The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Movie

1943

2h 43m

English

Drama, Romance, War, Comedy

User Score:

7.9

Critic Score:

Watch on The Criterion Channel

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp' Poster

Play Trailer

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Movie

1943

2h 43m

English

Drama, Romance, War, Comedy

Play Trailer

Watch on The Criterion Channel

General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women, and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier.

WATCHMODE

7.9

IMDB

CRITIC SCORE

Where to watch

FREE

FREE

Rent

$3.99HD

Buy

$14.99HD

Available in 3 other countries.

Filter sources:

See something wrong? Let us know

My Friends' Ratings

In order to see what your friends rated The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, you need a Watchmode account. It's free and takes just a minute. Create an account

Cast

Full Cast & Crew

Roger Livesey

Major General Clive Wynne-Candy

Deborah Kerr

Edith Hunter / Barbara Wynne / Ange...

Adolf Wohlbrück

Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff

Col. Betteridge

Spud Wilson

Embassy Counsellor

Hoppy

Frau von Kalteneck

Murdoch

Major Davies

Embassy Secretary

President of Tribunal

Theodore Zichy

Colonel Borg (as Count Zichy)

Nurse Erna

Stuffy Graves

Club Porter (1942)

Period Blimp

Club Porter (1902)

Cafe Orchestra Leader

Kaunitz

Indignant Citizen

von Schonborn

von Reumann

von Ritter

Colonel Goodhead

Directed By: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell

Written By: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell

Featured Comments/Tips

christopher_brink says...

11 years ago

Great performances and a thoughtful meditation on whether war can ever be "civilized."

Like - Dislike - Comment - 60 0

smithsi says...

13 years ago

Clever propaganda movie nice story and worth seeing.

Like - Dislike - Comment - 10 0

soonertbone says...

6 months ago

Fine movie, but didn't like it as much as I wanted to. The tone here felt off, throughout, with a jangling, jaunty score frequently undercutting the more serious dramatic moments. But even those moments felt undercut by the hammy, perpetually upbeat performances--especially by Livesey. By the end I could sort of see what the movie was trying to go for, and I could appreciate it at a distance, but it never felt like it quite landed for me. Might be worth a rewatch.

Like - Dislike - Comment - 00 0

Show all comments (3) Leave comment

Featured User Reviews

simonynwa

8/10 10 years ago

An epic that details the life of an upper class English soldier over 40 years. The film has a flashback structure that places scenes around major events in three wars without actually depicting anything significant from these events. The central character, General Candy, is initially played as a car More

Like - Dislike - Comment - 20 0

CinemaSerf

3 months ago

Roger Livesey is superb in this wonderfully colourful depiction of the life of "Clive Candy". We start with his rather undignified seizure at the steam baths by the home guard he is supposed to command and by way of a continuous retrospective, discover just how this man arrived at this embarrassing More

Like - Dislike - Comment - 00 0

Show all reviews (2) Write Review