Believe me the dog in Age of Consent steals the picture form Mason and Helen Mirren.

Powell devotes a whole chapter to him and his master in the autobiog.

Yes, the dog in "Age of Consent" is great, no doubt. But whenever I see dogs in films (especially partly fluffy ones like this, the film I mean), I always associate Lassie in a way. I don't remember that chapter in Powell's autobiography, but thanks for the reminder, David. I wanted to re-read the bits on the film anyway. The audiocommentary for the film also tells us quite a few details about who trained the dog and how he got him to do the trick with the leash.

And Schreck: I would love to recommend "Age of Consent" to you, but I know that David completely disagrees with me about the film, and as I still haven't seen AMOLAD and thus am not sure about the transfer, the package might be a disappointment for you. But as you're interested in Powell generally, perhaps you might take the plunge anyway.

As to "Quai de Brumes": surely a film I should re-visit any time soon, especially after having recently seen "Les portes de la nuit" on TV, which reminded me of Carné again. But, you know, I suffer from a terrible disease which I still try to fight: it's called Kevyipomania....

Heh, you aint the only one pal.

I am currently numbering my kevyip at around two hundred!

And this includes things like Ophuls and Raul Ruiz!!!!!

I am clearly insane.

The dog is a part-Australian Terrier - a great breed. Gore Vidal and Howard Auster kept one until Howard died.

GET the hell outa here-- you messing with us or what? Tu? Feu?

Nawwwwwwwwww!

I'm not at 200 but definitely not too short of that ballpark.. I've got some good will that getting on in YEARS, god bless the world. This is why I hesitated on That Trading Site. I'd drown like OBrien in the kevyip of Margaret Livingston.

Not meaning to be churlish but Mason's "Australian accent" for Age is really quite alarming. He turns the word "no" into a quadrathong.

Jack MacGowran and Neva Carr Glynn are pretty deadful too! But the dog, and Helen, and Dunk Island! The ocean literally IS that color. And global warming hadn't yet started to destory the Great Barrier Reef.

Honestly if people like this enough you should really take a look at They're a Weird Mob which was very decently restored and is out on a good DL Roadshow R4 Oz disc with some fascinating extras, including a long doco on the making of which has lots of footage of then semi tropical Sydney as a sort of paradise of lazy summers. In glorious B&W. Mob IS in fact a Powell/Pressburger as the screenwriter Monsieur "Imrie" is the nom de plume of Emeric.

Looks like we're not so far apart in our opinions of the film after all! The dog, Helen, and the sights of Dunk Island are what really attracted me to this film, quite apart from Powell's stunning way of having them photographed and setting up some particular scenes. As a non-native speaker, I didn't bother too much about Mason's accent, of course, and was actually happy that I understood him much better than most of the Australian-born actors

I have a dvd of "Mob", though not that one you mention with the documentary. I definitely recommend the film, too, even though it's not as visually dazzling as "Age of Consent". But as you note, the script was basically written by Pressburger (called in by Powell after he found some original treatment lacking in quality), and yes, it shows! So much better than the entirely dull dialogue in "Age", though perhaps still not as perfectly crafted as some of the 'classical' P&P work.

Which brings me to the new AMOLAD, which I couldn't resist doing a very late night watching of yesterday. This is a tough and somewhat deplorable case. As seen in the various screen caps in this thread, there is a very great difference in the two editions. Watching the Sony, I was stunned how sharp and free of damage the image was, even if the grain seemed faux again. Not mentioned yet, I believe, is the dramatic improvement in the audio department. While I sometimes wished the Carlton had some optional subs for understanding the dialogue better, the Sony is crystal-clear with every single word understandable without problems, far less hiss and better frequency range. I actually found the Sony quite convincing in all respects...before I put on some key scenes again from the Carlton disc. I hate to say it: it's not a matter of life and death perhaps, but a difference of day and night as far as colours are concerned. You only hear Conductor 71 talking about being starved for Technicolor in the Sony, but in the Carlton you can experience it. What wonderful deep and technicoloresque blue in the night skies, what beautiful reds on the petals in the Carlton! Or Dr. Reeves' first motorbike ride: it's an explosion of warm, sunny colours on the Carlton, perfectly expressing the joys of living on earth as opposed to being in bureaucratic heaven (the whole point of the film of course). On the Sony, it's nothing more than a good outing, really. Many other examples can be found, of course.

