Powell & Pressburger: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

A dubiously boastful British officer recounts his life and career from the Boer War through World War II in Powell and Pressburger’s mocking send-up of the English military upper crust, based on an old newspaper cartoon series. Termed both “the greatest English film ever made” (The New Yorker) and “disgraceful” (Winston Churchill), Blimp traces the history of modern English warfare through the unreliable recollections of a career officer and lifetime bumbler, from his hot-headed youth to his more mature years, when he’s just full of hot air. Entirely stagebound, shot on increasingly elaborate sets, this imperial(ist) fantasy was The Archers’ first Technicolor work.

Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

1943 | United Kingdom | English language | DCP

Rated NR