DVD Savant Blu-ray Review: David Lean directs Noël Coward David Lean directs Noël Coward In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter Blu-ray Criterion 604-606; 76 1942-1945 / B&W, Color / 1:37 flat full frame / 114, 111, 96, 86 min / Street Date March 27, 2012 / 99.95 Starring: Noël Coward, Michael Wilding, James Donald, Bernard Miles, John Mills, Celia Johnson, Kay Walsh, Richard Attenborough; Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, John Mills, Kay Walsh, Stanley Holloway; Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond, Margaret Rutherford, Joyce Carey; Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey. Cinematography Noël Coward, Muir Matheson, Clifton Parker; Richard Addinsell.

Written by Noël Coward & David Lean Reviewed by Glenn Erickson The English rightfully think dearly of David Lean, as the BFI National Archive spent a fortune restoring the director's first ten films several years ago. The first four titles have just appeared on Criterion's Blu-ray set David Lean directs Noël Coward. The famous performer, playwright and composer co-directed the first film and provided the stories for all four. As recounted in the excellent extras in the four-disc set, Coward enabled the development of an exceedingly talented partnership that would be known as The Cineguild: director-writer David Lean, cinematographer-writer Ronald Neame and writer-co-producer-production manager Anthony Havelock-Allan. Coward would chastise his "little darlings" when he didn't like their work, but he supported them fully. These four wartime films launched the careers of several major actors and are still considered the top British films of their day. In Which We Serve began as Noël Coward's show, as he starred, produced and wrote the original script, basing his story on Lord Mountbatten's exploits in the Royal Navy.

According to historian Barry Day, "The Darlings" brought Coward's overlong script to length by reformatting various subplots as flashbacks. Survivors of a sunken destroyer cling helplessly to a life raft while German planes strafe them; several remember events back home that illustrate the excitement and tragedy of the wartime experience. As a wartime morale-raiser Coward's film cannot be bettered. The civilians back home (lovely Celia Johnson and Kay Walsh) fret and suffer German bombing raids. Captain Kinross (Coward), Seaman Shorty Blake (John Mills) and C.P.O. Hardy (Bernard Miles) bob on the ocean covered in fuel oil, as ripple dissolves flash back to their memories of life on shore. The drama is honest and powerful. It's obvious that wartime English audiences were transfixed -- unlike our experience, the Nazi threat was on their doorstep. Coward does lay on his pro-Navy recruitment messages rather thickly. Although the sailors complain, comments about the excellent food proliferate, even the playwright's favorite drink of "hot cocoa". The feeling of authenticity is more than a matter of excellent sets (an entire section of the ship was replicated on a soundstage).

Many of the sailors and soldiers seen in the show are real troops, volunteering during leave. Among the excellent cast are Michael Wilding as a smiling officer, a young James Donald as the ship's doctor and future director Michael Anderson as a Marine. In Which We Serve was a big break for the very young Richard Attenborough, who debuts as a cowardly sailor. Attenborough already has his tortured misfit act down pat. This Happy Breed is an ambitious adaptation of a Noël Coward play, a between-the-wars extension of his earlier success Cavalcade. The episodic story records the fortunes of the lower middle-class Gibbons family. They move into a row house at the close of WW1, and at the finale, takes their leave just as WW2 is beginning. We watch as their children grow up during times of labor unrest and political radicalism; each episode ends in a heavy fade to black. Frank Gibbons (Robert Newton, looking positively sober) is happy to find Bob Mitchell, an old army buddy (Stanley Holloway) living next door. They go on periodic benders, much to the dismay of Frank's reserved wife Ethel (Celia Johnson).

A sister and an Aunt live on the premises and fight like cats and dogs, but the kids Queenie, Vi and Reg (Kay Walsh, Eileen Erskine & John Blythe) get along well. Vi marries and promptly tames an outspoken political radical. Reg eventually marries, which brings about a humorous scene where Frank dodges his duty to tell him about sex. Queenie is bitterly dissatisfied with her "common" surroundings and becomes determined to break free. She loves Bob's son Billy (John Mills) but rejects him because he's a sailor, and she wants something better. When she does run away, Frank and Ethel are heartbroken. David Lean had co-directed In Which We Serve in conjunction with Noël Coward, but here he and his Cineguild cohorts fashion their own kind of show. With the luxury of Technicolor they make the tired old house into a character all its own. We notice the patterns left on the wallpaper when furniture is moved. The camera peeks through doorways and slips out the garden doors to the family's bit of green yard. The film has some particulars in common with Minnelli's Meet Me In St.

Louis -- it manages a representation of a major fair and builds an entire scene around the social havoc that occurs when the family hires cars to take them to their son's wedding. Robert Newton and Celia Johnson make a fine couple. Although accounts in the extras reveal that the actor fell off the wagon at least once during production, this is a different Newton from the boozy, entertaining ham we know from his "Long John Silver" years. The actor matches Celia Johnson for sensitivity, and many scenes are honestly affecting. Kay Walsh comes into her own here. Noël Coward is said to have been very class conscious, but Queenie Gibbons' big flaw is her desire to escape her surroundings. As bad as her decisions are, the message is more 'stay in your place' than 'seize the day'. The war film was a storyboard-and-montage effort, but This Happy Breed shows Lean (and his Cineguild partners) mastering a show that builds on flow and long takes. Like memories, it seems to be constructed of little fluid moments in time, the isolated instances that stay rooted in the memory as other events fade around them.

Long a favorite of American Anglophiles, Blithe Spirit retains more of the feeling of its source, a popular Noël Coward comedy. The other three films stress Coward's affinity for human subjects, whereas Spirit harks back to his brittle, sophisticated stage work. His leading characters are smart moderns that dish out clever reparteé and do their best to maintain a reserve no matter what outrageous things occur. A story that begins as a rather contemptible party game develops into a full-scale film blanc fantasy. Smug, urbane author Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) bickers with his second wife Ruth (Constance Cummings) before a dinner party. As a lazy way of collecting research for his next book Charles has invited the local eccentric Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford), who claims to converse with the spirit world. Arcati's hilariously eventful séance seems a failure until the guests have gone home. Rex quietly asked to speak to his deceased first wife Elvira (Kay Hammond) -- and his request has been answered. Visible and audible only to Charles, the greenish phantom Elvira gets her ex- husband into deep trouble with Ruth, who is convinced that he's simply misbehaving to annoy her.

Another fine achievement in Technicolor lensing -- camera-wise viewers will wonder how the greenish Elvira was lit without her green key light spilling onto other parts of the set -- Blithe Spirit will entertain depending on how much one enjoys veddy proper British comedies of manners. The famous Coward wit is often at its peak, but his jokes also take pot shots at easy targets, such as a quick throwaway put-down of the movies en toto. The part of Blithe Spirit everybody enjoys is the energetic, wonderfully daffy Margaret Rutherford. She could always be counted on to enliven a movie but Spirit puts her front and center for an entire reel at least. In contrast to the rather unlikeable, self-absorbed leading players, Madame Arcati is an adorable hoot. The serious Brief Encounter belongs with a small group of postwar movies where the romantic element is bittersweet, if not outright despairing. Unlike It Always Rains on Sunday, this is less of a genre or noir piece than a slice-of life tale about an unfulfilled housewife who falls in love with a doctor she meets in a railway station. It's the payoff role for Celia Johnson and also made a star of Trevor Howard.