I don't know; I've seen each and every one of Powell's colour films available on disc somewhere, and all these films have strong, vivid colours and a generally joyful 'look' at all things from nature. The "Age of Consent" transfer is a good example for that. The difference in skin and lips tones is not even important, but I just don't see these sunny colours, so important for the Powell magic, in the new Sony AMOLAD. It may be an entirely subjective thing, but despite its obvious deficiencies, the Carlton simply feels right, in the same way that the Network "Black Narcissus" and the CC "Red Shoes" or the MoC "Kwaidan" feels right to me.

Man, what a shame. I guess, the only way at the moment is to have both editions. You need the Sony for the Christie commentary and of course "Age of Consent", but you also need the Carlton to really get the deep emotional experience that AMOLAD can offer when it looks right.
I guess the only thing we can hope for is that Carlton for some reason will get out of business so that the BFI or anyone else can pick up the British rights and do the darn thing right. Or we should all collectively petition Carlton to give us a re-mastered special edition of their disc to deal with the sharpness and edge enhancement issues. The rest of the world will probably hang on to Sony for a new disc in R2 or R4 territory; or perhaps (very little hope) the French Institut Lumière will surprise us....

P.S.: I had totally forgotten that the first spectators exposed to Dr. Reeves' new camera obscura thingy are two dogs....

They're the same two dogs as in Blimp. Powell's own.

Arent they in IKWIG too? Not the bigguns, but in the scene w little Petula Clark?

Speaking of... see her amid Pure UK Camp (and some of the purest camp in general) in this Top of the Pops performance of her Downtown. Those dancers-- Oi!. You practically can't believe your own eyes!

I'd love to hear some more opinions about Age Of... This film was completely unknown to me prior to this release and am curious what if any the consensus is around here on it.

Age of Consent has grown on me. Thinking it of it as an absurd Tempest adaptation may help. Helen Mirren makes everything worthwhile.

Schreck if you wanna see glorious Northern Queensland/Barrier Reef scenery with azure skies and Persian Turquoise Pacific Ocean surf, and you wanny giggle at Mason wrestling with the one accent he can't nail down,

oh yes, if you wanna see Helen Mirren at approx 22 stark bonkers nude standing in the sea holding a makeshift spear while the surf gently laps aound her public hair...

then you'll find something to enjoy Im surel

Word. The geezer at the back right is actually ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair's uncle, Peter Fawlse, now a "banker" and higher 39th-degree Freemason.

I picked up the set and did a quick run-through of some of the the capped scenes and I noticed the same thing. The color "breathing" is quite noticeable if you're looking out for it, and the fluctuations could distract you if you get too obsessed with it. I just find it odd that Beaver seems to have caps that ONLY show the "blue" fluctuations.

I agree with Stereo. I first caught AoC on TCM a year or so ago, and it left me a little cold. Rewatching it via the new DVD, I now find I have considerably more time for it. It's no masterpiece; I agree with David that TaWM is far superior. But the connection to The Tempest is pretty clear (with both an Ariel and a Caliban), and some of the scenes are drop-dead beautiful: the torchlit sequence, the scene with Mason painting Mirren emerging from the sea, etc. One thing that Jones points out in his commentary that directly addresses David's point about Mason's questionable accent: Jones suggests that it's possible Mason's character has lost his Australian accent from spending so many years in New York. (Not sure that everyone will buy that, but maybe it will work for some.) Sadly, MacGowran's character is still an incredibly weak point in the film, and I definitely agree with Jones that Powell's lack of interest in the broader comedy sequences is apparent. Nevertheless, I derived a great deal of pleasure from a second run-through.

