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Disc #1 -- A Canterbury Tale: The Film
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Index
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American Version Excerpts
Prologue
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Disc #2 -- A Canterbury Tale: The Supplements
Sheila Sim Interview
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John Sweet: A Pilgrim's Return
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A Canterbury Trail
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Listening to Britain
Burgin Introduction
Listen to Britain (Burgin)
Listen to Britain (Jennings)
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- Chapters
Disc #1 -- A Canterbury Tale: The Film
1. Prologue [5:47]
2. "Next Stop, Canterbury" [7:33]
3. Mr. Colpeper [7:32]
4. The Hand of Glory [9:10]
5. The Wheelwright [6:09]
6. "Things Don't Always Add Up" [5:23]
7. Landgirl [8:23]
8. Colpeper's Lecture [8:07]
9. Village Mystery [3:32]
10. Sticks and Stones [11:18]
11. Salvage Mission [11:05]
12. Miracles [8:41]
13. Higher Courts [8:32]
14. "Always an Organist" [7:27]
15. The Caravan [7:11]
16. Heavenly Messenger [7:31]
17. End Credits [1:19]
1. Literary Connections [5:47]
2. The Three Travelers [7:33]
3. Eric Portman [7:32]
4. Country and City [9:10]
5. Documentary Realism [6:09]
6. A Minor Miracle [5:23]
7. "Hopping" [8:23]
8. "What Is His Message?" [8:07]
9. Alfred Junge [3:32]
10. A Children's World [11:18]
11. Attention to Detail [11:05]
12. The Power of Imagination [8:41]
13. Court of Conscience [8:32]
14. The Cinematic Cathedral [7:27]
15. Neoromanticims [7:11]
16. Yanks in Britain [7:31]
17. End Credits [1:19]
- Features
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New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie
Excerpts from the American version, with Kim Hunter
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
New video interview with actress Sheila Sim
A Pilgrim's Return, a documentary about John Sweet, by Nick Burton and Eddie McMillan
A Canterbury Trail, a new documentary visiting the film locations, by David Thompson
Listen to Britain, a 2001 video-installation piece inspired by A Canterbury Tale, by artist Victor Burgin
Listen to Britain, a 1942 documentary by Humphrey Jennings
A booklet featuring essays by Graham Fuller, Peter von Bagh, and actor John Sweet
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Directors
Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
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Producers
Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
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Composers (Music Score)
Allan Gray
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Editors
John Seabourne
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Screen Writers
Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
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Others
Camera Operator - Cecil Cooney
Cinematographer - Erwin Hillier
Composer (Music Score) - Allan Gray
First Assistant Director - George R. Busby
Production Designer - Alfred Junge
Production Manager - George Maynard
Sound/Sound Designer - Desmond Dew
Sound/Sound Designer - C.C. Stevens
"A Canterbury Tale" is a marvelous film -- and don't worry, one doesn't need an appreciation for
Geoffrey Chaucer to be able to enjoy it.
Michael Powell and
Emeric Pressburger have once again shown how it is possible to work magic in the cinema -- and as with all the best magic, figuring out how it works is pretty darn difficult. By all rights,
"Canterbury" shouldn't be such an absorbing, engrossing and charming piece of work. The story wanders, starting out as one thing, becoming another, and ending a third. It's even structured in three distinct acts, which should make it feel rather stiff. But
"Canterbury" is anything but stiff. It melts, it floats, it simmers, it soars -- and yet it always knows where it's going, even if the viewer isn't always quite so clear. Perhaps the secret to the film's success is that
Powell and
Pressburger are only tangentially concerned with the actual details of the plot; what they're really interested in is making the gentlest kind of propaganda film, a war film that gets at the heart of why Britain was at that time embroiled in a devastating war. It beautifully, movingly yet never cloyingly explores the very nature of England -- not the country, but the spirit -- to demonstrate why it was worth the lives of so many people. And yet it does this without becoming heavyhanded. There's also plenty of comedy and beauty in
"Canterbury", not to mention some of
Powell and
Pressburger's finest cinematic tricks -- including a breathtaking "hawk into plane" transition at the beginning of the film that is simply stunning. The compositions are masterful and dramatic, the cinematography is just about perfect, and the entire effect is simply a joy. Dependable actors such as
Eric Portman and
Dennis Price give delightful performances and are joined by novice
John Sweet, whose unaffected, natural style is a treat.
"Canterbury" must be experienced. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
