Review of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) by Michael H — 18 Nov 2012

I'm amazed that this film was allowed to be made during the 2nd World War as it does a good job satirising the traditional code of conduct still in force by the old guard of the British establishment.

However perhaps younger minds recognised that this was neccessary in a war where the enemy no longer played by the rules! The film is very long, especially for its day, but it is also an engrossing look at one man's course through the latter part of the 19th Century through to the middle of World War II.

The fact that when we first meet Candy he comes across like a pompous old fool is exactly the point. We jump to the same conclusion that the young soldier does, Powell and Presburger aren't trying to present Candy as a hero, rather a gentleman soldier who doesn't move with the times.

By the end the audience recognises that it would be lovely if a 'gentleman's code' still existed but that war, no matter how 'played', should never be considered a game and that the price on both sides is just too great.

Watching it now there is a great nostaglia for all things British but also a sadness that almost 80 years on not much has actually changed.