England,
1950, 111 min
Shown in 1986
CREDITS
- dir
-
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- prod
-
Alexander Korda, David Selznick
- scr
-
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- cam
-
Christopher Challis
- cast
-
Jennifer Jones, David Farrar, Cyril Cusack, Esmond Knight, Sybil Thorndike, Hugh Griffith
- source
-
National Film Archive, London
- premiere
-
U.S. Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Special Program: Treasures from the National Film Archive (London); Michael Powell in person.
OTHER
After The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp—triumphantly restored and revived in its original full-length version by the NFA/BFI this past summer—Gone to Earth has been one of the most eagerly awaited cases for reappraisal in the Powell-Pressburger Technicolor canon during the recent years of critical rediscovery enjoyed by these extraordinary filmmakers. Like Blimp, this sensual and striking adaptation of Mary Webb’s famous Victorian rural melodrama has been unjustly neglected and abused—not least through the tamperings of its producer, David Selznick, who commissioned the film as a vehicle for his future wife, Jennifer Jones (surprisingly effective as the earthy Shopshire-lass heroine), and hired Rouben Mamoulain to shoot additional scenes before releasing a severely truncated version under the title The Wild Heart. Rarely seen for many years, the authentic P and P version has nevertheless been called a “maligned masterpiece.” It was triumphantly restored and revived in its original full-length version by London’s National Film Archive last summer.
–Clyde Jeavons
FACTOID #347
The world premiere of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert took place at the 1994 San Francisco International Film Festival at the Castro Theatre.
