Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 31 May 1944 by Independent Film Distributors, Ltd. Made by Archers Film Productions, Ltd. London. Released in the U.S. by Eagle-Lion Films, Inc. New York opening at the Beacon on a double bill with The Woman in the Hall: 22 January 1949 (sic). U.S. release: 13 May 1944. U.K. release through Eagle-Lion: 1944. Australian release through G-B-D/20th Century-Fox: 13 February 1947 (sic). Running times: 124 minutes (U.K.), 93 minutes (U.S.A.), 91 minutes (Australia). The full U.K. version is available on both a Criterion and an ITV DVD. Criterion has a number of extras.SYNOPSIS: "The Glue Man" is on the rampage, terrorizing young women in a small village near Canterbury. He is finally brought to book through the efforts and resourcefulness of a furloughing U.S. army sergeant.NOTES: Only movie appearance of John Sweet, a real wartime army sergeant who presumably went back to his peacetime job as a schoolteacher in Ohio. According to Powell, the U.S. version — unlike the Australian — was not just a cut-down of the English release print. Additional sequences — there was one on a skyscraper — "were put in afterwards as a desperate attempt to sell it." This film seems to have disappeared. The review below is based on the complete Criterion DVD print. COMMENT: Unsuccessful in its day — even though made by Britain's top box-office production team — "A Canterbury Tale" is definitely one for indulgent, or should we say "sentimental" or perhaps "historically inclined" and certainly "nostalgic" connoisseurs. There is so much in it that would irritate or put off your average moviegoer or even your dedicated film fan. The corduroy set and the cultists are advised to give the movie a big miss. Many will see the film as an uneasy compromise between Art on the one hand, Propaganda and Entertainment on the other.My own problem with "A Canterbury Tale" is that the blatant propaganda is laid on with far too heavy a trowel. However true-to- life he may be, Sweet emerges more as a caricature than as a real human being with real human feelings. He's basically a comic cliché. Yet we are asked not to laugh at him, but to sympathize. I sometimes found this hard to do, partly because of over-heavy writing and partly because of over-heavy acting. Fortunately for me, the other players struck the right chords — particularly Sheila Sim, who never gave a more engaging performance. Also the film is nothing if not beautifully made. Superbly photographed, atmospherically scored and often strikingly directed.

Scott44 ***Good review from drednm ("Dennis Price in His First Starring Role", drednm from United States, 10 June 2013). Also, jeremy corbett's review ("'What I wouldn't give to grow old in a place like this'", jeremy corbett UK, 10 April 2006) has spoilers, but is also worthwhile.***"A Canterbury Tale (1944, Michael Powell​ and Emeric Pressburger​) is a traditional, quintessentially English film that works on many levels. While gentle in its approach, it is transcendent, producing a feeling of ecstasy at the conclusion. Despite serving as a propaganda statement for war-weary Britons, "Canterbury Tale" is a timeless source of inspiration.Set on the eve of D-Day, a spirited "Land Girl" named Alison Smith (Sheila Sim), an American GI named Bob Johnson (real-life Yankee GI John Sweet) and British soldier Peter Gibbs (Dennis Price) are train passengers who wind up stranded at night in a small Kent town on the road to fabled Canterbury, UK​. As the three walk to the village in the dark, Alison is attacked by a uniformed figure that the townsfolk have named "The Glue Man." During the brief encounter, the Glue Man applies the irritating sticky stuff to Alison's hair, just as he has done to nearly a dozen other young women. After trying unsuccessfully to remove the irksome contamination, fiery Alison first convinces Bob, and later Peter, to help her expose the identity of the culprit to the village. The investigation invariably leads to Thomas Colpeper, Jr. (Eric Portman), who the three met the night of the incident. He is a bachelor, farmer, magistrate, historian, lecturer and a pillar of the community.Most of the situations that follow concern ordinary life in a small English town. The central mystery is just a device that allows Powell and Pressburger to include a slew of memorable British characters, all of which are given ample opportunity to breathe. At the same time, scenes unfold briskly, with rapid-fire dialog throughout. It is hard to imagine any improvement in the story telling; and each scene is magnificent to look at.When sharing a cart on the road to Canterbury, former London shop girl Alison and slow-talking, small town-reared Bob appear to be heading for a romance. Temptation rises when we learn that Bob's girl back in the States hasn't written him in nearly two months. Also, Alison's boyfriend is MIA and is regarded as a war casualty. However, the work obligations of both force them to part ways. Later, Alison and Peter are reunited on a country road