The Captain's Paradise)

Starring:Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Howard Marion-Crawford, Henry Mollison, Vida Hope, Patric Doonan, Duncan Lamont, Harold Goodwin (II), Colin Gordon, Joan Harben, Arthur Howard (III), Roddy Hughes, Stuart Latham, Miles Malleson, Edie Martin, Mandy Miller, Charlotte Mitchell
Director: Alexander Mackendrick, Charles Crichton
Studio: Anchor Bay
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Product Description
He was, quite simply, one of the greatest actors of all time. And while Sir Alec Guinness may be best known for his legendary dramatic roles, his true genius lay in his incomparable comedy performances. THE ALEC GUINNESS COLLECTION presents four of this screen legend s magnificent Ealing Studios comedies as well as the classic THE CAPTAIN S PARADISE, available exclusively in this collection.

Features:
Kind Hearts And Coronets

Full-Frame Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

The Ladykillers

Widescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

Languages: English; French

The Lavender Hill Mob

Full-Frame Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

The Man In The White Suit

Full-Frame Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

The Captain's Paradise

Full-Frame Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

System Requirements:
Running Time: 451 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE
Amazon.com
Five of the British film industry's best-loved comedies in one boxed set makes The Alec Guinness Collection absolutely essential for anyone who has any passion at all for movies. It contains Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Captain's Paradise (1953) (only available in this set), and The Ladykillers (1955). The Ealing Studio's greatest comedies captured the essence of post-war Britain, both in their evocation of a land once blighted by war but now rising doggedly and optimistically again from the ashes, and in their mordant yet graceful humor. They portray a country with an antiquated class system whose crumbling conventions are being undermined by a new spirit of individual opportunism. In the delightfully wicked Kind Hearts and Coronets, a serial killer politely murders his way into the peerage; in The Lavender Hill Mob a put-upon bank clerk schemes to rob his employers; The Man in the White Suit is a harshly satirical depiction of idealism crushed by the status quo; in The Captain's Paradise, a ferryboat captain complements his proper British wife with a fiery Spanish wife; while The Ladykillers mocks both the criminals and the authorities with its unlikely octogenarian heroine Mrs. "lop-sided" Wilberforce. Many factors contribute to these films' success--including fine music scores from composers such as Benjamin Frankel (Man in the White Suit), Malcolm Arnold (Captain's Paradise), and Tristram Cary (The Ladykillers); positively symphonic sound effects (White Suit); marvelously evocative locations (the environs of King's Cross in Ladykillers, for example); and writing that always displays Ealing's unique perspective on British social mores ("All the exuberance of Chaucer without, happily, any of the concomitant crudities of his period")--yet arguably their greatest asset is Alec Guinness, whose multifaceted performances are the keystone upon which Ealing built its biting, often macabre, yet always elegant comedy. --Mark Walker

Great Expectations (1946) - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

David Lean's Great Expectations
Great Expectations - Criterion Collection
An English Teacher's Review
Changed from the book but still worth seeing!
A Great Movie From A Great Novel, And Perfectly Cast

Great Expectations (1946) - Criterion Collection
Starring: John Mills , Anthony Wager , Valerie Hobson , Jean Simmons , and Bernard Miles
Director: David Lean
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

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The Heiress (Universal Cinema Classics)

ASIN: B00000F17E
Release Date: 1999-01-12

Amazon.com essential video

David Lean's handsome adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel captures the warm humor and richness of character that so many filmmakers miss in their reverent recreations of Victorian England. From the nightmarish opening sequence on the windswept graveyard where young orphan Pip (Anthony Wager) meets the desperate escaped criminal Magwitch (Finlay Currie) to the shadowy, musty mansion of the widow Miss Haversham (Martita Hunt) where he first meets the impertinent young beauty Estella (Jean Simmons), Lean captures a childlike exaggeration of reality with his elegant expressionism. When Pip's sudden change in fortune sends him to London as a burgeoning gentleman in high society, Lean sketches a beautiful, bustling city. John Mills's performance as the adult Pip charts his change from the wide-eyed wonder and generous spirit of the child he was to the class snob transformed by money and social standing, an ugly flaw that Pip confronts when his mysterious benefactor is finally revealed. The outstanding cast also features Valerie Hobson as the grown-up Estella, now a beguiling enchantress, a bright young Alec Guinness in his film debut as Pip's jovial London roommate Herbert Pocket, and the imposing Francis L. Sullivan as the decidedly humorless lawyer Jaggers. Exquisitely photographed by Guy Green (who won an Oscar for his work). Lean and his collaborators effectively maintain the heart of Dickens's epic drama while cutting it to its essentials in this vivid, compelling film. --Sean Axmaker

Description

One of the great translations of literature into film, David Lean's Great Expectations brings Charles Dickens' masterpiece to robust onscreen life. Pip, Magwitch, Miss Havisham, and Estella populate Lean's magnificent miniature, beautifully photographed by Guy Green and designed by John Bryan.

Customer Reviews:

David Lean's Great Expectations.......2007-06-22

Perhaps the finest Dickens adaptation ever, this rich, fascinating film about chance encounters and changing fortunes begins with a nerve-rattling sequence in a graveyard that's one of the finest moments in British film. Both Mills and Guinness are a trifle old for their roles, but their virtuosity fully compensates. Guinness, in his first significant screen appearance, is particularly striking as pocket, giving us a tantalizing taste of things to come. A bona-fide classic.

Great Expectations - Criterion Collection.......2007-01-31

I usually love Criterion editions and am willing to pay the increased price to receive all the usual Criterion extras - commentary, interviews, etc.

Unfortunately, aside from the normal remastered print of the film (very well done indeed), the trailer and the inside notes, this edition had none of the features I have come to expect (and pay dear for). Therefore, I would not recommend this item (at its current high price) to anyone who already owns a good print of the movie.

JBF

An English Teacher's Review.......2006-12-19

I should mention first that this is the only film version of "Great Expectations" that I have ever seen. There may be better ones, but I'm only qualified to talk about this one.

My 10th graders were spellbound by this film. They saw it on a big screen from an Epson 720p projector with big stereo sound, which probably helped. However, their reaction to it really surprised me. From the first frame they were rapt, and it turned into one of their favorite experiences of the year.

David Lean's brilliant cinematography is partly responsible for this - the lighting and composition are absolutely stupendous. Many people talk about the "possibilities" of black and white, but David Lean delivers them. The film is visually stunning.

