Movie #210: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Movie #: 210
Movie Title: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Year Released: 1943

Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Notable Cast: Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook

Short Description: Portrays in warm-hearted detail the life and loves of one extraordinary man. We meet the imposingly rotund General Clive Wynee-Candy, a blustering old duffer who seems the epitome of stuffy, outmoded values. Traveling backwards 40 years we see a different man altogether: the young and dashing officer "Sugar" Candy. Through a series of relationships with three women and his lifelong friendship with a German officer, we see Candy's life unfold and come to understand how difficult it is for him to adapt his sense of military honor to modern notions of "total war." (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #80
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 6/25/2013

What I Liked: I personally haven't seen a ton of movies that use this style of storytelling, but I love it when movies start out in the present, then flashback to the past and work back up to present time. I feel more engaged with the movie because I'm sitting there wondering what events have to unfold for us to get back to the present situation. I like that even though this movie is about the life of a military man, they were able to tell the story without actual battle scenes. Not to say war was not shown, but you never see Clive Candy partaking in a skirmish. I thought the monologue Candy's friend Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff gave at the immigration office was well written.

What I Disliked: At the same time, while I liked that the movie was told without Clive Candy actively participating in a battle, to not show his prowess in battle, which is what he was known for, sort of makes it hard to understand why everyone recognizes him as so great. If the main character's name is Clive Candy and the movie focuses on his life, I don't get the "Colonel Blimp" in the title. Wikipedia says that the title is based off a comic strip but the story of the movie itself is original. Why use that name then?

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: While a bit slow at times and quite lengthy at almost three hours, it's easy to become invested in the story of Clive Candy and the people around him.