when she and her horse-drawn cart are surrounded by tanks that Peter and his company are training with. Alison is furious at the display of force being directed against her (and her hard-working equine). Her frustration mirrors the theme expressed by the narrator in the film's beginning; i.e., the British countryside which remained largely unchanged since the days of Geoffrey Chaucer​ is suddenly being overridden by soldiers and their war machines. While outwardly patriotic, "Canterbury Tale" contains anti-war sentiments, particularly when we see the tanks callously run over non-combatant foliage.When the four pilgrims finally reach Canterbury, cinematic magic occurs. Adhering to legend, the famous cathedral is where the four can expect to "receive blessings or do penance." Without revealing too much, penance is tasked to the man who opens his heart only to have it broken.With one exception, the entire cast is mesmerizing. This includes the children who play at war. Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Eric Portman all possess very sonorous voices that are exquisite to listen to. The narrator, Esmond Knight, has two other roles: He is the soldier during the lecture who befriends Bob; and also the stuttering, drunken town fool. The only actor who is a little unconvincing is US Army Sergeant John Sweet, who was not an actor (and never appears again in a film). Sweet does tend to annoy at times with his overly nasal speaking qualities and callow manner. Considering how sexually fearless Sheila Sim's Alison seems to be, Sweet seems to be out of his league when paired with her in the same scene.Powell and Pressburger serve up one exquisite Black and White image after another. There are plenty of visual gags; but you need to detect them quickly before the next image arrives. Fans of endearing British cinema and/or those who draw inspiration from ancient traditions should not miss this unusual film that restores faith. Many of us certainly could use a reversal of fortune, from whatever source.

drednm This superb allegory by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger follows the pilgrimages of three disparate people during WW II as they make their way to Canterbury along the 600-year-old Pilgrims Path. Each is seeking a miracle or consolation from their journey.Alison (Sheila Sim) is a London shop girl who ventures to the English countryside to work on a farm as a "land girl" and to revisit the spot where she vacationed with her now dead soldier boyfriend. Bob (John Sweet) is a naive American GI who's girlfriend back in Oregon has stopped writing to him. He told his mother he'd visit Canterbury. Peter (Dennis Price) is a disillusioned organist whose career has been limited to playing in movie theaters and who is soon to ship out overseas.The three disembark a train together and venture toward the great cathedral city when Alison is attacked in the dark by a strange offender known locally as the "glue man." He's poured nasty glue all over her head. As the three find lodgings and talk to locals they learn that the glue man has struck many other times.Alison settles into her farm job while Bob discovers the countryside still (in 1944) very much tied to 19th-century ways. Peter tries to find out more about the glue man. They all meet a local eccentric (Eric Portman) who may be the glue man. He lectures locally on the rewards of country life and works as a magistrate in Canterbury. They all meet at the cathedral as they meet their fates.Absolutely gorgeous B&W photography lovingly displays the beautiful countryside with ample shots of wide sky and billowing fields, rustic farms and buildings, and always Canterbury in the background.The simple story lines are set against the complex allegory of a journey of discovery. Each of the pilgrims finds something in Canterbury, but what happens to them afterwards is left to our imagination. Both Alison and Bob find answers to their private sorrows, and Peter attains a cherished dream. All three are changed in deep and moving ways.John Sweet was an amateur actor stationed with the US Army in England when he was discovered for this role. His plainspoken American is both naive and deeply wise. His growing love of the countryside and the old ways is infectious. Sheila Sim plays a sturdy and practical girl who deals with her loss while loving her new life in the country. Dennis Price plays the most complicated character, since his loss is more a loss of ambition and opportunity than a loss of human love. His discovery at the cathedral is very moving. Portman is a lonely and aging man who may be attracted to Alison as a kindred spirit, but all paths do not lead to the same destination.Many notable actors in small parts include Edward Rigby, Charles Hawtrey, Hay Petrie, Freda Jackson, Esma Cannon, Graham Moffatt, Eliot Makeham, Esmond Knight, and Judith Furse.Powell and Pressburger scored a major success with this moving and seemingly simple story. But the characters will stay with you long after watching this glorious masterpiece.