The film also does a decent, if not perfect, job of following the book; obviously some scenes needed to be shortened or left out entirely or this would have been a five hour film. It is not so accurate that you can read a chapter and then watch it, but it is accurate enough that it is certainly worth showing as a reward for finishing the book.

I withhold the fifth star only because the actresses who play young Estella and "grown woman" Estella are so jarringly different as to be almost impossible to accept as the same character. For instance, young Estella seems to have a nose from Sweden, while grown Estella's nose seems to hail from somewhere near Rome. The actresses just aren't similar enough to sustain even the most willing suspension of disbelief.

The actress who plays Miss Havisham, however, is utterly perfect, and her whole broken-hearted domain is reproduced exactly as I imagined it from the book, right down to the mouse-gnawed, spider-infested wedding cake. Her 25 year-long tantrum is shown as half-hilarious, half-horrifying, which is exactly as Dickens intended it in my opinion, and the actress captures the perfect blend of nuances in portraying this unique character as perfectly as she could be portrayed.

The rest of the characters are quite well done also, including the attorney, Pip's sister, Joe and the "pale young gentleman." Even the clerk with "The Aged" father is well played, although the tour of his castle-house from the book is absent. Pip himself is portrayed very appropriately by both the young and older actors, and never disappoints.

Along with the characters, the film provides an incredible amount of tantalizing 19th century detail, enough to keep even the sleepiest, most sullen student awake at 8:02 am on a cold winter morning. All in all, well worth the $35 asking price, especially because, like all Criterion titles in my experience, the DVD transfer looks and sounds absolutely beautiful.

Changed from the book but still worth seeing!.......2006-06-23

The characters of Charles Dickens's timeless tale come to life in spellbinding black and white that perfectly captures the book's tone. Both Estella and Miss Havisham's characters are vastly sweetened from the book. Estella has genuine affection for Pip instead of just seeing him as another person to manipulate. Miss Havisham is actually concerned when Estella and Pip fight instead of being happy that her master plan of having Estella break Pip's heart is succeeding. These changes allow for the overly saccharin ending that is greatly different in tone and plot from either of the two grim endings Dickens actually wrote for the book.

A Great Movie From A Great Novel, And Perfectly Cast.......2005-12-25

If a movie ever captured better the look in your head of a book you've read than David Lean's Great Expectations, I don't know what it would be. From the moment young Pip is seen running along the marsh road to the deserted cemetery and his encounter with the escaped convict, Magwitch (scaring Pip as well as us half to death) to Pip the young man ripping down the dust-laden, moldering drapes in Miss Havisham's decaying mansion and letting the daylight in, we see what we imagined, and it's just about perfect.

Great Expectations is one of Charles Dickens' greatest novels, and the movie, in my opinion, is David Lean's greatest accomplishment as a director. You'd have to be a cynic not to be captured by this story of a young, poor boy, an orphan raised in a blacksmith's home by his sister and her husband, who unexpectedly becomes a young gentleman of great expectations.

Lean chose actors who bring the characters vividly to life. Pip (John Mills) is a young man who has become self-satisfied with the mysterious funds he receives that have enabled him to become a gentleman. In time, however, he realizes "that in becoming a gentleman, I had only succeeded in becoming a snob." But Pip's innate honesty and humanity come through as he accepts the debt he owes to his benefactor and faces the love he has for Estella. Jean Simmons as young Estella and Valerie Hobson as Estella the woman are beautiful and cruel, as Estella was raised to be by Miss Havisham. Francis L. Sullivan is perfect as the large, shrewd lawyer, Mr. Jaggers, who knows all the secrets. Miss Havisham is played by Martita Hunt. Miss Havisham was abandoned on her wedding day years before. She has retreated into bitterness, living within her mansion as if time at stopped, the draperies closed, still wearing her wedding dress, cobwebs festooning the rooms and the banquet table still fully set, bearing what remains of the bride's cake. She will see to it that men, through Estella, will suffer as she suffered. Finlay Currie is Magwitch, the tough, hulking convict who was unexpectedly touched by young Pip bringing him food. Alec Guinness is Herbert Pocket, good natured, energetic and a true friend.

At the end of the story, Pip and Estella realize they will have great expectations together. There is sadness, happiness, redemption, regret and love. Most off all, there are these marvelous characters in a great story.

The Criterion DVD looks fine. There are no significant extras. An insert contains an informative essay about the film and Lean by Adrian Turner, a British film critic.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 2-Disc Special Edition / The Comedians / The Sandpiper / The V.I.P.s) 5 Disc Set

Average customer rating:

Timeless, nostalgic film excellence
When they were good...they were very, very good....
Could have been packaged much better
Liz Taylor/Richard Burton Film Collection
A little overstimate

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 2-Disc Special Edition / The Comedians / The Sandpiper / The V.I.P.s) 5 Disc Set
Starring: Richard Burton , Elizabeth Taylor , Alec Guinness , Peter Ustinov , and Paul Ford
Director: Peter Glenville , Vincente Minnelli , and Anthony Asquith
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( E ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

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Becket

ASIN: B000I2JDFI
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Amazon.com

The British-born Elizabeth Taylor was the quintessential Hollywood screen goddess. The Welsh-born Richard Burton was one of the most compelling British actors of his generation. Together, they were a perfect storm of talent, glamour, and offscreen scandal, which made even their lesser films essential viewing for those fascinated by cinema's royal couple. This four-film set captures the prolific couple at the height of their 1960s heyday. The essential entry is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), which earned Taylor an Academy Award, and launched the film directing career of Mike Nichols. This adaptation of Edward Albee's searing play was ahead of its time for its use of profanity, as chronicled in bonus featurettes on this two-disc Special Edition. Taylor and Burton star as the braying Martha, a college president's daughter, and her husband George, an associate history professor. An ambitious teacher (George Segal) and his mousy wife (a heartbreaking Sandy Dennis) arrive for an unforgettable night of such emasculating sport as "Humiliate the Host," "Get the Guests," and "Hump the Hostess." The V.I.P.s (1963) is a star-studded soap opera about a group of notables stranded at a fog-shrouded airport, each desperate to get off the ground. In addition to Orson Welles as a film director trying to stay one step ahead of the British tax man and Margaret Rutherford (who earned an Academy Award) as a financially strapped duchess, we have Taylor as the unhappy wife of magnate Burton, set to elope with a reformed (?) gigolo (Louis Jordan). The Sandpiper (1965) is one of those vaunted enjoyable "golden turkeys" that at least has the beautiful Big Sur coast and the Oscar-winning song "The Shadow of Your Smile" as consolation for the silly illicit romance between Taylor, an unconvincing bohemian artist, and Burton, the tortured Episcopalian reverend to whose school Taylor's illegitimate son has been sent. The Comedians (1967) is hardly a laughing matter. Graham Greene adapted his novel of upheaval in Papa Doc-run Haiti. You have to jump 40 years to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to find another couple with Taylor and Burton's wattage. This collection gives a time capsule glimpse at what all the fuss was about. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews:

