49th Parallel [2 Discs] [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

49th Parallel is a British wartime entreaty for Empire solidarity, concentrating on rousing the patriotic fervor of the citizens of Canada. A group of Nazi naval officers and crewmen are stranded on Canadian soil (we have no sympathy for the castaways, inasmuch as we have just seen them refusing food and water to a group of torpedoed British seamen). Led by lieutenant Eric Portman, the Nazis try to stir up sympathy amongst the Canadians, beginning with apolitical Quebeckian trapper Laurence Olivier. Failing to convert Olivier--even by force--the Germans move on to a Hutterite farming community, where again they are unsuccessful in winning adherents (though, conversely, German seaman Niall Mac Ginnis defects to the other side). They then cross the path of professorial author Leslie Howard, who is living amongst the Indians to soak up "local color". Even Howard proves too formidable for the Nazis, and by film's end the surviving invaders are hiding out in a train, where they are discovered and captured by AWOL Canadian soldier Raymond Massey. Most TV viewers know 49th Parallel under its alternate title, The Invaders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Screen: Black and White
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Features:
  • Disc One: The Film -
  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • Audio commentary by film and music historian Bruce Eder
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • Disc Two: The Supplements -
  • The Volunteer, a 1943 Powell and Pressburger war-effort short starring Ralph Richardson
  • Excerpts from Michael Powell's audio dictations for his autobiography
  • A Pretty British Affair, a BBC documentary on the careers of Powell and Pressburger, which considers their World War II - era collaborations and features rare footage of the filmmakers together
  • Plus: A new essay by film scholar Charles Barr and an excerpt from Powell's 1941 speech

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Original Story - 1942 (Emeric Pressburger)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1942
•     Nominated Best Screenplay - 1942 (Emeric Pressburger, Rodney Ackland)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Acting - 1942 (Anton Walbrook, Glynis Johns)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Leslie Howard - Philip Armstrong Scott
       Raymond Massey - Andy Brock
       Laurence Olivier - Johnnie
       Anton Walbrook - Peter
       Glynis Johns - Anna
       Eric Portman - Lieutenant Hirth
       Niall MacGinnis - Vogel
       Ley On - Nick
       Eric Clavering - Art
       Charles Victor - Andreas
       Raymond Lovell - Lieutenant Kuhnecke
       John Chandos - Lohrmann
       Basil Appleby - Jahner
       Charles Rolfe - Bob

• Director:

  Michael Powell

• Producer:

  Michael Powell, John Sutro

• Dialogue Writer:

  Rodney Ackland

• Screenwriter:

  Rodney Ackland, Emeric Pressburger

• Cinematographer:

  Freddie Young

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Muir Mathieson

• Composer (Music Score):

  Ralph Vaughan Williams

• Editor:

  David Lean

• Art Director:

  David Rawnsley, Nugent M. Cloucher

• Associate Producer:

  Roland Gillett, George H. Brown

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  C.C. Stevens

• Camera Operator:

  Skeets Kelly

• Production Manager:

  John Sutro

• Assistant to the Director:

  Larry Pizer

REVIEW:

• This 1941 British war film preached pure propaganda and got away with glowing critical reviews. How did it do it? With riveting suspense, superb writing, good cinematography, and some of the finest actors of the day, including Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey, Anton Walbrook, and Eric Portman. When director Michael Powell and producer Emeric Pressburger began planning the motion picture as part of the war effort, they decided to make a propaganda film that was more than patriotic pap. Helping to fire their imaginations were the hard realities of the day: Hitler was on the march, Britain was in peril, and the U.S. had not yet entered the war. Pressburger fashioned a story about Nazis who enter Canada after their submarine sinks off the coast, above the 49th Parallel, and try to make it to the neutral U.S. while authorities are hot on their trail. Portman convincingly portrays the detestable Nazi leader while Olivier, Howard, Walbrook and Massey play patriotic Canadians who resist him and the other invaders. (The Invaders, incidentally, was the title of the film in the U.S.) The movie attempted not only to influence U.S. public opinion but also to solidify Canadian support for the war. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi