I Know Where I'm Going!
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Synopsis
In Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s stunningly photographed comedy, romance flourishes in an unlikely place—the bleak and moody Scottish Hebrides. Wendy Hiller stars as a headstrong young woman who travels to these remote isles to marry a rich lord. Stranded by stormy weather, she meets a handsome naval officer (Roger Livesey) who threatens to thwart her carefully laid-out life plans.
Picture 7/10
The Criterion Collection’s original DVD edition of Michael Powell’s and Emeric Pressburger’s I Know Where I’m Going! presents the film on a dual-layer disc in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The standard-definition transfer is sourced from a restoration carried out by the BFI using the original nitrate elements.
As a standard-definition presentation, I’ve always found this one to be generally solid; perfectly serviceable for its time, and even reasonably watchable when upscaled. Still, it was clearly in need of an upgrade, something the new 4K edition more than addresses. Detail and sharpness are decent within the limitations of the format, though longer shots can appear soft and a bit fuzzy, owing both to the condition of the source elements and the inherent constraints of DVD.
The image exhibits a fairly high-contrast look, though it can feel a bit heavy-handed at times, with whites occasionally pushed too far and blacks swallowing some shadow detail. Grayscale reproduction is fine but unremarkable. Where the presentation shows its age most clearly is in the remaining print damage: while major issues were clearly addressed, fine scratches are still scattered throughout, with the occasional larger scratch making an appearance. The image is otherwise stable, and considering the disc’s release date in 2001 and the film’s 1945 release, it was still an admirable restoration effort at the time.
Ultimately, it’s a respectable DVD presentation, but the newer Blu-ray and (especially) the 4K UHD represent a staggering upgrade in every meaningful way.
I Know Where I'm Going! - Screen Captures
Audio 6/10
The Dolby Digital mono presentation is actually better than one might expect. It can sound a bit edgy at times, but dialogue remains clear, and the dynamic range is occasionally surprising. Some background noise does creep in, though I didn’t notice any major or distracting issues.
Extras 8/10
Criterion originally released I Know Where I’m Going! on LaserDisc in 1994, and it appears they’ve ported everything from that edition over here, starting with an audio commentary by Ian Christie. Though clearly scripted, the track moves at a brisk pace, with Christie covering the film’s historical context, speculating on why the subject matter appealed to Powell and Pressburger, and discussing the script’s development, including the eventual addition of elements such as the curse. He also gets into casting, noting that James Mason was originally intended to play MacNeil, with Roger Livesey stepping in, despite Livesey having a stage commitment in London. As a result, Livesey’s scenes were shot entirely on soundstages in London, with a double used for exterior location shots, a trick I must admit I never detected. Christie then broadens the discussion to other films and contemporary portrayals of Scotland, including Powell’s The Edge of the World, before touching on the film’s lasting influence on modern filmmakers, such as Martin Scorsese. While Christie’s commentaries can occasionally feel a bit dry, this one never does, and it remains a consistently engaging and insightful exploration of the Archers’ work.
Next up is Mark Cousins’s 30-minute 1994 documentary "I Know Where I’m Going!" Revisited, which brings together cast and crew members such as Wendy Hiller and cinematographer Erwin Hillier, admirers like Scorsese and New Yorker writer Nancy Franklin, and even individuals who encountered the film’s legacy by chance. One of the highlights of that last point is Cousins’s interview with Sue Fink, then owner of the Western Isles Hotel in Tobermory, who only learned of the film after fans began visiting and asking about its connection to the property. Moments like these give the documentary a more personal, far-reaching quality than a standard making-of, illustrating how the film has continued to resonate with viewers over time.
This enthusiasm for the film is explored further in a nine-minute photo essay created by Franklin for this edition. She recounts her pilgrimage to the filming locations (after literally dropping everything following her first viewing of the film), everything from the village and the crumbling castle central to the story to the hillside phone box beside a waterfall, which I was genuinely surprised to learn actually exists, all of which is illustrated here with photographs taken during her visit and accompanied by her narration. It proves to be a fun little travelogue.
Building on that material are seven minutes of home-movie footage shot by Powell during one of his trips to the area. Schoonmaker Powell provides commentary here as well, identifying locations, discussing Powell’s travels, and pointing out people who appear on camera, along with Powell’s dog, Sweep. This is followed by a narrated gallery of production photos (unfortunately still presented as standard-definition upscales), during which she expands on Powell’s effective use of a double for Livesey and explains how the film’s whirlpool sequence was created using a blend of studio work and real footage.
Criterion also includes footage from Powell’s earlier film The Edge of the World, which was difficult to see at the time of this disc’s release. This section opens with material from the documentary Return to the Edge of the World, followed by film footage accompanied by an optional commentary from Christie (oddly, this alternate track contains no audio at all over the documentary portion). Christie discusses how the earlier film’s island setting and depiction of isolated communities, where old-world beliefs and superstitions still shape daily life, may have planted the seeds for I Know Where I’m Going!. While the film is far easier to access today (BFI has since released an all-region Blu-ray), its inclusion here helped contextualize the path Powell would later take.
The release also includes an insert featuring a short essay by Christie, which largely summarizes points covered across his two commentary tracks. All told, it’s a solid and thoughtful set of supplemental material.
Closing
At the time, it was a perfectly decent release, though Criterion’s newer Blu-ray and 4K editions improve on it considerably.
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