Timeless, nostalgic film excellence.......2007-06-12

I can hardly say enough good about this boxed set -- there's not a clinker in the bunch. My two personal favorites are The V.I.P.s and The Comedians. The latter was Graham Greene's Opus magnus and Burton and Taylor pull it off with brilliance, finesse, and pure craft excellence. The story is generally about Papa Doc's reign of terror in Haiti (Burton owns a hotel there) and Taylor is an ambassador's wife whom, of course, has a torrid, running affair with Burton. There's a lot of action in this film, more than I ever expected. Honestly, I really love this film and watch it frequently. The V.I.P.s is bulging with major stars of the period, including Orson Wells, and the story is a good one -- Burton is a multi-millionaire whose wife (Taylor) is leaving him for a well-known gigilo.... sort of. Through a comedy of errors, Burton discovers his wife's treachery at the last minute before she can leave England and tries to win her back, at the airport and at a nearby hotel, (they get fogged in), over the next 12 hours. The viewer really cannot anticipate what is going to happen from one moment to the next. The cinematography is especially impressive and the numerous sub-plots are both amusing and dramatic. One of the most satisfying films I've ever seen, reminicent of "Hotel". I won't dwell on the remaining films of the set except to say that they're equally fine movies. These films represent some of Hollywood's finest moments. I cannot recommend the set highly enough, especially for hard-core film buffs.

When they were good...they were very, very good...........2007-05-12

As a great admirer of Richard Burton's filmwork, I snatched this set up immediately. All the films, save for Vicente Minnelli's "The Sandpiper" held my interest throughout, with "Virginia Woolf" and "The Comedians" (based on the Graham Greene novel) taking top honors.

"The VIPs" was a pleasant surprise as I was completely unfamilar with this Burton/Taylor venture. Supporting cast is excellent with Rod Taylor, Louis Jourdan (as Tayor's lover), and the unmistakably impressive Orson Welles, in a semi-comedic role opposite Elsa Martinelli.

Melodrama to be sure, but done with class, wit, and an engaging storyline that holds one's interest throughout its entire 119 minutes. It is amazing how some actors, like Burton and Taylor can take a relatively bit of fluff from Terrence Rattigan's screenplay, and transform it into something absorbing and grand.

What makes these films work? One would have to argue that the chemistry between Burton and Taylor in so many of their films was unmistakable; certainly Mike Nichol's "Virginia Woolf" is a masterpiece, but these are performers who have a intrinsic quality that is rarely seen in actors today--I think we would call it PRESENCE--players ultimately in command of their material and the roles they play who make acting seem effortless and entirely convincing. Burton is a master of roles. He can play the burnt-out professor in "Virginia Woolf" as well as a conflicted, upstanding minister and school headmaster whose life, contrained as his clerical collar, tempts an extramarital affair with the free-spirited mother (Taylor) of one of his students in "The Sandpiper."

The commentaries and extras on "Virginia Woolf" are both ample and exemplary, while shedding a new critical light on this classic play.

Could have been packaged much better.......2007-04-04

A nice collection, but rather cheaply presented. Slimline DVD cases without any booklets in them (not so much as even an insert) which i think is indicative of a lack of interest (in the name of costcutting) by warnervideo in making this DVD set the great package it could have been. It really is a slap in the face to open any dvd to find there is no supplemental reading booklet, and with a full-priced box set, you just don't expect (or i don't) that corners be cut when supplemental material on the high profile Burtons could have been unearthed and included.
The Vincente Minnelli directed 'The Sandpiper' visually is a gorgeous movie, as was every Minnelli film I've ever seen. What an artistic eye he possessed. Elizabeth is very good as the single mother bohemian artist.
'The V.I.P.s' is noteable for the early, excellent Maggie Smith performance as a secretary in love with her boss, played excellently by Rod Taylor. And Margaret Rutherford won the best supporting actress Oscar for this movie- Maggie Smith, Rod Taylor and Ruthersford really have the best roles in the picture. There's an unbelievable plotline that Elizabeth Taylor as 'Frances' is having an affair with Louis Jordan but has never had sex with him, it just doesn't play- especially as 'Frances' is planning to divorce her husband (Burton) for this man she's never even slept with. Burton does some fine and fierce acting; his line reading of 'Is he really all that much better than me" (in bed) to Taylor about his rival has a chilling intimacy that DOES ring true, unlike the chaste "affair" between 'Frances' and the worldly Jordan.
The classic ' Virginia Woolf' has been written about a lot by many, I have not much to add, just that the most impressive (to me) DVD extra is the stunning screentest of Sandy Dennis, even more impressive than her Oscar winning supporting performance in the movie.
I haven't finished watching the fourth movie, 'The Comedians' so can't really comment about it.
But I stand by my opinion that it is crummy to have no booklet, at roughly $50 for these 4 movies--it's just called for, to have it not appear as cheaply manufactured.

Liz Taylor/Richard Burton Film Collection.......2007-03-14

Received it very fast and well happy with them, haven't looked at all of them yet but very happy with the ones I have watched. Would recommend this collection for any Liz Taylor fans

A little overstimate.......2007-02-13

Taylor is a star, a great star like Sophia Loren but, for exemple, "The Comedians" is boring. The best is somewhere, and with Losey she was geatest, but "Who's afraid" rest a good performance and a great melo. Burton as the theatrical presence.

The Alec Guinness Collection (Kind Hearts and Coronets / The Lavender Hill Mob / The Ladykillers / The Man in the White Suit / The Captain's Paradise)

Average customer rating:

Anyone who appreciates great comedy will treasure these.
Simply Superb.
bad news for Spanish viewers?
Great films, great value
A remarkable collection.

