49TH PARALLEL - DVD review

Innumerable Western films of the 1940s depicted the growing Nazi menace, but I am not aware think of too many that were set in Canada. Yet that is precisely where British filmmaking legends Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger staged their strange film "49th Parallel" (1941). The movie was one of Powell and Pressburger's earliest collaborations (their trademark "Archers" logo does not even appear in the opening credits) and one of their less celebrated, due in part to the fact that it is fairly atypical of their work. Though the film opens with some beautiful mountain shots and goes to great pains to specify locations in Canada, landscape does not play as large a role in the film as it does in most of their work. However, it is the choice of protagonists that marks "49th Parallel" as an unusual film.

A German U-boat makes an exploratory strike along the coast of Canada, but is soon obliterated by alert Canadian fliers. Only a half-dozen crewmen, set ashore to take over the Hudson's Bay Trading Post, survive the attack. Lieutenant Hirth (Eric Portman) remains undaunted, however. Six Nazis against Canada? They are the master race, and the Canadians are soft. It's hardly a fair fight at all.

The rest of the film tracks the Nazis on their doomed conquest of the great white north. By casting the crewmen as protagonists, Powell forces the audience to identify with the Nazis. In an even bolder stroke, the film does not make fun of its Nazi characters in order to downplay their threat but depicts them as efficient and (with a few exceptions) courageous. Hirth is a fanatical believer in Hitler's vision for the world, but he's also bright, resourceful, and damned clever, fully capable of taking advantage of Canadian hospitality to further his own ends. The film, made in 1941, is no invitation to sing "Heil! (pbbt!)" right in Der Fuehrer's face, but an admonishment to be afraid, very afraid. Audiences could not laugh at these Nazis as pop-eyed lunatics, humorless Huns, or incompetent clowns. Though these six übermenschen never seriously threaten to take over Canada, they are still a force to be reckoned with. Their intrusion into Canada also proves that the "war in Europe" affects everyone. Be prepared because the war can be at your doorstep at a moment's notice.

The film's episodic structure plays like an inverted (or perverted) "Odyssey." The Nazis' numbers dwindle by attrition as they face off against a series of Canadian citizens including two colorful fur trappers (one played by Laurence Olivier in his pre-knighthood days) and a bucolic Hutterite settlement with a charismatic leader (Anton Walbrook) who deftly deflates Hirth's Nazi bluster. In the film's penultimate encounter, the remaining Nazis square off against a reclusive writer (Leslie Howard) who resurrects his long-slumbering male bravado just in time to save the day. Eventually, Hirth finds himself alone, afraid, and easy prey even for a lazy, AWOL Canadian soldier. OK, so maybe there is a little "Heil! (pbbt!)" wish-fulfillment involved.

The all-star cast of "49th Parallel" (Raymond Massey shows up too) proves both boon and detriment. Many of the colorful characters are certainly memorable but also perhaps a bit too… colorful. More than a little scenery gets chewed along the way, but Eric Portman's simmering rage never quite boils over, and his performance as Lieutenant Hirth is nearly flawless. Though his name is little known today, Portman was a huge star in Britain in the 1940s, and had previously been one of the country's leading stage actors as well. Powell liked him well enough to cast him again in "One of our Aircraft is Missing" and "A Canterbury Tale." He excelled in both, but "49th Parallel" is his finest achievement.



Video

The film is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The digitally restored transfer is nearly flawless, as has become the norm for Criterion. As with most (though not all) of Criterion's recent full-screen releases, the image is slightly picture-boxed. Most viewers won't notice the difference, but those whose systems do not automatically zoom in on the image will see thin black bars on the left and right side of the screen.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English subtitles support the English audio.

Extras

The two-disc collection offers several outstanding special features.

The highlight of the collection, without a doubt, is the inclusion of an obscure Powell and Pressburger propaganda film "The Volunteer" (1943, 44 min.) In this semi-documentary, Ralph Richardson portrays himself as an actor burdened with a clumsy assistant named Fred (Pat McGrath) who has all the good intentions in the world but not a lick of common sense or even basic motor skills to go along with them. Fred decides a stint in the military will fix him up right smart, so he decides to join the Fleet Air Arm, the same branch of the service Richardson (and Laurence Olivier) belonged to in real life. The Fleet Air Arm plays Henry Higgins to Fred's Eliza Doolittle, transforming him into a crack mechanic and genuine war hero. At the beginning of the film, Fred asks for Richardson's autograph but by the end the actor asks Fred to return the favor. The film is pure propaganda, and intentionally so, but it's beautifully shot as you would expect.

"A Pretty British Affair" (50 min.) is a 1981 episode of the BBC documentary series "Arena." Host Gavin Millar speaks at length with Powell and Pressburger (then both in their seventies) and traces their history as collaborative artists.

Extensive audio excerpts taken from Powell's dictation for his autobiography round out the extras on the second disc.

On Disc One, Bruce Eder's full-length commentary track was recorded in 1990, presumably for Criterion's laser-disc release, but is so incisive and comprehensive it hardly needs updating.

The insert booklet includes an essay by film scholar Charles Barr and an excerpt from Michael Powell's speech at the 1941 British premiere of "49th Parallel."

Film Value

"49th Parallel" does not rank in the upper echelon of Powell and Pressburger's films along with masterpieces like "A Canterbury Tale," "The Red Shoes," "Black Narcissus" and "I Know Where I'm Going!" but even this early collaboration shows the brilliance of one of the greatest director-screenwriter duos in cinema history. Seldom have Nazi characters been depicted with such complexity and, in a strange way, a certain sympathy, or at least understanding. Powell and Pressburger produced their share of British war propaganda, but they don't take the easy way out and depict the enemy as bug-eyed monsters.