The Browning Version [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Michael Redgrave gives his greatest performance as Andrew Crocker-Harris, a boarding-school teacher who realizes that his life may be a failure, in this powerful adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play with a screenplay by Rattigan himself. Poor health forces Crocker-Harris to give up his teaching position after years of thankless service and scorn from his students and colleagues. His marriage to Millie (Jean Kent) is also in free fall, as his wife is openly having an affair with the school's chemistry teacher, Hunter (Nigel Patrick). The sensitivity of one student (Brian Smith) breaks through Crocker-Harris's reserved British exterior, but it takes the final departure of his wife, right before the school's graduation exercises, to wake him up once and for all. He discards his prepared speech and speaks openly to the assembled students, delivering a moving apology for having failed them as their teacher. The film's rich montage of incident and character detail builds to intense emotional heights that make this version of The Browning Version a classic. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Features:
  • New, restored high-definition Digital transfer
  • Audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder
  • Exclusive interview with Mike Figgis, director of the 1994 remake
  • Archival interview with star Michael Redgrave from 1958
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Plus: A new essay by critic Geoffrey Macnab

AWARDS

• Berlin International Film Festival

•     Won Bronze Bear - Drama - 1951

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Nominated Best British Film - 1951 (Anthony Asquith)

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Best Actor - 1951 (Michael Redgrave)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 1951

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Michael Redgrave - Andrew Crocker-Harris
       Jean Kent - Millie Crocker-Harris
       Nigel Patrick - Frank Hunter
       Wilfrid Hyde - White - Frobisher
       Ronald Howard - Gilbert
       Brian Smith - Taplow
       Bill Travers - Fletcher
       Ivan Samson - Lord Baxter
       Josephine Middleton - Mrs. Frobisher
       Peter Jones - Carstairs
       Sarah Lawson - Betty Carstairs
       Scott Harold - Rev. Williamson
       Judith Furse - Mrs. Williamson

• Director:

  Anthony Asquith

• Producer:

  Teddy Baird

• Screenwriter:

  Terence Rattigan

• Play Author:

  Terence Rattigan

• Cinematographer:

  Desmond Dickinson

• Editor:

  John Guthridge

• Art Director:

  Carmen Dillon

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  John Dennis

• Makeup:

  W.T. Partleton

• First Assistant Director:

  George Pollock

REVIEW:

• The Browning Version is an emotionally wrenching exploration of a sad and defeated failure, but which ultimately (and surprisingly) becomes uplifting through the catharsis it evokes. Its stage origins are transparent; indeed, director Anthony Asquith almost goes out of his way to emphasize those origins, and with good reason. This is the story of a stuffy, closed-off, empty man whose classroom is a claustrophobic trap for his students; Asquith knows that by opening up the film as little as possible, he can drive home the sterility and artifice of the man and the trapped feeling he inspires in others. But Asquith doesn't allow the film itself to become stodgy; Desmond Dickinson's clever cinematography makes good use of the closed-in locations, finding variety and character without distracting from the claustrophobia. Asquith's attention to the text and the actors also pays off with sterling performances from all involved, but with a truly startling and riveting turn from Michael Redgrave in the lead. Indeed, Redgrave virtually is the film; his work here is nothing short of sensational, grabbing the viewer with a quiet intensity that is all the more remarkable considering that the character's deep, inner passion is buried so far deep inside him. There are layers upon layers upon layers in Redgrave's Crocker-Harris, one of the richest performances put upon the screen. There is so much going on with Redgrave that even the simplest of scenes has shades of hidden meaning. Redgrave aside, Browning is an excellent film; with Redgrave, it's an extraordinary one. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi