Although I would not rank Gone to Earth very high among The Archers' output, it has a special significance for me because I grew up near its filming locations in the Shropshire countryside. As a child, I knew about the film many years before eventually seeing it, when it was restored in the 1980s.

There really isn't anything to recommend in the Selznick US version over the UK original, despite Rouben Mamoulian's involvement as director of some reshot scenes. The only positive I can point to is that Selznick at least had the decency (or perhaps it was a contractual requirement) to rename the butchered product. Since the forthcoming release appears to be under that US title, The Wild Heart, it tells us what to expect. I presume the roadshow overture will be new to home video though.

In exceptional cases, I might defend a producer's wishes taking precedence over the director's, if the producer is risking his or her own money whilst the director is not. However, Powell & Pressburger always did have a financial stake as co-producers, so they were entitled to object when Selznick's interference became unreasonable.

I feel sorry for contemporary US audiences who were denied a chance to see the original film, but at least that still exists and perhaps one day we can look forward to it on Blu.