Graham Greene There are a number of ways that you can interpret A Canterbury Tale (1944) and a number of things to look out for in order to enrich the overall experience. For me, it remains one of the finest British films of the last half-century, mixing elements of satire, detective fiction, romance and magical-realism to create a lingering and atmospheric work that forgoes any such generic storytelling concerns, and indeed, the more recognisable ideas of narrative, to instead create an experience for the viewer that works simply as a result of the feeling that is created by the contrast between the characters and the subject matter. On an entirely immediate level, the film can be seen as subtle comment on the futility of war; an idea given a greater sense of creative credence by the fact that it was produced at a time when the war was still raging. As ever, Powell and Pressburger go against the accepted grain of the era, relinquishing any obvious elements of propaganda (as they did, quite controversially, with their preceding film, the equally satirical The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, 1943), and producing a film that on the one hand seems to be a laboured attempt to smooth out relations between American and British troops in the run up to the Normandy invasion, while on the other hand offering a ironic comment on the nature of war and that air of unspoken tragedy that punctuates the drama and makes the destruction and the devastation of war comprehendible on an entirely personal level.In keeping with this notion, the only battles shown in the film are those that involve the children of the village, acting out the supposed thrill of the battle in such a way as to make light of the inherent absurdities and childishness of it all. Likewise, the ending of the film, which seems to suggest the noble spirit of war, with its "Onward Christian Soldiers" and the allusions to the Canterbury Pilgrims - as uniformed men and boys march in procession through the streets - also ties in with the propaganda element, and yet, features a subtle-subversion on this same theme in a way that may have been missed by the majority of viewers at the time the film was released. Through Powell and Pressburger deny us the sight of any actual combat, they don't shy away from showing us the aftermath of the battle; with the sequences set within Canterbury itself making great use of the recent destruction of the Baedeker Raids of May and June, 1942; which itself suggests another theme of the film in the idea of history, or indeed, conservation. The film, in both design and presentation, is a veritable ode to the wonders of nature and the glorious, pastoral landscapes of rural England, rich in atmosphere and history. Again, it is that universal connection to time and place that binds the characters beyond the recognisable differences of nationality, gender and generation, informing the tone of the narrative and suggesting a further interpretation pertaining to the past (and of letting go of the past and embracing the present).These ideas are expressed most clearly in the character of the American soldier, played here by the real-life U.S. Sgt. John Sweet, with his slow, Dylan like-drawl and keen delivery going towards the creation of a character that is honest and entirely genuine in his thoughts. The filmmakers exploit the character and his relationship between the rest of the cast to make light of both the inherent differences and (indeed) similarities between the two cultures, in a way that is beneficial to the plot. Regardless, there is a real sense of warmth to the presentation of this character, due in part to the naturalistic performance from Sweet and the natural charm of the dialog. Unlike many popular presentations of Americans - particular American soldiers of this era - he is sensitive, sympathetic, dynamic, attuned to his surroundings and quietly heroic (on an entirely personal level). Again, he is perfectly counted by the fine performances of Eric Portman, Dennis Price and the lovely Sheila Sim who round out the cast with aplomb. There's also a great sense of warmth and pathos to these characters, moving from moments of light comedy to more affecting moments of drama and intuitive character observation as we return to that idea of the past and how the location binds the characters, regardless of their superficial differences.Throughout the film, the characters cling to old memories of people and places, never realising that there are experiences to be cherished in the here and now; even more so given the life and death implications of the war itself. These are incredibly weighty ideas being expressed in a film that was no doubt considered to be a silly little war-time romp when originally released, but can now be seen as one of the finest, most intelligent and repeatedly rewarding films ever released. Admittedly, it won't be to all tastes; as is often the case with the films of Powell and Pressburger there is no set genre here, with the reliance on character and atmosphere leading us away from such notions and instead towards something that can only be experienced. It is a film that relies mostly on the feeling that is transmitted between the film and the viewer and will be considered a success or a failure depending on how it leaves the audience with that final shot of the chiming bells of Canterbury Cathedral. You could perhaps argue that it lacks the imagination or epic-spectacle of the later films, like A Matter of Life and Death (1946) or The Red Shoes (1948) - still two of the greatest works of British cinema - but in my opinion A Canterbury Tale remains a minor masterpiece in its own right, and seems to be something of a thematic companion piece to director Michael Powell's earlier work, The Edge of the World (1937).