The Alec Guinness Collection (Kind Hearts and Coronets / The Lavender Hill Mob / The Ladykillers / The Man in the White Suit / The Captain's Paradise)
Starring: Alec Guinness , Joan Greenwood , Cecil Parker , Michael Gough , and Ernest Thesiger
Director: Alexander Mackendrick , and Charles Crichton
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00006FMAX
Release Date: 2002-09-10

Amazon.com

Five of the British film industry's best-loved comedies in one boxed set makes The Alec Guinness Collection absolutely essential for anyone who has any passion at all for movies. It contains Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Captain's Paradise (1953) (only available in this set), and The Ladykillers (1955). The Ealing Studio's greatest comedies captured the essence of post-war Britain, both in their evocation of a land once blighted by war but now rising doggedly and optimistically again from the ashes, and in their mordant yet graceful humor. They portray a country with an antiquated class system whose crumbling conventions are being undermined by a new spirit of individual opportunism. In the delightfully wicked Kind Hearts and Coronets, a serial killer politely murders his way into the peerage; in The Lavender Hill Mob a put-upon bank clerk schemes to rob his employers; The Man in the White Suit is a harshly satirical depiction of idealism crushed by the status quo; in The Captain's Paradise, a ferryboat captain complements his proper British wife with a fiery Spanish wife; while The Ladykillers mocks both the criminals and the authorities with its unlikely octogenarian heroine Mrs. "lop-sided" Wilberforce. Many factors contribute to these films' success--including fine music scores from composers such as Benjamin Frankel (Man in the White Suit), Malcolm Arnold (Captain's Paradise), and Tristram Cary (The Ladykillers); positively symphonic sound effects (White Suit); marvelously evocative locations (the environs of King's Cross in Ladykillers, for example); and writing that always displays Ealing's unique perspective on British social mores ("All the exuberance of Chaucer without, happily, any of the concomitant crudities of his period")--yet arguably their greatest asset is Alec Guinness, whose multifaceted performances are the keystone upon which Ealing built its biting, often macabre, yet always elegant comedy. --Mark Walker

Product Description

He was, quite simply, one of the greatest actors of all time. And while Sir Alec Guinness may be best known for his legendary dramatic roles, his true genius lay in his incomparable comedy performances. THE ALEC GUINNESS COLLECTION presents four of this screen legend s magnificent Ealing Studios comedies as well as the classic THE CAPTAIN S PARADISE, available exclusively in this collection.

Features:
Kind Hearts And Coronets

Full-Frame Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

The Ladykillers

Widescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

Languages: English; French

The Lavender Hill Mob

Full-Frame Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

The Man In The White Suit

Full-Frame Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

The Captain's Paradise

Full-Frame Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

Alec Guinness Bio

System Requirements:
Running Time: 451 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Anyone who appreciates great comedy will treasure these........2007-01-11

No vulgarity, no nudity, just some of the cleverest stories with fine performances from all concerned.

The remakes never work. Hard to improve on perfection.

Simply Superb........2006-07-13

The best British comedy and satire. No slapstick or foul language or artistic nudity. Just great acting and great stories. Comedy mysteries with twisty endings. Example: the very ending of "The Captain's Paradise"; you would never guess.

bad news for Spanish viewers?.......2005-04-15

I know all these films and agree they are wonderful. But, is it possible that this edition have an audio track in French and no Spanish subtitles?

Great films, great value.......2004-07-16

As other reviewers have noted, these superb comedies from the golden age of British cinema showcase Alec Guinness' considerable skills, proving him to be as great an actor in his own way as the late Marlon Brando. And as others have pointed out, the DVD transfers are incredibly good for British films of this vintage. I've never seen Man in the White Suit looking better. Please note that poor sound recording equipment was a particular problem for British filmmakers of this era, so the sound can occasionally seem muted. This is a problem with the source, not the transfer.

The extras are a little disappointing compared to other Anchor Bay releases. (Yes, their Guinness filmography is incomplete.) But the value of this collection can't be beat. It's one of the best buys out there, so do yourself a favor and pick up the whole collection before Anchor Bay lets it go out of print, as other British titles in their catalogue have done.

Random comments to address other reviews:

All the films are presented in their proper aspect ratios. The Ladykillers is the only widescreen film here. (All the others were filmed before 1952, hence before the days of widescreen.)

Captain's Paradise is NOT an Ealing Studios film; it was produced at London International (the same place that oversaw production of The Third Man, so its credentials are good).

In Britain, this collection was partnered with another collection of Ealing comedies (via another distributor). Since Anchor Bay has also released Ealing's horror anthology Dead of Night (also recommended), they may be persuaded to distribute those films too if this collection sells well. Those films (Whiskey Galore, Passport to Pimlico, etc.) are equally superb, so let's keep our fingers crossed!

A remarkable collection........2003-02-19

I am 24 years old so one would not expect me to be a huge fan of these "older" films. On the contrary I am not just a fan I love them. One of my bosses turned me on to them a few years ago and I was always a huge Peter Sellers fan (mostly for his Pink Panther series) but after picking up this collection I found it to be a wonderful addition to my film library. Yesterday during the blizzard I watched four of the five disks. I found Kind Hearts and Coronets to be not only an interesting story but also darkly satiical. Many scenes were so well crafted I could not help to laugh. Alec was remarkable in this film as he played 8 different characters. Quite a feat for that time and a role Mike Meyers would love. Ladykillers was the only film I had seen previous to buying this set and I must say that not only is it an outstanding caper film but the DVD transfer was superb. The image quality really has brightened up fromt he onld VHS I saw. This film also shows some of Sir Alec's truly great acting and was brutally histerical. Peter Sellers yelling at a parrot was funny to see considering he went on to many more scenes involving fowl later on in life. The Lavender Hill Mob was probably the most intriguing of the 4 I have seen. Another crime caper flick Sir Alec really starred and the story was very solid. Also there was a car chase scene in this film that was extremely well done considering the time. The last film I managed to watch was the Man in the White Suit. While this film shows Alec again at his best I found it to be a little weaker than the other three. It was funny at times and an interesting enough plot just not as good if watched in succesion with the others. The final film is the Captain's Paradise but I have yet to view that one and will not review it. All the films look great on DVD and if you are young (like me)and have never seen any of these films you are really missing out on some of the masterpieces of the film industry. The only collection I could possibly recomend more to anyone is the Peter Sellers set. Better yet, buy them both like I did.

Oliver Twist (1948) - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

Oliver Twist
A Gift Purchase
THE GENIUS OF DAVID LEAN
The best version of Dickens' immortal story on film.
Bleak and black, a heart of light in a world of night !

Oliver Twist (1948) - Criterion Collection
Starring: Robert Newton , Alec Guinness , Kay Walsh , Francis L. Sullivan , and John Howard Davies
Director: David Lean
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Oliver Twist (2005)

ASIN: B00000F17A
Release Date: 1999-01-12

Amazon.com

David Lean's 1948 version of Charles Dickens' classic novel begins with a bang: the young hero's pregnant mother fighting her way through a storm, a perfect metaphor for Oliver's difficult road ahead. Set in a world of slums in the shadow of Victorian England, the story traces the boy's life in a workhouse and then with a gang of little pickpockets. A stark but good-looking film shot around some impressive sets, Lean's immortal adaptation is perhaps best known for Alec Guinness's remarkable (and slightly controversial) performance as Fagin, the old mentor to the gang of boy thieves. --Tom Keogh

Description

Expressionistic noir photography suffuses David Lean's Oliver Twist with a nightmarish quality, fitting its bleak, industrial setting. In Dickens' classic tale, an orphan wends his way from cruel apprenticeship to den of thieves in search of a true home. Here Alec Guinness is the quintessential Fagin, his controversial performance fully restored in Criterion's new digital transfer.

Customer Reviews:

Oliver Twist.......2007-06-25

This masterful adaptation of a Charles Dickens novel was the second for Lean, who abridged the author's long-winded story about a young orphan's changing fortunes in Victorian England into a beautifully paced two-hour film. Among a splendid cast, Guinness and Robert Newton are truly exceptional, respectively playing the captivating Fagin and his evil accomplice, Bill Sikes, with gusto. Also fun to watch is young Anthony Newley as the Artful Dodger. Essentially a tale of triumph in a world of degrading poverty and repellent class bias, "Oliver Twist" is a first-rate drama brimming with hope, pathos, and fury, from opening shot to last.

A Gift Purchase.......2007-06-01

I purchased this for my son-in-law's birthday. He is very happy with it and consideres it the best version of "Oliver Twist" that he has ever seen!

THE GENIUS OF DAVID LEAN.......2007-04-25

David Lean is best known for his super epics, like Lawrence Of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Bridge On The River Kwai. But earlier in his career, he did some outstanding films based on the plays of Noel Coward (like Brief Encounter) and on the works of Dickens (like Great Expectations). His film Oliver Twist, from 1948, is an early masterpiece.

You can see the genius of Lean in every frame; but there is one scene in particular that stands out. It is the one in which Bill Sikes is beating Nancy to death for giving the names of him and the rest of their gang to Mr. Brownlow. Lean doesn't show the actual beating, but he shows the reaction to it by someone else in the room: Bill Sike's dog. All you hear are the girl's screams and all you see is the dog, terrified, frantically trying to get out of the room by clawing his way through the door. It is one of the most terrifying scenes I've ever watched, and yet you don't see one bit of violence. It is incredible.

Eventually, Sikes lets the dog out, and he leaves in a panic. Later, Sikes finds the dog in the streets, and he cowers before his master. I've never seen a dog tremble like he does in this scene. It, too, is incredible, and the dog should have gotten an Oscar.

Genius finds new and more effective ways to accomplish things that would normally be considered distasteful or inappropriate.

The other scene that stands out to me is near the end, when the crowd is coming to get Sikes. It is the climax of the film, and it is powerful. I've never seen a crowd scene more spectacular, or a climax more suspenseful. There's also never been a more terrifying villain than Bill Sikes (played menacingly by Robert Newton), especially in the eyes of a boy. He contrasts nicely with Oliver Twist (played by John Howard Davies) and his innocence.

Oliver Twist was banned in this country (it's British) when it came out in 1948 because the Film Board felt Alec Guinness' portrayal of Fagan was anti-Semitic. It is over-the-top, especially the nose. But Guinness is genius. Kay Walsh as Nancy, Francis L. Sullivan as Mr. Brumble, Henry Stephenson as Mr. Brownlow and Anthony Newly as the Artful Dodger are also outstanding.

Waitsel Smith

The best version of Dickens' immortal story on film. .......2006-07-12

This film of Dickens' "Oliver Twist" from 1948 is still the best that has ever been done. The choices made to tell the story in two hours are quite amazing in the detail and sub plots and choice dialogue from the book that they still keep in. David Lean can do all this because of his masterful work with the camera. The scenes are so evocative of London Dickens paints in the novel. There is faceless barren despair in the workhouse, smoke and decay in London slum near St. Paul's Cathedral, and the light and beauty of Clerkenwell (that was back then) where the wealthy Mr. Brownlow lives.

The black and white filming actually adds to the light and shadow of the story and helps evoke the right moods as much as any musical score. I think it is actually a plus for this film even though it is a bit of a chore getting young people to cue in on the contributions of black and white over color pictures. Still, my youngest son could clearly see why this was a great telling of the story.

Here we have a thirty-three year old Alec Guinness made up in a way that probably would not work nowadays and emphasizes Fagin's Jewishness, but doesn't make Fagin out to be anything more than he is as a person. Guinness does NOT make Fagin out to be bad because he is a Jew, but rather that he is a miserly criminal who happens to be Jewish. It is a fine portrayal of Fagin and masterfully acted.

Robert Newton is very threatening as the monster Bill Sikes. He pulls the job off quite well and we get a very complex picture of his attitudes towards Fagin, Nancy, and the world. As an aside, Newton was a very popular actor who harmed his career and shortened his life with drink, as did Oliver Reed who portrayed Sikes so well in "Oliver!". Just a strange coincidence.

Kay Walsh does a fine job with Nancy, who is portrayed more as she is in the book rather than the heroine she is made to be in the musical and in some sloppy versions on film or for TV. She was married to Lean at the time although they divorced in 1949. John Howard Davies really does look the part of the small and slight Oliver Twist and acts out the role quite well. He had a fine career but mostly as a director and producer including Monty Python's Flying Circus in 1969.

We also get to see the young Anthony Newly (all of sixteen) as the Artful Dodger and many other wonderful character actors as well as a huge cast of extras. Remember, this was only a couple of years after World War II and there were a lot of people grateful for any kind of work for any length of time.

