The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

1943
Approved
2h 43m

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

17K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer3:01

Epic Drama Romance War

From the Boer War through World War II, a soldier rises through the ranks in the British military.From the Boer War through World War II, a soldier rises through the ranks in the British military.From the Boer War through World War II, a soldier rises through the ranks in the British military.

Directors
- Michael Powell
- Emeric Pressburger
Writers
- Michael Powell
- Emeric Pressburger
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

17K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,006

3,791

Directors
- Michael Powell
- Emeric Pressburger
Writers
- Michael Powell
- Emeric Pressburger
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations

Trivia
Colonel Blimp was a British cartoon character in a then well-known strip. The producers decided to use the name for the movie.

Goofs
When the two dogs are let into the London house, one can be seen at the top of the stairs answering a call of nature.

Quotes
Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff: You know that, after the war, we had very bad years in Germany. We got poorer and poorer. Every day retired officers or schoolteachers were caught shoplifting. Money lost its value, the price of everything rose except of human beings. We read in the newspapers that the after-war years were bad everywhere, that crime was increasing and that honest citizens were having a hard job to put the gangsters in jail. Well in Germany, the gangsters finally succeeded in putting the honest citizens in jail.

Crazy credits
The lead actors' names are sewn onto a tapestry-like picture, written on scrolls. This opening credits' "needlework tapestry" was completed by the Royal College of Needlework.

Alternate versions
The original version (the one restored to Criterion Collection DVD and laserdisc) runs 163 minutes. When Winston Churchill expressed his vehement dislike for the film, the British distributor, Rank Films, cut it to 140 minutes. The film was chopped to pieces when it was imported to the United States in 1945, running around 120 minutes (in which the film's vital flashback structure is eliminated and the story is told from beginning to end). The film was further cut to 90 minutes and ran on public television often in the 1970s; for years, it was thought that this was the only extant version. In 1983, with the cooperation of the Archers, the film was restored to the full 163-minute length. The restored film retains the original flashback structure and many World War I scenes, including the appearance of a black soldier.

Connections
Featured in Arena: A Pretty British Affair (1981)

Soundtracks
Je suis Titania
(uncredited)
from "Mignon"
Music by Ambroise Thomas

User reviews136

Review

Featured review

9/10

This movie should live on forever.

Once in a while, I see a film I wished I'd seen before. This movie is one of those. It was a complete and total surprise. I'd heard of it, but never anything definitive. It is simply one of the greatest films I ever saw. From the first shot to the closing credits, it was wonderfully acted, beautifully photographed, and superbly directed. Everything worked: the music was effective, the costumes and makeup were perfect.

Roger Livesay and Deborah Kerr, in particular, shone beautifully. There was a chemistry between them that was especially magical during the early years. Livesay aged well, not just in the way he looked, but in the way he acted. He gave the impression that as an actor, he understood that generals always fight the previous war, and his General Candy felt, by films end, exactly that sort of general.

I recommend this movie without qualification to anyone who appreciates the art of moviemaking, and the pleasures of watching.