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Licensor Information
Granada International Media
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.
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Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
DVD
Discs:
DVD-9 (2 Discs)
Total: 2 Discs
Regions:
1 (DVD)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33:1
Audio Options:
English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Resolution:
480p/29.97
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Audio Commentary, Alternate Scene, Interview, Documentary, Video Presentation, Booklet
- 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 Britain1942 documentary by Humphrey Jennings
- A booklet featuring essays by Graham Fuller, Peter von Bagh, and actor John Sweet
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Film
Picture
Audio
Supplements
Artwork
Release Credits
Producer: Karen Stetler
Artwork: F. Ron Miller
Artwork: Cameron Thorp
Release Notes on Restoration
A Canterbury Tale
A Canterbury Tale is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. On widescreen televisions, black bars will appear on the left and the right of the image to maintain the proper screen format. This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from the original 35mm nitrate fine-grain master. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System. To maintain optimal image quality through the compression process, the picture on this dual-layer DVD-9 was encoded at the highest possible bit rate for the quantity of material included.
The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.
The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.