This is an immortal story that millions still love to read, hear, and see. This is a telling of the story that is awfully good. While I still recommend the book most of all, if you are going to watch a film version, this is the one I would start with and recommend most highly.

Bleak and black, a heart of light in a world of night !.......2006-06-10

This 1948 version of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist is one to remember. First you have Dickens and his vision of the world, a black and white vision, good and evil at the same time in the same society but not in the same people, though at least one woman has been forced to be bad but she was not and she will betray her tormentors who will kill her. The murderer will hang for it. Then there is the poor and how Dickens' society treats them, deals with them in the famous parish workhouses, and among these poor Dickens concentrates on the young, the children. No education, work as soon as they are nine, if not even earlier with menial tasks in the workhouse, lean by starving, not to death but to survival. In contrast the rich, or the wealthy who stuff themselves into apoplexy, selfishness and inhumanity. Yet this society is also inhabited and haunted by the good who are not necessarily among the wealthy or the poor. The good are spread out in the whole society and it is when some good ones meet across the divide of wealth that miracles can happen. Oliver Twist is such a miracle. We will never know why his mother fled her family but we know Oliver's future is in the hands of fate, some call it God, and his genes. Fate will be the accidental if not incidental meeting of Oliver with his grandfather on a street in London when the boys who have picked him from the gutter are trying to rob this grandfather in front of a bookstore. Dickens of course adds another element that is difficult to swallow with grace : the boss of the thieves, Fagin, is an obvious Jew and the movie does not need to say so, it shows it with his crooked nose and his avariciousness. In 1948 that was no courage to keep that detail, no fidelity to Dickens either because it could have been made discreet and it is not, it is as visible as the nose in the middle of the face. That leads me to the film. Black and white, it is a marvellous masterpiece. This black and white universe of the film is in perfect agreement with Dickens' social and human vision. It emphasizes the bleakness of this universe and it can concentrate on the main color of London at the time of coal, soot, smog and some other evils of coal-burning : it was black, so black that even the red color of the bricks was no longer visible. This blackness reflects the shadow that has crept and invaded the human soul in this victorian society. You just add rain, constant rain, all kinds of stairs and scaffoldings, misery, poverty and dirt, absolute discomfort, cold, dampness, miserable food, alcoholism, and you have it all, except must I say consumption. A miracle is possible and a miracle happens. Oliver Twist is reunited with his grandparents.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne

Average customer rating:

Tunes of Glory
Tunes of Glory
A Very Powerful Treatment of Popularity viz a viz Discipline in the Military
ALEC GUINNESS' STOLEN OSCAR...
A Fine Tune Indeed !!

Tunes of Glory - Criterion Collection
Starring: Alec Guinness , John Mills , Dennis Price , Kay Walsh , and John Fraser
Director: Ronald Neame
Manufacturer: Criterion
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ASIN: B00014K5YG
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Amazon.com

Venerable British actors Alec Guinness and John Mills give two of their finest performances in Tunes of Glory, a compelling, emotionally charged study of leadership in a peacetime Scottish battalion. In one of his most memorable roles, Guinness plays Jock Sinclair, the brash, red-haired colonel who temporarily commands his regiment of loyal, devoted soldiers. He's quick with a drink and hearty tales of military bravado, placing him in fun-loving contrast to his replacement, Col. Barrow (Mills), a hot-tempered martinet whose by-the-book style couldn't be more different, or less likable, than Sinclair's. In adapting his own novel for director Ronald Neame, James Kennaway keenly establishes the psychological opposition of these two stubborn men, demonstrating the equal merit of their military careers while exploring class distinctions and, ultimately, the inevitable tragedy of their failure to reach a mutual understanding. Ironically, Guinness was originally offered Mills's role, but suggested a switch to avoid comparison to his role in The Bridge on the River Kwai. It was an inspired decision, allowing each actor to shine in a timeless film that speaks volumes about military men and the winning (or losing) of hearts and minds. --Jeff Shannon

Description

In Ronald Neame's Tunes of Glory, the incomparable Alec Guinness inhabits the role of Jock Sinclair-a whiskey drinking, up-by-the-bootstraps commanding officer of a peacetime Scottish battalion. When Basil Barrow (John Mills)-an educated, by-the-book scion of a traditionally military family-enters the scene as Sinclair's replacement, the two men become locked in a fierce battle for control of the battalion and the hearts and minds of its men. Based on the novel by James Kennaway and featuring flawless performances by Guinness and Mills, Tunes of Glory uses the rigidly stratified hierarchy of military life as a jumping off point to examine the institutional contradictions and class divisions of English society, resulting in an unexpectedly moving drama. The DVD features new interviews with Ronald Neame and John Mills, the theatrical trailer, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Tunes of Glory.......2007-07-02

Ronald Neame's battle of wits is a perceptive reflection of the British class system, revealing the dire consequences when two men of opposing wills, backgrounds and character collide in competition for the loyalty of the soldiers they lead. Both Guinness and Mills match each other's high standard, each delivering stunning portrayals of two very different men. Don't miss the jaw-dropping conclusion. An unsung triumph.

Tunes of Glory.......2007-05-13

A fine piece of British cinema from the days of a film industry in it's heyday.

A Very Powerful Treatment of Popularity viz a viz Discipline in the Military.......2007-02-08

In an interview Sir Alec Guinness was asked how difficult it was for him to portray an individual whom he in actual life was the opposite to, Sir Alec responded as all great actors would, by saying that he felt it to be challenging, but enjoyed it once he got into it... and this is the Alec Guinness that one sees in Tunes of Glory. The tale of friction between two powerful figures, both with huge egos and both unwilling to bend to the circumstances of reality and their times. The ending of the movie has always broken me up and brought me to tears. for just as in the movie... "all my sons".. the
Major (Guiness) felt an afffinity and a kinship to all the men under him, growing to love them as (..."all my babies"...) he would his own sons.. there lies the irony in the ending... and his ultimate feelings for Col. Barrow (John Mills).....enuff said

ALEC GUINNESS' STOLEN OSCAR..........2006-07-15

Another reason why Academy Awards (or any competitive awards for art) can't be trusted is proven by Guinness' failure to win one for what must be one of his greatest performances...from the very first scene with him it's obvious that the right choice was made to cast him in the role of Col. Jock Sinclair instead of Col. Barrows. There's no denying that without the wonderful script (and novel) by James Kennaway this could've been a boring "soldiers in peacetime" stage play but with Guinness and Mills duking it out from the get-go you are riveted by their performances. The supporting cast couldn't be better. The final scene is heartbreaking and just goes to show what a versatile actor Sir Alec was. The only truly interesting extra on this Criterion release is director Ronald Neame's interview which directly relates to the film...Mills' voice-only interview is too short and not too illuminating and the interview with Sir Alec is way too long...I didn't really get into it as it covers too much territory and from the first 10 minutes seemed like it could have gone on for 3 hours. But a beautiful print and much deserving to the Criterion treatment. BOY OH BOY OH BOY!!! INDEED!

