Alison discovers that her boyfriend, believed killed in the war, has survived after all; his father, who had blocked their marriage because he thought his son could do better than a shopgirl, finally relents. A Canterbury Tale takes its title from The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer and loosely uses Chaucer's theme of "eccentric characters on a religious pilgrimage" to highlight the wartime experiences of the citizens of Kent and encourage wartime Anglo-American friendship and understanding. A Canterbury Tale took its lead from Chaucer to spin the story of three modern-day pilgrims uprooted by the war. A Canterbury Tale, while seemingly popular in Britain is a lesser known film of The Archers. Was this review helpful to you? The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories built around a frame narrative or frame tale, a common and already long established genre of its period. A 'Land Girl', an American GI, and a British soldier find themselves together in a small Kent town on the road to Canterbury. [3], All three leads were unknowns. [13] Dialogue from the film was sampled on the track "Introduction" on the album Merrie Land and Dreadzone's Second Light. A CANTERBURY TALE :: A Canterbury Tale. Chaucer's Tales differs from most other story "collections" in this genre chiefly in its intense variation. A Canterbury Tale (1944) was the most socially conscious of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s WWII films. Directed by: Actors: Production Company: The Archers Release Date: 21 January 1949 (USA) Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1 Color: Black and White. It seems unlikely that we - our species - shall ever again know the quiet certainties, tranquility, and satisfaction of lifelong residence in, or near, our birthplaces. In the scene where soldiers gather for a lecture at the Colpepper Institute they are actually in Fordwich. One of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s few box-office flops, this film was unsuccessfully recut and rereleased in the USA – though many now claim it to be a masterpiece. There is also a picture of the shop as it is now, as there are for many other location shots in the book.' Here are some great movies worth streaming that you won't see in the Best Picture category at the 2021 Oscars. There’s a reason why it is considered one of the very best of all British films. by English Knight 8 Replies 5621 Views. The film was the first production of Powell and Pressburger not to be a major box office draw. David Levene . Harvey Golden as Sgt Roczinsky, Bob Johnson's friend in Canterbury. To avoid internment, they must make their way to the border and get into the still-neutral U.S. A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court. The three decide to investigate the attack, enlisting the help of the locals, including several small boys who play large-scale war games. Evoking Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the film charts the progress of a select band of modern pilgrims during World War Two – a land girl, an American officer and a British soldier. After a masterful performance as Othello in a London theater, Ralph Richardson is asked for an autograph by Fred, his dresser. Gibbs visits Colpeper at his home and steals the fire watch roster listing the nights Colpeper was on duty in the town hall, whilst a paper drive for salvage by Johnson's boy commandos lets Johnson discover receipts for gum used to make glue sold to Colpeper. Three modern day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town on the way to Canterbury. For the post-war American release, Raymond Massey narrated and Kim Hunter was added to the film. Eerie and resonant, A Canterbury Tale is perhaps the most complete expression of Powell's fascination with the mystical power of landscape, which is also visible in works like Edge of the World (1937), "I Know Where I'm Going!" Title: At the time of filming, Hunter and Massey were preparing to film A Matter of Life and Death for Powell. Welcome. The Knight is described by Chaucer in the "General Prologue" as the person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims, though his manners and clothes are unpretentious.We are told that he has taken part in some fifteen crusades in many countries and also … As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on Britain in 1943, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol. The poem as we know it is the product of 15th-century scribes. A Canterbury Tale (1944) - Review from "The Monthly Film Bulletin" A Canterbury Tale. A young Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. A World War II U-boat crew are stranded in northern Canada. [6] Although the film initially had very poor reviews in the UK press,[7] and only small audiences, the film became a moderate success at the British box office in 1944.[8]. [2] Powell was said to have used the work of Chaucer as inspiration to create a film that showed "the love of his birthplace and all that he felt about England". It has since been reissued on DVD in both the UK and USA. Yes, he's vaguely sinister, but he provides the glue that diverts the film's younger, war-preoccupied characters from their immediate concerns, and he suggests the clues that connect them to the heritage (some of us Yanks know the words of 'Land Of Hope And Glory' because England/Britain is undeniably, in many respects, our Mother Country) that has shaped them and made them who they are - and to the Civilization for which they're fighting.Too many of today's critics obsess about the "Lesbian" farm woman whose character, in the 1940's, would have been ordinary and been regarded as being ordinary: a woman raised under the sterner discipline and mores of her day, with no-nonsense, no-b.s. Alison interviews all the glue man 's victims to identify the dates and times their. [ 3 ], all three leads were unknowns through the village was used scenes. Were selected for speaking roles director Alfred Junge asks Bob if he will spend the in... 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