The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

"War starts at midnight!" This impeccable DVD does full justice to this magnificent 1943 British masterwork by director Michael Powell and screenwriter Emeric Pressburger. Roger Livesey truly gives the performance of a lifetime as Clive Candy, a professional soldier who over the course of three conflicts, is transformed from "young fool to grand old man." Championed by Martin Scorsese, who provides enthusiastic audio commentary, this largely unsung (in the U.S.) epic is based on a series of cartoons by political satirist David Low that portrayed Colonel Blimp as a pompous buffoon, but the movie version takes a more affectionate and sympathetic view of a man from a faded era of decency and honor who finds himself still fighting at a time when the old rules of warfare no longer apply. Presented in its complete 163-minute length (for decades, the film was exhibited and broadcast in severely truncated versions that dispensed with the flashback structure), the disc's commentary track also features Powell, who provides invaluable history and insight, though he does sound quite frail and at times unintelligible. Other extras include a 24-minute featurette that summarizes the sweeping story through representative clips, while interviews put the film in historical context. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (K. Lee Benson)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—Mar. 12, 2013—Criterion, 163 min., not rated, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and first on Blu-ray, 1943's The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp sports an amazing transfer and Dolby Digital mono audio on DVD and uncompressed mono sound on Blu-ray. Extras include audio commentary by director Michael Powell and filmmaker Martin Scorsese, an intro by Scorsese, an “Optimism and Sheer Will” 2012 interview with Powell's widow, Thelma Schoonmaker Powell (29 min.), a 2000 retrospective featurette (24 min.), a restoration demo (5 min.), a stills gallery, “David Low's Colonel Blimp” gallery of original cartoons, and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Molly Haskell. Bottom line: a fine extras package for this wonderful classic.]