Watched it last night. I'd never seen it before, but not for lack of trying. I'd begun watching a number of times and always lost interest in the first 10 minutes. But this time I'd DVR'd it on the MGM-HD movie channel and it was sitting there in Hi-Def on my DVR hard drive and I was thinking I couldn't just delete it without watching, what with all the wonderful things I'd heard about it and all ... so I settled in again and had another go.
What had always put me off -- and very nearly put me off again last night -- was the tone of the opening scenes. It was 1943, Britain was practically Liberty's last bastion in Europe, and here's a movie in which the British Army is interacting with the Home Guard as though they were all in a Marx Brothers movie. The first segment flies by at a breakneck pace and is so larded with stereotypical British dialogue I almost expected Bertie Wooster to put in an appearance. I'm not saying I don't enjoy such things at times; I'm saying that to me in this film the irreverent tone did not fit the situation. And the events that were transpiring -- the "all in fun old boy" near-decapitation of a motorcyclist, the violation of the rules of a game by an enthusiastic young Army officer, the humiliation in a Turkish bath of a nearly-naked old fat man with a big mustache, the betrayal of the Army by a Mata Hari in uniform -- just did not appeal to me at all, not even a little bit. I came so close to quitting yet again last night, but ...
I'm saying all this for the benefit of anybody who's never seen the movie. If you can make it through the first, oh, 30 minutes or so, I believe you'll be rewarded with one of the most memorable movie experiences of your life. You'd think the movie would be about that insufferable young Army officer, but no ... it's about the old fat man with the big mustache and how he came to be where he is, why he thinks right is might and not the other 'way round, whom he loved, whom he lost, the trophies on his wall, his friend the German Army officer, and so very very much more. The background of the opening and closing credits is drawn to look like a medieval tapestry -- and that's just a perfect artistic choice because the film is the tapestry of a life. You see the old fat mustachioed blow-hard at the beginning of the film and you dismiss him, but then through an extended movie-length flashback you follow his life from the time he was a brash, insufferable young Army officer himself, through his distinguished service to his country, right up to the day he's humiliated in the Turkish bath. And this time you look at that wonderful, flawed old man in a very different light.
The film is a feast for the eyes in luscious Technicolor, with sumptuous sets, glorious costumes, and the lovely young Deborah Kerr in three -- count 'em, three! -- different roles. I thought the acting was superb throughout, with OK, one or two exceptions -- notably an American motorcycle driver. The highlight of the film was a monologue by the German Army officer friend played by Anton Walbrook that had me riveted to the screen -- just brilliant writing and acting. I won't spoil things by describing what he said -- I'll just highly recommend you see it if you haven't already. Some say the reason Churchill opposed the making of this film was the sympathetic depiction of a German officer. Could be, but if the charge against Churchill is correct, then Churchill was wrong. Or maybe it's because the main character was just a bit too reminiscent of Churchill himself. I think nobody knows the real answer.
To refresh my memory, I looked up Colonel Blimp in Wikipedia because as far as I could tell there was nobody in this movie actually named Colonel Blimp. As soon as I saw the cartoon character I recognized him -- of course I'd seen him before, and of course Colonel Blimp is a type, not an actual character. Of course.
Fine movie, well worth the time invested.
What had always put me off -- and very nearly put me off again last night -- was the tone of the opening scenes. It was 1943, Britain was practically Liberty's last bastion in Europe, and here's a movie in which the British Army is interacting with the Home Guard as though they were all in a Marx Brothers movie. The first segment flies by at a breakneck pace and is so larded with stereotypical British dialogue I almost expected Bertie Wooster to put in an appearance. I'm not saying I don't enjoy such things at times; I'm saying that to me in this film the irreverent tone did not fit the situation. And the events that were transpiring -- the "all in fun old boy" near-decapitation of a motorcyclist, the violation of the rules of a game by an enthusiastic young Army officer, the humiliation in a Turkish bath of a nearly-naked old fat man with a big mustache, the betrayal of the Army by a Mata Hari in uniform -- just did not appeal to me at all, not even a little bit. I came so close to quitting yet again last night, but ...
I'm saying all this for the benefit of anybody who's never seen the movie. If you can make it through the first, oh, 30 minutes or so, I believe you'll be rewarded with one of the most memorable movie experiences of your life. You'd think the movie would be about that insufferable young Army officer, but no ... it's about the old fat man with the big mustache and how he came to be where he is, why he thinks right is might and not the other 'way round, whom he loved, whom he lost, the trophies on his wall, his friend the German Army officer, and so very very much more. The background of the opening and closing credits is drawn to look like a medieval tapestry -- and that's just a perfect artistic choice because the film is the tapestry of a life. You see the old fat mustachioed blow-hard at the beginning of the film and you dismiss him, but then through an extended movie-length flashback you follow his life from the time he was a brash, insufferable young Army officer himself, through his distinguished service to his country, right up to the day he's humiliated in the Turkish bath. And this time you look at that wonderful, flawed old man in a very different light.
The film is a feast for the eyes in luscious Technicolor, with sumptuous sets, glorious costumes, and the lovely young Deborah Kerr in three -- count 'em, three! -- different roles. I thought the acting was superb throughout, with OK, one or two exceptions -- notably an American motorcycle driver. The highlight of the film was a monologue by the German Army officer friend played by Anton Walbrook that had me riveted to the screen -- just brilliant writing and acting. I won't spoil things by describing what he said -- I'll just highly recommend you see it if you haven't already. Some say the reason Churchill opposed the making of this film was the sympathetic depiction of a German officer. Could be, but if the charge against Churchill is correct, then Churchill was wrong. Or maybe it's because the main character was just a bit too reminiscent of Churchill himself. I think nobody knows the real answer.
To refresh my memory, I looked up Colonel Blimp in Wikipedia because as far as I could tell there was nobody in this movie actually named Colonel Blimp. As soon as I saw the cartoon character I recognized him -- of course I'd seen him before, and of course Colonel Blimp is a type, not an actual character. Of course.
Fine movie, well worth the time invested.