Resisting the temptation to deliver a propaganda film to rally the nation during the dark days of 1942, Powell and Pressubrger directed The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, a highly nuanced character study in which an idealistic soldier cannot accept that the world has passed him by. Considered too controversial by Winston Churchill, the film was originally released only with massive cuts to its flashback structure, a move which negated the point of the film. Fortunately it was restored in the eighties to its full length and is now available in a magnificent Criterion DVD. The film is based on a comic strip by David Low that satirized an aging military general, a stereotype who is out of touch with the nation's mood.

Powell and Pressburger, however, used the comic strip the way Shakespeare uses some of his source material, only as a bare outline for the creation of complex characters and language of emotional depth. Candy is the personification of the English soldier as accepted during post-Victorian times but he is shown in a sympathetic manner, not as lacking in intelligence or virtue but as simply unable to cope with the demands of modern warfare. The film, produced in gorgeous Technicolor, opens in present time as a group of British home guard soldiers on a training exercise take it upon themselves to break the rules to show that the British army should emulate the dirty tactics of the enemy. When they capture the decorated British General Clive Candy (Roger Livesey) and his staff, the stage is set for a flashback that deposits us in 1902.

Candy, a decorated hero of the Boer Wars in South Africa, takes an unauthorized trip to Berlin to confront Kaunitz (David Ward),a German who is spreading rumors about British atrocities in South Africa. Meeting the lovely Edith Hunter (Deborah Kerr) who had written him about Kaunitz, he immediately becomes involved in an altercation with Kaunitz and a duel with Prussian officer Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff (Anton Walbrook). Though both are injured, a lifelong friendship develops that spans four decades, although Theo prevails in the love department, winning the affections of Edith.

Candy becomes a big game hunter, mounting trophies of his kill on the wall of his aunt's house. During World War I, he meets and marries a British nurse Barbara Wynne (Deborah Kerr) who unsurprisingly reminds him of Edith while Theo has become a prisoner of war in England. The theme of the film is illustrated in a scene towards the end of the war when Candy questions some German prisoners. His soft techniques of interrogation prove fruitless, however, and the questioning is left to a more ruthless soldier. As World War II unfolds, Candy and Theo are both widowers and Candy helps Theo gain asylum in Britain, a risky move since both of his sons have joined the Nazi cause.

One of the highlight's of the film is Theo's powerful ten-minute monologue explaining his rejection of Nazi Germany and his desire to settle in England. Candy is soon considered obsolete and a "Blimp-like" purveyor of the old values since he refuses to acknowledge that new tactics are needed to defeat a ruthless enemy and leaves the service, devoting his experience to training the home guard civilian defense forces and the story comes full circle. There is no character named Blimp, no battle scenes are depicted, and no overt romance is shown, yet The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp manages to convey a true feeling of romance, the futility of war, and what the modern world has lost in terms of heroic virtues. The premise that war ever reflected "civilized" values, however, is highly dubious.

This film was designed to bolster the war effort yet despite this, it sometimes portrays Germans in a softer light instead of the typical "maniac" of American and British wartime films.

The film follows the career of an idealistic young officer that recently won the Victoria Cross (the British equivalent to the Medal of Honor). He is shown as brash and daring and gets himself into trouble in 1902 Germany. However, in the process he befriends a German officer (Walbrook) and their stories periodically intertwine.

The first few minutes of the movie I found to be rather slow and stuffy. The video itself was also a problem as it had so yellowed it was hard to tell at times that the movie was originally in Technicolor. But, apart from these things, try to bear with the film as it is both inspiring and yet very human and compelling.

I admit I did have high hopes for this film, having being blown away by The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and especially A Matter of Life and Death. And The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp meets those expectations, I'd say. It is just a wonderful film with a lot to admire. It is a long film, but it is never boring despite the purposefully nuanced length. The production values as are the case with Powell and Pressburger's films are of high quality, and the direction is superb. As is the dialogue especially the 10 minute monologue which really made me think, and the story is beautifully constructed. The acting I have no qualm with either, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook really impress, especially Kerr in three roles, but it is Roger Livesey's truly astonishing lead performance that takes centre stage.I never realised that Churchill ordered this film to be banned because he thought it would give the wrong impression of the British fighting man. True it does take as pop at the complacency of the top brass, however one might say it is also a tribute to honour and loyalty. So all in all, it is just outstanding. 10/10 Bethany Cox