it's no great performance, at least he's enjoyable if you're not too put off.

I should add that one scene also got under my skin the wrong way - when the mounties catch the "third" Nazi in the civilian crowd. When Powell made this film, he wanted to scare North America that the Nazis were a threat to them too. The ends justified the means - the Nazis were a real threat to the world - but the approach to this scene is a bit unsettling post-9/11 and George W. Bush. Listen to the speech they use to scare the crowd, drumming up paranoia, and even the bland descriptions used to describe the escaped Nazis that could be applied to anyone. (Even though they concede that one member is tough to describe due to lack of info, it doesn't really change anything.) The scene feels much worse taken out of context, but it's a little chilling, a reminder of why I'm uneasy with propaganda in general, and why this sub-genre feels like a guilty pleasure. The films can be very enjoyable, as I mentioned before, but it can linger in an uneasy way.

[willoneill]

Just rewatched this movie for this first time in a decade as part of a deep Powell/Pressburger dive. As corny as it is at times, I still find it quite entertaining. Plus you don’t get many big films like this set so specifically in Canada. Olivier’s French Canadian accent doesn’t bother me, and in fact I’m sure my Francophone colleagues would get a kick out of it. To me, the spiritual, and literal heart of the film is the scene between the Germans and the Hutterites in their dining hall.

One point of correction: I also listened to the Bruce Eder’s commentary (this for the first time), and near the end he talks about how Raymond Massey’s brother Vincent did the opening narration, and then later became Prime Minister. This is incorrect; Vincent Massey later became Governer General, not PM.