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A Canterbury Tale

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Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s beloved classic A Canterbury Tale is a profoundly personal journey to Powell’s bucolic birthplace of Kent, England. Set amid the tumult of the Second World War, yet with a rhythm as delicate as a lullaby, the film follows three modern-day incarnations of Chaucer’s pilgrims—a melancholy “landgirl,” a plainspoken American GI, and a resourceful British sergeant—who are waylaid in the English countryside en route to the mythical town and forced to solve a bizarre village crime. Building to a majestic climax that ranks as one of the filmmaking duo’s finest achievements, the dazzling A Canterbury Tale has acquired a following of devotees passionate enough to qualify as pilgrims themselves.

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET

New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie
Excerpts from the American Version, with Kim Hunter
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, 2001 video installation piece inspired by A Canterbury Tale, by artist Victor Burgin
Listen to Britain, a 1942 documentary by Humphrey Jennings
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Graham Fuller, Peter von Bagh, and actor John Sweet

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This was one of the more likely upcoming titles expected in 2006.. it's great news, however as BJ points out, Image may be jumping the gun (as they have done previously) and it may indeed be coming, but a little later than the July date...

Blurb seems pretty genuine CC copy...

This is great news but I wonder if this makes a release of The 49th Parallel any more, or less, likely. I saw the film for the first time on TCM monday night and loved it and would really love to add it to the collection - anybody know anything re Criterion and this film?

It was announced by Criterion along with this in an interview as coming.

This looks like pretty much it for July.

sigh, I thought we'd at least get the promised Kicking and Screaming by now, and maybe the long-awaited Pierrot le fou announcement.

domino harvey wrote:sigh, I thought we'd at least get the promised Kicking and Screaming by now, and maybe the long-awaited Pierrot le fou announcement.

They might be looking for more material for those two titles.

This is a pretty solid title though -- even if it carries limited excitement.

I was sighing at there only being three July titles, not at the titles themselves!

I was expecting Canterbury and 49th to be released at the same time, with consecutive spine numbers. But trivialities aside, I am delighted to see Canterbury finally receiving a definitive edition; I had the Carlton for about a week, before selling it on. Another one-of-a-kind gem for P&P.

domino harvey wrote:I was sighing at there only being three July titles, not at the titles themselves!

If you must sigh, do it here. Don't use up all the oxygen in an otherwise decent thread.

Interesting about CANTERBURY TALE, a quintessentially English film, are the relative contributions of Powell & Pressburger as individuals... According to Kevin MacDonald in his Pressburger bio it was largely his idea and conception, despite the dyed in the wool Kent setting, so known to Powell..

Powell was an Englishman wanting to be a sophisticated Continental European, while Pressburger was that Continental European/Hungarian wanting to be the absolute Englishman...

The genius of their teaming is in this film...

Great news. This is my favourite Powell and Pressburger, and a film that could have been conceived and executed by nobody else. I'm also intrigued that this might be a two-disc set, considering the real heavy-hitter P&P titles have been singles. If this is the case, I guess it will include a career documentary. Is anybody aware of good film-specific extras that are out there?

Am also mildly surprised that 49th Parallel (a great, underappreciated film) isn't trotting along behind, but I'm not one to look gift-glue in the hair.

It is a probably a two disc set because of the two versions of the film. I imagine they will include both.

There's a BBC Arena docu on P&P, A VERY BRITISH AFFAIR, from 1981, which would be suitable... Don't think there would be reasons for separate versions of this one...

CC may also include the documentary that MacDonald made about Pressburger -- called "The Making of an Englishman" if I recall. That would be suitable, and it obviously hasn't yet appeared on any of the P&P titles Criterion have released.

thethirdman wrote:It is a probably a two disc set because of the two versions of the film. I imagine they will include both.

I will love if Criterion could also include Pasolini's version. i recently sold the so-so Image disc for big bucks and was hoping that somebody would release it sooner or later. But this announcement is also great news.

dx23 wrote:I will love if Criterion could also include Pasolini's version. i recently sold the so-so Image disc for big bucks and was hoping that somebody would release it sooner or later. But this announcement is also great news.