Suburban Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) and Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard) meet at a railway Tea Room and spend a string of Thursday afternoons together. He's married as well; guilt gnaws at Laura even as she admits that she looks forward to their meetings. They both realize that to run off together would hurt a lot of people and most likely ruin their lives as well. But neither has the will to call it off. This time the Cineguild partners expanded greatly on Noël Coward's original play. A man of more than a few affairs, David Lean takes pains to portray incipient adultery as misery for the unhappy people that consider it. Soap operas about wandering spouses typically take place in glamorous settings and the people involved get a chance to enjoy "the thrill of romance" before the inevitable problems settle in. Laura imagines such things only as a pipe dream. She and Alec feel guilty and ashamed every step of the way, and Laura in particular sees no possibility of pursuing the relationship. Both are rapidly approaching middle age and are desperate for each other. Yet there's just too much social pressure and inner resistance preventing them from breaking free.

Frequently listed among the most romantic films ever made, Brief Encounter is really about romance frustrated. The intimate love story closely follows the emotions of the Celia Johnson character. David Lean saves his expressionistic touches for subjective moments. The room darkens around the downcast Laura, and the camera tilts as she briefly loses control of her emotions. Lean emphasizes the intensity of her feelings when a view of Laura in an armchair suddenly invades a shot of the lovers in a train station tunnel. But most of the show takes place in mundane surroundings. Both Laura and Alec interact with people that give them no doubt that, should their secret become known, they will become social outcasts. Brief Encounter fell out of favor for a number of years; I've read critiques that call the characters weaklings unworthy of romance and incapable of making decisions for themselves. That attitude forgets that there will always be people that hesitate for good reasons. Plenty of souls need to square themselves with the social order and try their best to honor their promises and vows. Once again, the Cineguild partners made a Noël Coward story cinematic with a fractured time structure, this time imposing a pattern similar to the murder noir Double Indemnity .

The feature-length flashbacks in both films are covered by the voiceover thoughts of the leading character. Instead of a hardboiled narrative, Laura's inner voice communicates her frantic emotions, disappointment and shame. Interestingly, the dialogue gives Laura the sensible dialogue. The unfaithful doctor must deliver a lot of "I love you" matinee drivel, which sounds as if it belongs in the matinees the pair attends on their chaste afternoons. Yet the film's emotional honesty is unimpaired. The time shift pivots around an innocuous, half-heard scene in a grim railway Tea Room, which ends up being repeated at the film's end. Only then do we discover how important, and tragic, the small scene is. Brief Encounter captures the dreadful weight of petty, seemingly insignificant moments, that can suddenly be weighted with awful importance and remembered for a lifetime. Criterion's deluxe DVD Blu-ray sets of David Lean directs Noël Coward rank high among their releases for 2012. None of these pictures has fared particularly well in previous video incarnations, but the BFI restoration plus Criterion's digital cleanup yields spectacular results. The two B&W shows never looked better and the Technicolor pair is stunning.

Previous TV presentations of This Happy Breed were a grainy mess of dull color. Only now can we fully judge the clever lighting schemes that create Blithe Spirit's fantasy scenes with a minimum of optical effects. Anyone in doubt about the improvement should see the clips on some of the older documentaries and TV shows included with the set. The contrast is remarkable. Criterion's extras begin with video essays by the entertaining Noël Coward biographer Barry Day. His speeches are unbroken strings of interesting facts and relevant comments. I only caught one questionable statement, when he says that an underwater shot of Noël Coward from In Which We Serve was re-purposed from an earlier Coward picture. Brief Encounter carries a commentary by Bruce Eder. A variety of featurettes and found documentaries cover the four films from all sides, often abetted by interviews with surviving crew people. Docus new and old cover the four titles individually. A 1992 TV show concentrates on the life of Noël Coward, while a 1971 piece lets David Lean explain his own career. Richard Attenborough and Coward are also heard in a 1969 conversation at the National Film Theater.

The charming cameraman-director-writer Ronald Neame appears in a pleasant interview and original trailers are included for each picture. Finally, an insert booklet contains fine essays by Ian Christie, Terrence Rafferty, Farran Smith Nehme, Geoffrey O'Brien and Kevin Brownlow. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, David Lean directs Noël Coward Blu-ray rates: David Lean Directs Noël Coward - The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection David Lean Directs Noël Coward SYNOPSIS Spine #603 In the 1940s, the wit of playwright Noël Coward and the craft of filmmaker David Lean melded harmoniously in one of cinema’s greatest writer-director collaborations. With the wartime military drama sensation In Which We Serve, Coward and Lean (along with producing partners Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan) embarked on a series of literate, socially engaged, and enormously entertaining pictures that ranged from domestic epic (This Happy Breed) to whimsical comedy (Blithe Spirit) to poignant romance (Brief Encounter). These films created a lasting testament to Coward’s artistic legacy and introduced Lean’s visionary talents to the world.

Collector’s Set Includes David Lean and Noël Coward 1942 In the midst of World War II, the renowned playwright Noël Coward engaged a young film editor named David Lean to help him realize his vision for an action drama about a group of Royal Navy sailors (roles that would be filled by Coward himself, Bernard Miles, and John Mills, among others) fighting David Lean 1945 David Lean’s delightful film version of Noël Coward’s theater sensation stars Rex Harrison as a novelist who cheekily invites a medium to his house to conduct a séance, hoping the experience will inspire a book he’s working on.

Disc Features New high-definition digital transfers of the BFI National Archive’s 2008 restorations, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-ray editions Audio commentary on Brief Encounter by film historian Bruce Eder New interviews with Noël Coward scholar Barry Day on all of the films Interview with cinematographer-screenwriter-producer Ronald Neame from 2010 Short documentaries from 2000 on the making of In Which We Serve and Brief Encounter David Lean: A Self Portrait, a 1971 television documentary on Lean’s career Episode of the British television series The Southbank Show from 1992 on the life and career of Coward Audio recording of a 1969 conversation between Richard Attenborough and Coward at London’s National Film Theatre Trailers PLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by Ian Christie, Terrence Rafferty, Farran Smith Nehme, Geoffrey O’Brien, and Kevin Brownlow New covers by F.