A Fine Tune Indeed !!.......2005-10-21

A great opportunity to see two of the worlds finest Actors toe to toe in this gritty drama about the Army in post war (1945) Britain. Mill's portrayal of Stiff Upper Lip Barrow and Guinness's 'Jock Sinclair' is a masterpiece. The resentment of the two officers to each other grows until the climax of the film.

SPOILER BELOW

The most saddest moment is Guinness at the end supported by some his his fellow officers after breaking down following his animated version of the Funeral procession that will take place.

Kind Hearts and Coronets - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

My memiors
Guinness and a whole lot more...
One of the greatest black comedies ever filmed. Nice DVD package.
Well Done
Darkly Hilarious

Kind Hearts and Coronets - Criterion Collection
Starring: Dennis Price , Valerie Hobson , Joan Greenwood , Alec Guinness , and Audrey Fildes
Director: Robert Hamer
Manufacturer: Criterion
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ASIN: B000CS45S8
Release Date: 2006-02-28

Amazon.com

Set in Victorian England, Robert Hamer's 1949 masterpiece Kind Hearts and Coronets remains the most gracefully mordant of the 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 avenge his mother by murdering the relatives ahead of him in line for the dukedom, all of whom are played by Alec Guinness. Guinness's virtuoso performances have been justly celebrated, ranging from a youthful D'Ascoyne with a priggish wife to a brace of doomed uncles and one aunt. 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 Price's narrator/antihero. Serial murder has never been conducted with such exquisite manners and discreet charm. --David Stubbs

Description

Director Robert Hamer's fiendishly funny Kind Hearts and Coronets stands as one of Ealing Studios' greatest triumphs, and one of the most wickedly black comedies ever made. Dennis Price is sublime as an embittered young commoner determined to avenge his mother's unjust disinheritance by ascending to the dukedom. Unfortunately, eight family members (all played by the incomparable Alec Guinness) must be eliminated before he can do so. SPECIAL FEATURES: New, restored high-definition digital transfer, BBC programs on Alec Guinness and the history of Ealing Studios, Gallery of archival production and publicity photographs, Original theatrical trailer and A new essay by film critic and historian Philip Kemp.

Customer Reviews:

My memiors.......2007-06-20

I can only comment on the movie itself for I don't own it as of yet but I've seen it more than a dozen times on the big screen and the telly.

It's sad to think that most of today's audience know Sir Alec Guinness only as Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi being it's one of, if not the most, mundane of his screen roles. He despised it even though his two points made him very well off. It was not one of the roles for which he was knighted.

His performance in Kind Hearts and Coronets was most certainly one the elements behind his knighthood. It was a loving but most pointed jab at English aristocracy. He played the eight members of the D'Ascoyne family targeted by Louis Mazzini-D'Ascoyne. The eight performances are beautifully drawn and establish each character in amazing brevity. As each are introduced they are almost immediately "dispatched" so to have each be so well developed in such a short time is a real achievement and testament to Guinness' acting genius.

Dennis Price plays Louis in a beautifully understated performance. His mother is a descendant of the D'Ascoynes but is no longer recognized by the family as one due to her marriage to an Italian singer, which is viewed to be beneath her station. Thus, she and their subsequent issue, Louis, are estranged from their aristocratic lineage. Louis' mother does not take it to heart and schools Louis in all finery and manners that would have been due him. She makes sure he understands that he a person of position. When she passes her only wish is to be interred in the family crypt. When Louis inquires to the Duke as to his mother's wish he is rudely rebuffed. At this Louis decides to claim his right of birth, the Dukedom of Chalfont. Only eight things stand in his way and they're all played by Alec Guinness. Never has a mass murderer ever been so charmingly cool.

There is a wide array of deaths befitting Guinness' wide array of characterizations. Considering the subject matter, it is all very mannered and draws a substantial amount of its humor from this paradox. It easily makes my top 100 comedies but far more importantly has been honor by Time's 100 all time greatest and BFI. Over the years it may have loss some of its blackness but none of its irony or humor. All the elements supporting cast, score and all technical aspects are unquestionably top drawer. Simply put this is one of the finest films ever made.

I went to Wikipedia to help write this review and found they reviewed it from beginning to the very end with zero concern about spoiling it for anyone who may not have seen it. Be forewarned.

Boom, boom, boom.

Guinness and a whole lot more..........2007-06-16

There's one way to eliminate the problem of family resemblance in a movie: use a single actor to portray the entire family. From the young to the old, women and men, wise and foolish, vain and comely. The amazing Alec Guinness pulls this off with panache in "Kind Hearts and Coronets." Though his performances radiate brilliance, they by no means remain the sole focal point of this macabre Victorian-era comedy. Dennis Price, as the noble and dignified serial killer Louis Mazzini, deserves as much credit as Guinness for making this movie one of Ealing Studio's most acclaimed. Not to mention the sizzling women, Joan Greenwood and Valerie Hobson, who get caught, and do some plotting themselves, between the character's cross-ambitions.

The film opens with Louis Mazzini writing and dialoguing his memoirs from prison. He awaits execution for murder. How did a Duke arrive in such an unseemly state? He begins with his mother, who married for love and was thus ousted from the elite D'Ascoyne family, a Dukedom with royal lineage. After his mother's death (his father had suffered a cornary the moment he set eyes on Louis in swaddling clothes), Louis vows revenge on her family and gradually plays out his murderous desires. One by one all of the roles so masterfully played by Guinness succumb to Louis's plots. In parallel, his childhood love, Sibella, refuses his hand in marriage and announces that she's to marry his old rival, Lionel. This fuels Louis's plots and he at last obtains his denied title. The wife of one of the murdered, Edith D'Ascoyne, accepts Louis's offer of marriage, but soon after he finds himself charged with the murder of Sibella's husband. It becomes clear that Sibella plans to blackmail Louis. Her false testimony, in front of the House of Lords, of course, lands him in jail for one of the few deaths in the film that he did not bring about. The day of the execution Sibella visits Louis and makes him an offer he can't refuse: she will expose her husband's hidden suicide note and prove Louis's innocence. In return he must murder his wife. That little schemer - and what's up with those hats? On the way out of prison Louis sees two carriages, one containing his legal wife, the other containing Sibella, his lover. Then he remembers his memoirs. Didn't he leave them in his cell? Don't they reveal everything? Ealing Studios always places a memorable twist in the last few seconds of their films. This one resonates, as does the horrific treatment many of the characters dish out to each other in the name of "social advancement."

Fans of Alec Guinness will find much to applaud here, but don't let his mesmerizing performances distract from the totality of one of Ealing Studio's finest productions.

One of the greatest black comedies ever filmed. Nice DVD package........2007-05-18

Criterion's DVD is worthy of this great film: in addition to a good-looking print of the film, they've added a clip of the American ending (in which there's no doubt that crime will be punished), an informative documentary about Ealing studios and a facinating 70s-vintage television interview with Alec Guiness.

The main attraction, of course, is the film itself, and it's a truly great one, which is likely to compel multiple viewings. The cast is wonderful: Dennis Price and Joan Greenwood are especially teriffic, Alec Guiness is funny in his multi-part capacity (though there are many other films in which Guiness, a magnificent actor, is shown off to better effect--if you don't know his work, try "The Man in the White Suit," "The Horse's Mouth," "Lawrence of Arabia," or "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"). Robert Hamer's direction is just right. The real star of this film, though, is the script: this is one of the wittiest, most literate screenplays I've ever encountered.

Don't be put off by the age, the title or the "Britishness" of the film. If you like intelligent dark humor, you will love Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Well Done.......2007-05-17

Despite being relatively obscure, "Kind Hearts and Coronets" is considered a masterpiece by many film critics and historians. It's a dark comedy with a modern tone to it that features a great performance(s) by Alec Guinness. It's often remarked that Guinness is most remembered Obi-Wan Kenobi from the "Star Wars" films. This is a shame. I'm no expert on Guinness's acting career, but watching this film (and "Lawrence of Arabia") it's clear to me how genius this man was. A true chameleon. Guinness is not the star, however, it's Dennis Price, a charming fellow whom I've never seen in a film before. He plays Louis, a man embittered about the fact that his beloved mother (a member of the D'Ascoyne family) was denied the chance to be buried in the family vault because of the fact that she married beneath her. On top of that, Louis is in love with Sibella (Joan Greenwood), a woman who is looking for a rich man to marry and doesn't have the time for the poor Louis. As Sibella prepares to marry Lionel (John Penrose), a man she doesn't love, Louis decides to strike back at the D'Ascoyne family for what they did to his mother and also for the chance to become Duke and win Sibella over. He begins to plot the murders of the 8 members of the family that stand in his way of becoming Duke and quickly begins with Ascoyne D'Ascoyne (Guinness) by causing him to drown. Moving on to Henry D'Ascoyne, a man he grows to admire, he also meets Edith (Valerie Hobson), Henry's wife.
The three hit it off, but Henry's death is inevitable and when he's gone, it leaves a window open for Louis to take advantage of his friendship with Edith. I don't want to reveal much more of the plot, but Guinness also plays Lord Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, General Lord Rufus D'Ascoyne, Reverend Lord Henry D'Ascoyne, Admiral Lord Horatio D'Ascoyne, Duke Ethelred D'Ascoyne, and Lady Agatha D'Ascoyne. Guinness has no dialogue as Lady Agatha, but still manages to make quite an impression. Watching this man become these 8 characters is absolutely incredible. He was truly a chameleon. There are times where it's hard to even tell it's Guinness and this is before make-up could make you look anyway you wanted to and turn you into anything. "Kind Hearts and Coronets" isn't just Guinness's show though and Price makes an interesting protagonist and the female leads are beautiful. "Kind Hearts and Coronets" probably isn't the easiest movie to find, but it's worth seeking out.

GRADE: B+

Darkly Hilarious.......2007-04-18

This film was included in a box set I bought that features 50 years of Janus Films. Most of the films I had never heard of since most were made before my time, so I have only the company's reputation for good taste to guide me. I may never have seen Kind Hearts and Coronets if I had not bought the box set since there is nothing in the title ( part of a quote from Tennyson, as it turns out) that would lead me to believe this is a film I might like. As it turns out, its just the kind of darkly hilarious movie I do like.
I won't rehash the plot in its entirety, but Dennis Price is marvelous as Louis Mazzini, a man born of an aristocratic mother and a commoner father who bitterly resents being cheated out of what he considered to be his birthright. His father had died at Louis' birth and so he was raised in poverty by his loving mother and made keenly aware by her of both his heritage and his rightful station in life. Her premature death from an accident galvanizes him to plotting the demise of those members of the D'Ascoyne family who stand between him and the dukedom he feels is rightfully his. What happens next becomes progressively funnier.
Though needy, Louis is an arrogant twit. As his goal comes ever closer to realization, you'll note that he becomes ever more arrogant. I like the scene where the rival who had married the woman Louis loved ends by calling Louis to his home in order to discreetly beg him to save him from bankruptcy . Louis coldly but justifiably refuses him and showers him with deserved scorn. This leads to a fight and the irony is that Louis's visit to the home of his rival culminates in his later being arrested for and convicted of the one murder he did not commit!
There are a lot of other things going on as well, too much to describe without spoiling the film for you. There are several love triangles and any number of nasty jabs at the British aristocracy, some subtle and some not. There is the masterful acting of Alec Guinness who plays all the D'Ascoyne roles, including that of the window-smashing suffragette. Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood each put in strong performances as the rival ladies in Mazzini's life. The bloviating executioner is too funny. But it is the ending that is purely delicious. Not only does Mazzini face a Hobson's choice in love, but there is something else which clouds his future. Watch it and find out what that is!

The Horse's Mouth - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

Guiness brews another stout character
The Incorrigible Individual: Gulley Jimson
All but the slapstick
Alec Guinness does comedy (again)
Fantastic Film, Exemplary DVD

The Horse's Mouth - Criterion Collection
Starring: Alec Guinness , Kay Walsh , Renee Houston , Mike Morgan , and Robert Coote
Director: Ronald Neame , and D.A. Pennebaker
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video