I think the two versions thethirdman is referring to are the 124 minute UK cut and the 95 minute US cut.

solaris72 wrote:I think the two versions thethirdman is referring to are the 124 minute UK cut and the 95 minute US cut.

The UK cut is a certainty, but see little reason for including another version, while a handsome batch of suppliments on P & P would be more than welcome.

kinjitsu wrote:The UK cut is a certainty, but see little reason for including another version

Yeah, but maybe they'll include the Kim Hunter footage that was shot just for the US version as an extra.

solaris72 wrote:I think the two versions thethirdman is referring to are the 124 minute UK cut and the 95 minute US cut.

Thanks for the clarification, although I already knew that. I just was wishfully thinking that Pasolini's version would also be included on the set.

davidhare wrote:I couldn't imagine anything less liekly to sit comfortably with the Powell!

Canterbury Tales only salvation is to get packaged in a "Trilogy of Life" set with alternate English/Italian tracks. In any case it is surely his totally worst film. Unless they restore the giant schlong scene, cut recently from the Oz TV print. (It's the one attached the ugliest boy in all movies in the Miller's Tale.)

Not to mention the fact that Powell and Pressburger's film is decidedly NOT a Chaucer adaptation (though they do a nice "Whan that Aprill with hise shoures soote / The droghte of March hath perced to the roote. . ." bit at the beginning).

franconero wrote:This is great news but I wonder if this makes a release of The 49th Parallel any more, or less, likely. I saw the film for the first time on TCM monday night and loved it and would really love to add it to the collection - anybody know anything re Criterion and this film?

Yeah, i loved it. Beside the fact that Criterion released it on LD, I don't think there has been any news. I'd gladly double dip for it.

The existing Carlton has an acceptable transfer, but it is an old, old disk. If cc have gotten their hands on a decent print, this will look a treat.

The film itself should be prescribed in place of anti-depressants, such is its charm.

Either (or both) the BBC docus A VERY BRITISH AFFAIR & THE MAKING OF AN ENGLISHMAN are strong contenders for inclusion - constituent clip rights being easily clearable by Criterion...

There's also a 1986 LWT SOUTH BANK SHOW MICHAEL POWELL docu on the occasion of publication of Vol 1 of Powell's autobiography, and a BBC MICHAEL POWELL LATE SHOW SPECIAL from 1992, coinciding with the postumous publication of Volume 2...

Powell was besotted with Pamela at the time of IKWIG (indeed they much later lived together till the end of her life), so apparently, to Pressburger's dismay, he spent days in shooting location footage of her character out and about, most of which was junked in editing - the sublime shot with the hounds is a survivor.. Of course Roger Livesey had prior stage commitments in London which meant he could not be present for the Scottish location shoots... All long shots use a double, with his closer angles matched back in the studio in London...

porquenegar wrote:

franconero wrote:This is great news but I wonder if this makes a release of The 49th Parallel any more, or less, likely. I saw the film for the first time on TCM monday night and loved it and would really love to add it to the collection - anybody know anything re Criterion and this film?

Yeah, i loved it. Beside the fact that Criterion released it on LD, I don't think there has been any news. I'd gladly double dip for it.

Steve Crook, who runs the Powell & Pressburger Appreciation website, has been dropping some not-so-subtle hints over in the BritMovie forums that Criterion will be releasing multiple P&P titles in the near future -- at least he keeps using plural nouns ("others," etc.). I'm not sure just how reliable his information is, but in the past, he's been pretty near the mark on Blimp and Hoffman. So I guess we'll have to wait and see. Nevertheless, I'd be surprised if 49th Parallel didn't follow fast on the heels of Canterbury Tale.

And for the record, I love 49th Parallel, too. One feature of that movie that has never been fully appreciated (IMO) is Ralph Vaughan Williams' beautiful score.