Ron Miller My Criterion David Lean Directs Noel Coward - ClassicFlix 8718 In Which We Serve / 12078 This Happy Breed / 622 Blithe Spirit SYNOPSIS: In the 1940s, the wit of playwright Noel Coward and the craft of filmmaker David Lean melded harmoniously in one of cinema's greatest writer-director collaborations. With the wartime military drama sensation In Which We Serve, Coward and Lean (along with producing partners Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan) embarked on a series of literate, socially engaged, and enormously entertaining pictures that ranged from domestic epic (This Happy Breed) to whimsical comedy (Blithe Spirit) to poignant romance (Brief Encounter). These films created a lasting testament to Coward's artistic legacy and introduced Lean's visionary talents to the world. In Which We Serve (1942) In the midst of World War II, the renowned playwright Noel Coward engaged a young film editor named David Lean to help him realize his vision for an action drama about a group of Royal Navy sailors (roles that would be filled by Coward himself, Bernard Miles, and John Mills, among others) fighting the Germans in the Mediterranean.

Coward and Lean ended up co-directing the large-scale project-an impressive undertaking, especially considering that neither of them had directed for the big screen before (this would be Coward's only such credit). Cutting between a major naval battle and flashbacks to the men's lives before they left home. In Which We Serve (an Oscar nominee for best picture) was a major breakthrough for both filmmakers and a sensitive and stirring piece of propaganda. This Happy Breed (1944) David Lean brings to vivid emotional life Noel Coward's epic chronicle of a working-class family in the London suburbs over the course of two decades. Robert Newton and Celia Johnson are surpassingly affecting as Frank and Ethel Gibbons, a couple with three children whose modest household is touched by joy and tragedy from the tail end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second. With its mix of politics and melodrama, This Happy Breed is a quintessential British domestic drama, featuring subtly expressive Technicolor cinematography by Ronald Neame and a remarkable supporting cast including John Mills, Stanley Holloway, and Kay Walsh.

Blithe Spirit (1945) Blithe Spirit, David Lean's delightful film version of Noel Coward's theater sensation (onstage, it broke London box-office records before hitting Broadway), stars Rex Harrison as a novelist who cheekily invites a medium (Margaret Rutherford) to his house to conduct a seance, hoping the experience will inspire a book he's working on. Things go decidedly not as planned when she summons the spirit of his dead first wife (Kay Hammond), a severe inconvenience for his current one (Constance Cummings). Employing Oscar-winning special effects to spruce up Coward's theatrical farce, Blithe Spirit is a sprightly supernatural comedy with winning performances. Brief Encounter (1945) Adapting Noel Coward's play Still Life, legendary filmmaker David Lean deftly explores the thrill, pain, and tenderness of illicit romance during the dour, gray Britain of 1945. From a chance meeting on a train platform, a middle-aged married doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) enter into a quietly passionate, ultimately doomed love affair set to a swirling Rachmaninoff score.

BONUS FEATURES: Audio commentary on Brief Encounter by film historian Bruce Eder New interviews with Noël Coward scholar Barry Day on all of the films Interview with cinematographer-screenwriter-producer Ronald Neame from 2010 Short documentaries from 2000 on the making of In Which We Serve and Brief Encounter David Lean: A Self Portrait, a 1971 television documentary on Lean's career Episode of the British television series The Southbank Show from 1992 on the life and career of Coward Audio recording of a 1969 conversation between Richard Attenborough and Coward at London's National Film Theatre Trailers PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Ian Christie, Terrence Rafferty, Farran Smith Nehme, Geoffrey O'Brien, and Kevin Brownlow David Lean Directs No�l Coward Blu-ray David Lean Directs Noï¿½l Coward (1942-1945) David Lean Directs Noï¿½l Coward Blu-ray comes close to perfection with top scores all around making it one of the best Blu-ray's ever In the 1940s, the wit of playwright Noï¿½l Coward and the craft of filmmaker David

 Lean melded harmoniously in one of cinemaï¿½s greatest writer-director collaborations.

With the wartime military drama sensation In Which We Serve, Coward and Lean (along with producing partners Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan) embarked on a series of literate, socially engaged, and enormously entertaining pictures that ranged from domestic epic (This Happy Breed) to whimsical comedy (Blithe Spirit) to poignant romance (Brief Encounter). These films created a lasting testament to Cowardï¿½s artistic legacy and introduced Leanï¿½s visionary talents to the world. For more about David Lean Directs Noï¿½l Coward and the David Lean Directs Noï¿½l Coward Blu-ray release, see David Lean Directs Noï¿½l Coward Blu-ray Review published by Dr. Svet Atanasov on April 1, 2012 where this Blu-ray release scored 5.0 out of 5. Reviewed by Dr.

Svet Atanasov , April 1, 2012 Criterion's "David Lean Directs Noel Coward" collection contains four early films directed by David Lean: "In Which We Serve" (1942), "This Happy Breed" (1944), "Blithe Spirit" (1945), and "Brief Encounter" (1945). The collection also contains a wealth of supplemental features - video interviews with Noel Coward expert Barry Day; documentary films; featurettes; audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder; original trailers; and more. The collection also arrives with a 44-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by Ian Christie, Terrence Rafferty, Farran Smith Nehme, Geoffrey O'Brien, and Kevin Brownlow. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for each film. Region-A "locked". Celia Johnson In Which We Serve (1942) A British Naval ship, HMS Torrin, is attacked and destroyed by German bombers during the Battle of Crete. The captain, 'D' Kinross (Noel Coward), and a few of his men survive the attack and gather around a life raft floating freely well off the coast.

As the bombers routinely come back and strafe the area, the men begin remembering the best days of their lives. The rest of the film is structured as a series of flashbacks, linked by the presence of Torrin, in which the survivors are seen building friendships, falling in love, and making plans about the future. The high point in each flashback is the moment when the men step on Torrin and vow to defend their country from the enemy. The film is informative and entertaining. Completed in 1942 - and inspired by the story of another ship, the HMS Kelly, which was also sunk by German bombers - it manages to capture well the spirit of the time. It is important to note, however, that it does not demonize the enemy; rather, it warns that a certain way of life could be lost if the Germans win the war. Coward looks great as the brave captain. The short sequence at the end of the film where he delivers a speech and then shakes hands with his men is especially moving. Bernard Miles, John Mills, Michael Willding, Celia Johnson (in her first screen role), and the very young Richard Attenborough's contributions to the film are also impressive.

Note: In 1944, In Which We Serve earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Writing, Original Screenplay (Noel Coward). This Happy Breed (1944) Completed two years after In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed is set between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second, and tells the story of a working-class family, the Gibbonses, from London. Frank (Robert Newton) and Ethel (Celia Johnson) have just found a handsome new home (which is actually rather old and dampy) in the London suburb of Clapham. They will share it with Ethel's mother, Mrs. Flint (Amy Veness), bubbly sister, Sylvia (Alison Leggatt), and their three children, son Reg (John Blythe), and daughters Vi (Eileen Erskine) and Queenie (Kay Walsh). The children grow up and it soon becomes obvious that they will have different priorities in life. Reg befriends Sam (Guy Verney), a passionate liberal who likes Vi, and the two begin attending various demonstrations. Eventually, Sam and Vi get married, while Reg gets a lesson in politics from his conservative father.

Queenie then informs the family that she wants a different life and quickly falls in love with a married man. Her announcement shocks her parents and seriously hurts Billy (John Mills), the neighbors' son, who has been hoping to marry her. While the Gibbonses try to sort out their problems, the world rapidly changes. Jazz music rocks the night clubs, the General Strike paralyzes London, and Hitler and the Nazi Party win big in Germany. There is a feeling in the air that another war might be just around the corner. Based on a play by Noel Coward, This Happy Breed is David Lean's first color film. Like In Which We Serve, it blends propaganda and entertaining melodrama. However, this is the more realistic of the two films, with simpler characters facing common dilemmas. The dialog is absolutely brilliant. It is sharp, witty, energetic, and at times deliciously sarcastic. The bickering between the women in the house, in particular, is pure gold. There are a couple of sequences where Frank Gibbons and his neighbor Bob Mitchell (Stanley Holloway) get drunk and remember the good old days that are also enormously entertaining.

The title of the film comes from a monologue of John of Gaunt's in Shakespeare's Richard II, act II, scene i. It reads: 'This happy breed of men, this little world, / This precious stone set in the silver sea, / Which serves it in the office of a wall, / Or as a moat defensive to a house, / Against the envy of less happier lands, / This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.' Blithe Spirit (1945) Successful writer Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) asks the extravagant medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to conduct a sï¿½ance in his home. He hopes to include the experience in his next novel. When Madame Arcati agrees, Charles immediately invites two of his best friends to attend the event. The sï¿½ance disappoints Charles, his wife Ruth (Constance Cummings), and their two guests. Madame Arcati contacts someone on the other side, but the person refuses to talk. Before she leaves, she instructs the underwhelmed Charles to let her know if he notices any strange activities in the house in the following days.

Later that night, Charles' deceased first wife, Elvira (Kay Hammond), crosses from the other side into the real world. Charles is stunned, but Ruth, who can't see or hear Elvira speaking, gets annoyed and then seriously upset when he attempts to convince her that he has witnessed a miracle. As far as Ruth is concerned, Charles has simply had too much to drunk. But Charles asks Elvira to do a couple of tricks and Ruth realizes that Elvira has indeed returned amongst the living. This upsets her even more because she does not like the idea of her husband possibly cheating on her with his ex-wife. Naturally, she immediately visits Madame Arcati and insists that she sends Elvira right back to where she came from. Much to her disappointment, however, the medium informs her that she is unsure how to do it. Based on Noel Coward's very successful play, Blithe Spirit is a light and entertaining film which was photographed in glorious Technicolor by legendary cinematographer and director Ronald Neame (The Poseidon Adventure, The Odessa File). The play was remade several times for TV. Noel Coward himself directed the 1956 remake, with Lauren Bacall and Claudette Colbert.

David Lean's film is enormously entertaining. The dialog is sharp and witty and the acting is first-class. Margaret Rutherford, in particular, is tremendous as the kooky medium who does not quite know how good, or bad, she is at ghost summoning. Some of her facial expressions are so good that aspiring actors ought to study them. The humor has an unmistakably British flavor. A few of the individual confrontations, in particular, are quite dry. A touch of sarcasm is also often easy to detect. However, the mannerisms and attitude of the main protagonists are never irksome. Note: In 1947, Blithe Spirit won Oscar Award for Best Effects, Special Effects (Tom Howard). Brief Encounter (1945) Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) encounters Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard) at a busy railway station. She is immediately drawn to him; he could hardly take his eyes off of her. The two begin to meet regularly. Eventually, they realize that because of their families and status there isn't any future for what they have initiated. But instead of parting ways, the two decide to simply follow their hearts.

David Lean's Brief Encounter is a simple film with a complex message. It tells a straightforward story about two people willing to go outside of their comfort zones to experience love. It also provides a curious picture of post-war England and its class ordinance. Though Brief Encounter never clarifies whether Laura is still in love with her husband, Fred (Cyril Raymond), when he appears on screen it quickly becomes obvious why she has fallen for Dr. Alec Harvey - Fred lacks everything Alec possesses, from proper manners to looks. Still, Laura is notably indecisive. It takes a long time for her to open up to Alec, and when she finally does it feels like plenty of the magic that attracted the two in the first place might have disappeared. A few weeks later, the affair is over. Brief Encounter appears to be liked for a variety of different reasons. Some people are drawn to it because of its stunning cinematography. Others appreciate the simple but elegant love story it tells, which tends to resonate with female viewers in a manner few other classic romantic films do. There is also a large group of cinephilles who find the social overtones in Brief Encounter fascinating to deconstruct.

I like this much revered British film because it does not glamorize or overdramatize the relationship between its main protagonists. Furthermore, its narrative does an excellent job of capturing the polarized emotions an extramarital affair would spur as well as the social stigma that is immediately attached to it. Indeed, right and wrong in this film are effectively misplaced and granted a sense of realism few contemporary romantic films that I could recall have managed to replicate. David Lean's splendid black and white cinematography is complimented by powerful excerpts from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18, in C minor. The music blends incredibly well with the numerous scenes from the railway station and it certainly adds a bit of a noir-ish vibe to the story. For example, during the second half of the film, where Laura's indecisiveness becomes the focus of attention, there are very specific changes in the pacing of the story that are impossible to separate from the noir vibe mentioned above. In 1974, Alan Bridges directed a made-for-TV remake of Brief Encounter, starring Sophia Loren and Richard Burton, but the film ended up being a commercial failure and a critical flop.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release: "From 2006 to 2008, the BFI National Archive carried out an ambitious one-million-pound program to restore the first ten feature films directed by David Lean, in time for the centenary of his birth. The project was generously funded by the David Lean Foundation and undertaken in association with Granada International (now ITV Global Studios Entertainment) and Studio Canal. As a result, preservation materials now exist to ensure the survival of these classic films in their original state. The transfers included in this release were all created from these new restoration elements. In Which We Serve: The new restoration was created in 4K resolution on an Oxberry 6400 liquid-gate scanner at Cineric, New York, from the original nitrate negative and sections of the nitrate fine-grain master. Digital intermediate supervisors: Andrea Kalas, Kieron Webb/BFI National Archive, London. Colorist: Daniel DeVincent/Cineric, New York. Sound restoration: Richard Yeoman-Clark, Charles Fairall/BFI National Archive, London.

This Happy Breed: The new high-definition digital transfer was created at Technicolor Creative Services, London, on a Spirit Datacine from the restoration internegative, which was produced from the original YCM negatives. Film restoration supervisor: Kieron Webb/BFI National Archive, London. Color grader: Andrew Reid/Cineric, New York. Telecine supervisor: Mark Stanborough/ITV, London. Colorist: Dave Mason/Technicolor Creative Services/London. Sound restoration: Richard Yeoman-Clark, Charles Fairall/BFI National Archive, London. Blithe Spirit: This new high-definition digital transfer was created at Technicolor Creative Services, London, on a Spirit Datacine from the restoration internegative, which was produced from the original YCM negatives. Film restoration supervisors: Andrea Kalas, Kieron Webb/BFI National Archive, London. Color grader: Andrew Reid/Cineric, New York. Telecine supervisor: Mark Stanborough/ITV, London. Colorist: Dave Mason/Technicolor Creative Services, London. Sound restoration: Richard Yeoman-Clark, Charles Fairall/BFI National Archive, London.

Brief Encounter: The new restoration was created in 4K resolution on a Spirit Datacine at Cineimage, London, from the best surviving duplicate safety negatives. Pixel Farm's PFClean was used for flicker correction. Digital intermediate supervisors: Ben Thompson, Kieron Webb/BFI National Archive, London. Colorist: Ray King/Cineimage, London. Sounds restoration: Sound restoration: Richard Yeoman-Clark, Charles Fairall/BFI National Archive, London." Note: The screenshots offered with this review appear in the following order: 1. Brief Encounter: 1-9. 2. In Which We Serve: 10-20. 3. This Happy Breed: 21-30. 4. Blithe Spirit: 31-40. The restoration work has produced very impressive results and all four films now look spectacular in high-definition. In Which We Serve, in particular, looks as good as A Night to Remember -- the high-definition transfer conveys tremendous depth, even when light is restricted, while detail is consistently pleasing. The outdoor sequences also boast well balanced colors (with the blacks and grays, in particular, looking crisp and enormously rich) and stable contrast.

Furthermore, grain is well resolved and evenly exposed throughout the entire film. Also, there are no traces of problematic sharpening or denoising corrections. Brief Encounter also looks solid. Not only is depth and color stability substantially improved, but there are entire sections of the film where various small details have been revealed (compare screencapture #6 with screencapture #5 from our review of the UK release of the film from 2009). Needless to say, the new high-definition transfer also boasts well resolved and evenly distributed grain. As it is the case with In Which We Serve, no attempts have been made to apply compromising sharpening corrections. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. Aside from a few extremely small color pulsations, This Happy Breed looks excellent. Most close-ups convey excellent depth and pleasing object definition (take a look at screencapture #27 and see how well refined lines and curves are). More importantly, however, there is no color bleeding or edge shimmer, both of which are often present on dated releases of three-strip Technicolor films.

Generally speaking, the colors here are thick and well saturated but at the same time, as intended, looking quite warm (director Lean wanted to enhance the sense of realism with his color preferences). Lastly, there are no traces of severe denoising corrections. The fourth and final film in the collection, Blithe Spirit, also has a fresh new look. Detail and clarity are once again very convincing, while the various color stabilizations have clearly improved depth and fluidity (see screencapture #39). Brightness levels are slightly elevated and especially during the final third of the film there are also some intended contrast fluctuations. Obviously, the various effects here have plenty to do with the nature of the story the film tells, not with any transfer-specific anomalies. There are no traces of problematic denoising either. (Note: The four Blu-ray discs in this collection are Region-A "locked". Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access their content). David Lean Directs Noï¿½l Coward Blu-ray, Audio Quality Each film in the David Lean Directs Noï¿½l Coward collection arrives with an English LPCM 1.0 track.

For the record, Criterion have also supplied them with optional English SDH subtitles. Like the video treatments, the audio treatments are very impressive. Clearly, during the individual restorations various audio stabilizations have been performed on all four tracks, while hiss, hum, clicks, and pops have been removed as best as possible. As result, the dialog on all four films is stable, crisp, and easy to follow. Obviously, the loseless tracks are unlikely to test your audio system, but all four of them have pleasing organic qualities and give the films plenty of depth. In Blithe Spirit, for example, the improvements are very easy to recognize as the winds never sound anemic. In In Which We Serve the explosions are also well rounded and free of high-frequency distortions. In Which We Serve: Trailer - original trailer for In Which We Serve. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p). Barry Day - in this video interview, Noel Coward expert Barry Day, author of Coward on Film: The Cinema of Noel Coward, discusses In Which We Serve. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in October 2011. In English, not subtitled.

(17 min, 1080p). A Profile of "In Which We Serve" - a short documentary on the making of In Which We Serve produced in London in 2000 for Carlton International Media. The documentary features interviews with cinematographer Ronald Neame, actor John Mills, associate producer Anthony Havelock-Allan, Noel Coward biographer Sheridan Morley, third assistant director Norman Spencer, and actress Lucy Fleming (Celia Johnson's daughter), among others. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080i). Coward and Attenborough at the NFT - an audio recording of a discussion between actor and director Richard Attenborough and playwright Noel Coward, which took place at London's National Film Theatre on December 14th, 1969. In English, not subtitled. (66 min, 1080p). This Happy Breed: Trailer - original trailer for This Happy Breed. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p). Rerelease Trailer - the rerelease trailer for This Happy Breed. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

Barry Day - in this video interview, Noel Coward expert Barry Day, author of Coward on Film: The Cinema of Noel Coward, discusses This Happy Breed. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in October 2011. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, 1080p). The Golden Age - director, cinematographer, producer, and writer Ronald Neame, who was one of three partners in Cineguild Productions, together with David Lean and producer Anthony Havelock-Allan, discusses the shooting of In Whicn We Serve, various Cineguild Productions film projects, Noel Coward, etc. In English, not subtitled. (45 min, 1080p). Blithe Spirit: Trailer - original trailer for Blithe Spirit. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p). Barry Day - in this video interview, Noel Coward expert Barry Day, author of Coward on Film: The Cinema of Noel Coward, discusses Blithe Spirit. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in October 2011. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

The Southbank Show: "Noel Coward" - this 1992 episode of The Southbank Show, hosted by Melvin Bragg, covers Noel Coward's life and career in theater, film, and music. It features archival footage and interviews with actors John Gielgud, Daniel Massey, and John Mills, biographer Philip Hoare, and playwright John Osborne, among others. In English, not subtitled. (51 min, 1080i). Brief Encounter: Trailer - original trailer for Brief Encounter. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080i). Barry Day - in this video interview, Noel Coward expert Barry Day, author of Coward on Film: The Cinema of Noel Coward, discusses Brief Encounter. The interview was recorded exclusively for Criterion in October 2011. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080p). A Profile of "Brief Encounter" - a short documentary on the making of Brief Encounter produced in London in 2000 for Carlton International Media.

The documentary features interviews with director, cinematographer, producer, and writer Ronald Neame, producer Anthony Havelock-Allan, actresses Margaret Barton and Lucy Fleming (Celia Johnson's daughter), and actor John Sessions, among others. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080i). David Lean: A Self Portrait (1971) - a wonderful documentary film, directed by Thomas Craven, featuring an extensive interview with David Lean, who discusses his career and work. In English, not subtitled. (59 min, 1080p). Commentary - this is the same audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder, recorded in 1995, which appeared on Criterion's 2000 DVD release of Brief Encounter. Booklet - 44-page illustrated booklet featuring Ian Christie's essay "When Noel Met David..."; Terrence Rafferty's essay "Battle Stations"; Farran Smith Nehme's essay "Home Truths"; Geoffrey O'Brien's essay "Present Magic"; and Kevin Brownlow's essay "Riskiest Thing I Ever Did".

David Lean Directs Noï¿½l Coward Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation This wonderful collection of early David Lean films is without a doubt a prime contender for release of the year. Recently restored, the four films in it - In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit, and Brief Encounter - look simply outstanding on Blu-ray. Additionally, there is a wealth of outstanding supplemental features to explore. If you reside outside of North America but can play Region-A discs, you should definitely consider importing the collection. If you reside in North America, move it at the very top of your purchase lists. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. David Lean - Explore - The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection David Lean David Lean For many cinephiles, the name David Lean signifies grand moviemaking—sweeping epics like Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. But the long and eclectic career of this legendary British director encompasses arresting intimacy as well, as evidenced by the films of his in the Criterion Collection.

Among those are pictures that he was responsible for editing, early on in his work in film: some of his national cinema’s greatest hits, including Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard’s Pygmalion, Gabriel Pascal’s Major Barbara, and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 49th Parallel. In the forties and early fifties, having moved to directing, he made several luminous films, including adaptations of such classic and important contemporary works from the stage and page as Harold Brighouse’s Hobson’s Choice, Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit and Still Life (Brief Encounter, in the film version), and Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. All are graced by evocative, shadowy black-and-white cinematography and elegantly restrained compositions. Summertime, his gorgeous 1955 Technicolor trip to Venice with Katharine Hepburn, marked a turning point in his career: the sun-dappled location shoot was galvanizing for Lean, and the remainder of his films, from The Bridge on the River Kwai to A Passage to India, could be considered outdoor spectacles.

Yet Lean’s deep interest in complex characters, his brilliant way with actors, and his classic sense of storytelling were never trumped by scale. David Lean Directs Noel Coward Criterion Blu-ray Review | Collider SHARE TWEET 0 David Lean has been canonized as one of the great directors, an honor that he’s earned, even if his body of work is inconsistent. If his later years were less good, and some of his earlier films are weak, it doesn’t matter. He directed Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai. The Criterion collection has brought together his first four films, and they were all adaptations of Noel Coward’s work (hence the title David Lean “Directs Noel Coward”). The films are In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit and Brief Encounter. And our review of the Blu-ray set of David Lean Directs Noel Coward follows after the jump. In Which We Serve was David Lean’s directorial debut, and a credit he shared with Coward. The film follows the ship the HMS Torrin as it goes into battle and gets sunk. It then cuts to the lives of its crew.

The Captain, “D” Kinross, is played by Coward, while some of the other cast includes John Mills, Celia Johnson and Richard Attenborough. The film flashes forward and back as it shows the men as they prepared to board the ship, and as they hang on for life on to a life raft. We see their home lives, a quickie marriage, and one soldier (Attenborough) who knows he’s a coward at heart. This was a film made in 1942 by the Brits, and its value comes from how much one can stand propaganda. What Coward (who also wrote the film) brings to the situation is deep characterization that doesn’t always flatter. People die, some people are jerks, and it never pretends that everyone is noble. At the same time it is a war picture with an obvious goal. If I’m lukewarm on the film, it’s partly because it seems so meant for its period. As a director Lean was figuring everything out, but as he came from an editing background, the film comes together nicely. It’s a “good for what it is” film.

Criterion’s Blu-ray presents the film in full frame (1.37:1) and in 1.0 Mono The picture quality is excellent on the film, and the soundtrack is surely as good as it was upon release, if not better. Supplements include a conversation with Coward scholar Barry Day (16 min.) where he talks about what it meant for the two to work together, and Coward’s move into cinema. It’s followed by “A Profile of In Which We Serve” (24 min.) from 2000 that talks to John Mills and cinematographer Ronald Neame (among others). There’s some overlap with Day’s comments, but it’s a solid piece. It’s followed by “Coward and Attenborough at the NFT” (65 min.) where an audio commentary has the two reuniting in 1969 to talk about the film. The film’s theatrical trailer is also included. This Happy Breed is the beginning of British’s Kitchen Sink cinema. The story of a middle class family from the end of World War I to the beginnings of World War II, it shows a family and the house they live in.

The father is Frank Gibbons (Robert Newton) and his wife is Ethel (Celia Johnson). They have three children: Reg (John Blythe), Vi (Eileen Erskine) and Queenie (Kay Walsh). The parents are a proper sort, while the children get into all the trouble. Reg flirts with socialism, Vi gets married easily and Queenie runs away after rejecting the soldier next door Billy Mitchell (John Mills) The film was shot in Technicolor, and it’s an interesting time capsule of London and the attitudes of its day. Much of it focuses on settling down, as all the children eventually move into serious relationships. There’s drama that comes from unexpected deaths, and rebellious children, but it mostly stays about the people. It’s a solid work, but borders on feeling like a history lesson. And though the film is in color, it’s mostly set in the house so it feels a bit stage-bound. It’s a good film, and fascinating, but a touch dull. The film comes in full frame (1.37:1) and in 2.0 Monaural sound.

The Technicolor transfer on this is excellent, the colors are perfect for what it is, and there’s not too much flickering. Extras on this disc include another discussion with Barry Day (15 min.), and “The Golden Age” (44 min.), an interview with the then 99 year old cinematographer and eventual director Ronald Neame. Even at that age, he’s a great interview, and provides wonderful anecdotes. It’s worth purchasing the whole set for his talk. He’s that good. The film’s trailer and re-release trailer are also included. Blithe Spirit is a rare David Lean Comedy and he acquits himself well. The play was a huge success, and though Coward didn’t care for the new ending (likely done to appease the censors), it works well enough. Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) is a happily married man when his wife (Constance Cummings) brings in a psychic to talk to the dead. Such summons his late wife Elvira (Kay Hammond) back into his life, and she doesn’t like being left behind.

The plays sets up that Harrison’s Charles is in a good but dull relationship, so the spice that a dead wife brings to things is interesting, and the play is the best of the set in representing Coward’s dry wit. In that was it’s a success, but – again – Lean is completely stage-bound with this Technicolor production, and the film never breathes because of it. As a comedy that works a little better, and the lines are droll, and the performers are interesting. The ending – as it is here – is actually a pretty great joke, so it’s too bad that Coward suggested they “fucked it all up.” It’s minor but charmingly so. The Blu-ray is in full frame (1.37:1) and in 2.0 monaural sound. Here the picture quality shows the problems with Technicolor restoration. There’s a near-constant flickering of the image that often happens with older three strip films. Alas. It still looks good for its age.

It comes with a Barry Day conversation (11 min.), and an episode of the Southbank Show on Noel Coward (51 min.), with interviews with Coward, John Gielgud, Daniel Massey and John Mills among others. The film’s theatrical trailer is also included. The masterpiece of the set is Brief Encounter. Celia Johnson plays Laura Jesson, who starts the film by having a conversation with Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard) that’s interrupted by a friend. The doctor leaves, and Laura returns home to listen to the radio. As she sits, she reflects on the affair the two had. After a chance (brief) encounter, the two begin spending time together. She’s a slightly bored housewife, and the two have an obvious immediate connection. They don’t’ know how far they can go, and how to avoid seeing her friends, and when he gets an assignment far away, if it’s worth her getting a divorce. Infidelity is a tough subject matter for cinema as it often turns into a moral tale where cheating is the ultimate sin. But here the subject matter of passion is as ripe as anything in cinema history.

These star-crossed lovers have a problem, and that’s polite society and morality, and like any great love story, that’s usually the barrier. Ang Lee must be a huge fan of this film, and it shows. What’s also great about it is that Lean doesn’t muck about. It was based on a one-act play, and more so that any of the other films in this set, it feels free to be a movie. From how the narrative unfolds as a flashback, to a great fantasy sequence, this is a great cinematic work from everyone involved. The performances are top notch across the board, and the troubles they face are completely empathetic. It’s a masterful work, Lean’s first great film, and is rightly lauded as one of the best films of all time. Lean – at the time – heard snickers in test screenings and for a long time thought it was a failure. He was wrong. Criterion presents the film in full frame (1.37:1) and in 2.0 monaural sound. As the crown jewel of the set, it feels best looked after.

As Criterion had released it before there is a commentary from that set by Bruce Eder, who walks through the film very well as he talks about the scenes and also the making of. Very listenable. Barry day provides a talk about this film (16 min.), and it’s followed by “A Profile on Brief Encounter” (25 min.) done in 200, with comments from Neame, actress Margaret Barton, and Celia Johnson’s daughter. But the best supplement is “David Lean: A Self Portrait” (58 min.) which had Lean – in 1971 – talk about his career up to that point. He’s a genial host, and offers a lot of insight into all his work. The film’s theatrical trailer is also included. Related Content ‎This Happy Breed (1944) directed by David Lean • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd 2 I first watched This Happy Breed in my early 20s (a good long time ago now,) fresh from the first flush of adoration for Brief Encounter and the wonder that is Celia Johnson. To say that it was a tainted viewing would be something of an exaggeration but it definitely suffered in comparison.

Here we are a decade or so later and my love for Brief Encounter has grown further still, but it seems time has also helped this, David Lean's other intimate portrait of the English middle classes. It's quite the wonderful film that owes a huge debt to the quite incredible once more Celia Johnson and Robert Newton as her husband, together they run the gamut of emotions and carry the entire film. It's a terribly warm hearted and wonderfully sad, ready to bring tears to your eye on a regular basis. Review by loureviews ★★★★½ London between the wars, as seen by a couple of old soldier comrades from 1914-18. Robert Newton is one of them, married to an odd-accented Celia Johnson, with troublesome kids and a spinster relation to support. Stanley Holloway is the other and somehow is the father of the ubiquitous John Mills. Noel Coward and David Lean worked together to bring their saga into our hearts and minds, as we rejoice in the good times and empathise with the bad ones. It may be hokum, but some of it works. The best scenes are the quiet ones - especially the scene without dialogue where mum and dad react to bad news.

Newton and Johnson also have considerable rapport in their scenes which works well. 1 A very effective generation-spanning family drama that you can't help but love. Lean & Coward are a wonderful team in cinema history. This film manages to propel a post-war family saga whilst also offering some interesting and playful critiques on society of the day. The cast ensemble is perfect, with Celia Johnson excelling once again, and Stanley Holloway is one of those reliable types adept at rounding out a cast. This is an important British film which serves as a historic time capsule of a turbulent era. Another masterstroke from the Lean/Coward team. 58/100 [originally written on my blog] Fortuitously appears on my master alphabetical list right beside This Is England, which could serve as an alternate title. As ever, cinema isn't the ideal medium for a story that spans 20 years—a problem exacerbated here by Coward's highlight-reel structure, with the film (and the source play, presumably) leaping from one isolated Event to the next: General Strike, Charleston craze, wedding, sudden death, etc. Individual scenes, however, are often quite strong, especially those involving Kay Walsh (who I didn't realize was then Mrs.

Lean) as the headstrong, magnetically irritating Queenie. Despite his reputation as an urbane wit, Coward excelled at frankly realistic middle-class courtship behavior; Queenie's prolonged pseudo-romance with Billy strikes some of the… Review by Will ★★★½ I felt like this should have resonated a bit more than it actually did. Visually and structurally speaking this is pure gold: the technicolor photography of wartime London is astonishingly nostalgic, as are the seamless transitions from year to year as time marches on. Ultimately though, I'm not a massive fan of the play itself or the way it was adapted for the screen. Should have been gut-wrenching at the end and sadly for me it wasn't anything other than a slightly nostalgic twinge. Review by Grant "Where they go wrong is trying to get things done too quickly. We don't like doing things quickly in this country. It's like gardening. Somebody once said we was a nation of gardeners. They weren't far wrong. We like planting things. Watching them grow. Looking out for changes in the weather... What works in other countries won't work in this one. We got our own way of settling things.

May be a bit slow, and it may be a bit dull. But it suits us alright, and it always will." Review by Bryan Colley ★★★★ This nostalgic look at England between the wars follows the triumphs and tragedies of a single family. Some of it is heart-wrenching, and all of it is charming. Robert Newton and Celia Johnson are outstanding as the mother and father. It's old-fashioned stuff, the kind they don't make anymore. David Lean Directs Noel Coward (Blu) - ClassicFlix 12076 In Which We Serve (Blu) / 12074 This Happy Breed (Blu) / 12075 Blithe Spirit (Blu) SYNOPSIS: In the 1940s, the wit of playwright Noel Coward and the craft of filmmaker David Lean melded harmoniously in one of cinema's greatest writer-director collaborations.

With the wartime military drama sensation In Which We Serve, Coward and Lean (along with producing partners Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan) embarked on a series of literate, socially engaged, and enormously entertaining pictures that ranged from domestic epic (This Happy Breed) to whimsical comedy (Blithe Spirit) to poignant romance (Brief Encounter). These films created a lasting testament to Coward's artistic legacy and introduced Lean's visionary talents to the world. In Which We Serve (1942) In the midst of World War II, the renowned playwright Noel Coward engaged a young film editor named David Lean to help him realize his vision for an action drama about a group of Royal Navy sailors (roles that would be filled by Coward himself, Bernard Miles, and John Mills, among others) fighting the Germans in the Mediterranean. Coward and Lean ended up co-directing the large-scale project-an impressive undertaking, especially considering that neither of them had directed for the big screen before (this would be Coward's only such credit). Cutting between a major naval battle and flashbacks to the men's lives before they left home.

