Review of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) by Kevin N — 04 Jan 2010
A meticulous and impressive work of art which succeeds due to the tender care by its creators and the intense performances by Roger Livesey and Anton Walbrook. Deborah Kerr, too, pulls an impressive feat by embodying three characters throughout the film; this little trick spun a strange perspective on the mysterious sexual obsessions of Clive Candy, and would later be toyed with by Hitchcock and reversed by Bunuel, among others.
Also admirable is the color design; Powell and Pressburger remain perhaps the greatest artists of color film, and use it not so much as an illusion of realism but instead as a celebration of the truly cinematic.
The trophy heads on Candy's wall, the steamy corridors of the bath house, the dark and dead ruins of war- these sets are built like dreams, not like reality.
This review of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) was written by Kevin N on 04 Jan 2010.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp has generally received very positive reviews.
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