In Which We Serve (an Oscar nominee for best picture) was a major breakthrough for both filmmakers and a sensitive and stirring piece of propaganda. This Happy Breed (1944) David Lean brings to vivid emotional life Noel Coward's epic chronicle of a working-class family in the London suburbs over the course of two decades. Robert Newton and Celia Johnson are surpassingly affecting as Frank and Ethel Gibbons, a couple with three children whose modest household is touched by joy and tragedy from the tail end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second. With its mix of politics and melodrama, This Happy Breed is a quintessential British domestic drama, featuring subtly expressive Technicolor cinematography by Ronald Neame and a remarkable supporting cast including John Mills, Stanley Holloway, and Kay Walsh. Blithe Spirit (1945) Blithe Spirit, David Lean's delightful film version of Noel Coward's theater sensation (onstage, it broke London box-office records before hitting Broadway), stars Rex Harrison as a novelist who cheekily invites a medium (Margaret Rutherford) to his house to conduct a seance, hoping the experience will inspire a book he's working on.

Things go decidedly not as planned when she summons the spirit of his dead first wife (Kay Hammond), a severe inconvenience for his current one (Constance Cummings). Employing Oscar-winning special effects to spruce up Coward's theatrical farce, Blithe Spirit is a sprightly supernatural comedy with winning performances. Brief Encounter (1945) Adapting Noel Coward's play Still Life, legendary filmmaker David Lean deftly explores the thrill, pain, and tenderness of illicit romance during the dour, gray Britain of 1945. From a chance meeting on a train platform, a middle-aged married doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) enter into a quietly passionate, ultimately doomed love affair set to a swirling Rachmaninoff score.

BONUS FEATURES: Audio commentary on Brief Encounter by film historian Bruce Eder New interviews with Noël Coward scholar Barry Day on all of the films Interview with cinematographer-screenwriter-producer Ronald Neame from 2010 Short documentaries from 2000 on the making of In Which We Serve and Brief Encounter David Lean: A Self Portrait, a 1971 television documentary on Lean's career Episode of the British television series The Southbank Show from 1992 on the life and career of Coward Audio recording of a 1969 conversation between Richard Attenborough and Coward at London's National Film Theatre Trailers PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Ian Christie, Terrence Rafferty, Farran Smith Nehme, Geoffrey O'Brien, and Kevin Brownlow David Lean Directs Noël Coward · Dvd Review David Lean Directs Noël Coward · DVD Review · The A.V. Club Share Tweet Before David Lean became a director, he was an editor, and it’s fair to say that the man behind The Bridge On The River Kwai and Lawrence Of Arabia owes his most memorable images in part to his sense of rhythm.

Lean knew how long to hold a shot, and what to cut to for maximum impact. That knack for parceling out information came in handy when Lean was assigned to help renowned playwright and musician Noël Coward direct his first (and only) theatrical feature film, 1942’s In Which We Serve. Based loosely on the sinking of the HMS Kelly, In Which We Serve is an ambitious piece, meant to rouse patriotic sentiment during World War II by reflecting on the lives and sacrifice of a handful of British seamen in the years leading up to the loss of their ship. Coward’s original script ran so long that it would’ve taken a TV miniseries to cover it all, so Lean suggested that Coward watch Citizen Kane, to see how to make the story more cinematic via flashbacks and montage. Then Lean helped Coward realize that vision, earning a “co-director” credit for a film that combines Coward’s pitch-perfect, class-spanning dialogue with compositions that place such formidable actors as John Mills, Richard Attenborough, and Coward himself in the middle of home-front melodrama and high-seas thrills.

In Which We Serve is still a little too scattered—and programmatic, given its intent—but it’s well-acted and always lively, as Lean keeps jumping back and forth between upstanding pre-war families and grubby sailors bobbing in an ink-black ocean. Coward and Lean continued their collaboration for three more films over the next three years, though after the international success of In Which We Serve, Coward wisely ceded more creative control to Lean. For 1944’s This Happy Breed, Lean and his Cineguild collaborators Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan adapted a Coward stage play that had been written before the war. Like Coward’s earlier hit Cavalcade, This Happy Breed spans decades in the lives of one British family.

Unlike Cavalcade, This Happy Breed deals with the working class, whom Coward depicts as salty but reliable—willing to talk openly about “wind” and “spots,” but also possessed of the understanding that “there are worse things than being ordinary and respectable.” Though nearly all of This Happy Breed takes place in one house, Lean and company keep the film from feeling too stagey by zipping from event to event, and moving the camera around Robert Newton and Celia Johnson as they grow older, and as their kids peel off to start their own families. The couple celebrates the little joys and mourns the big losses with the same resolve, while Lean and his cast tap the well of emotion behind the characters’ steeliness. This Happy Breed was shot in Technicolor, though Lean fought to desaturate the process’ usual bright hues. He embraced the technology more fully on Cineguild’s 1945 adaptation of Coward’s smash West End and Broadway hit Blithe Spirit, which stars an impossibly slender Rex Harrison as a wealthy novelist whose late first wife Kay Hammond returns as a ghost, complicating his life with second wife Constance Cummings.

Between the rich colors of Harrison’s country estate and the pale green of Hammond’s skin, Blithe Spirit is practically a demo reel for Technicolor’s hyper-reality. It’s less of a demo for Lean. Coward himself often claimed not to understand why this trifling supernatural comedy was so popular, but he knew well enough not to mess too much with success, and so he urged Lean to keep the movie version fairly faithful. Blithe Spirit is even more constrained than This Happy Breed, and because so much of its appeal is in Coward’s fast-paced, witty repartee, Lean mostly stays out of the actors’ way. The result is a movie that’s fitfully funny, but also dry and static. Lean and his Cineguild crew did much better later that same year with Brief Encounter, an expanded version of Coward’s 1936 one-act play Still Life. Made while World War II was winding down, Brief Encounter leaves aside the “hooray for us” cheerleading of Coward and Lean’s first two collaborations, along with the frivolous escapism of Blithe Spirit.

Instead, Lean and company take what amounts to a case of mild domestic dissatisfaction—conveyed via a story about housewife Celia Johnson contemplating an affair with handsome doctor Trevor Howard—and elevates it to high romantic tragedy, complete with shamelessly sentimental music and deep, noir-ish shadow. Brief Encounter employs a flashback structure, adding a voiceover from Johnson, who explains in her head why Howard captured her heart and made her suburban life seem so suddenly unfulfilling; and Lean matches the narration with a more open and expressive visual style than he’d used on any of his first three films. The movie has a cruel sense of time (and possibilities) slipping away, as the clockwork precision of the British railway system brings these would-be lovers together and then pulls them apart. And throughout, Lean gets across the heroine’s mix of giddy joy and crippling guilt, juxtaposing one against the other, as any good editor would.

Key features: Criterion’s David Lean Directs Noël Coward box set adds a half-hour retrospective featurette and an hourlong audio interview on In Which We Serve; a Coward-focused episode of The Southbank Show on Blithe Spirit; a scholar commentary track, a 20-minute featurette, and an hourlong documentary about Lean on Brief Encounter; and bonus interviews with Coward experts and Lean collaborators on each disc. In Which We Serve: B+; This Happy Breed: A-; Blithe Spirit: B-; Brief Encounter: A

Question: In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed and Brief Encounter are early films by which director?
Answer: DAVID LEAN