I also found myself liking AMoLaD much more this time, too. Elsewhere on this board, I've explained why I think the climactic heavenly-courtroom sequence doesn't work for me, but it seemed less significant to the overall film this time. I'd like to think, a la Jones' commentary for AoC, that P&P simply weren't all that interested in the pro-U.S. aspect of the story and tried to crunch it all into a 15-minute fantasy sequence that appears about as late into the film as is possible. That whole section still seems absurd to me; I wish Pressburger had somehow set us up for it (perhaps by having Niven's character reading a book about the American Revolution or something). But overall, it doesn't detract or negate the brilliance of the rest of the film for me -- as it has occasionally in the past.

Funny, I have the reverse reaction every time I re-visit AMOLAD. When I first saw the film, I didn't think too much about the courtrooom sequence's plausibility, being too much taken by the whole look of the sets and the general inventiveness of the whole of the film. But now I find it more and more the weak point of an otherwise marvellous film, for exactly the reasons you describe. It's just not really prepared in the script, it feels odd and unnecessary to load the trial sequence with these seemingly absurd historical considerations (at least from today's point-of-view, it may have been different in 1946, of course).

But after all, David Niven is not causing a stir in heaven because he's an Englishman in the film, but because he has through some mistake escaped death, and now that he's fallen in love, the rules are altered (or must be altered). THAT's the original argument of the film, and the transatlantic relations have nothing to do with it. Quite apart from the fact that P&P had already tackled these questions in a wholly successful way in the perfectly written "Canterbury Tale". But I agree: even though the courtroom sequence is somehow unconvincing, it doesn't take much away from the brilliance of the film itself. It may just be the reason why I always thought that AMOLAD never quite rises to the heights of the very, very best of P&P's works.

As to "Age of Consent": while I also see the connection to "The Tempest", I wonder where exactly the parts of Ariel and Caliban are placed. You might argue that Mirren has the Ariel part whereas her mother is supposed to be Caliban, but that doesn't really work out, as Mirren's role is far too 'earthy' and she shares a lot of the 'calibanesque' features, too (providing food for the islanders, for instance). Perhaps the dog is Ariel?

I think our attitudes toward AMoLaD is a matter of degree, not of kind. We both seem to agree that the courtroom sequence does not hold up, no matter which way you look at it. What I was trying to get at, however, is that it's placement as a tangent so far into the movie speaks volumes about its apparent importance to either Powell or Pressburger. So perhaps I'm simply trying to rationalize my distaste for that sequence, but at least looking at it this way makes it bearable. At any rate, I agree that it is a huge mis-step in what might otherwise be P&P's finest achievement. But as the finished film stands, it inches below IKWIG, Red Shoes, etc.

I was indeed referring to Mirren's character as the Ariel figure and her mother as the Caliban figure. I'm not trying to argue that there's a 1:1 ratio at work. Clearly, AoC is not simply a modern-day reworking of The Tempest. However, I was thinking of Mirren's role as a muse or medium for Mason's revitalized power. Also, I do tend to view Mirren's monstrous mother as a Caliban-like figure. (Though if we view Mirren as Miranda, then Ted's assault on her in the boat makes him Caliban.) Ultimately, all I mean is that The Tempest seems to inform AoC quite a bit, and that aspect of them film gives it greater resonance. It also makes me think of AoC as more in tune with other aging directors' late films (since The Tempest is, of course, one of Shakespeare's later plays).

Well, I don't think it's THAT bad; it's unnecessary but at least it's very well made. But of course I would have liked a drawn-out discussion about the importance of love etc. much better, though the film then would have shared quite a few things with IKWIG...


I always thought so, too, but I'm not sure whether this is only due to the courtroom sequence. AMOLAD in my view is as a whole perhaps a too well-planned film, with much of its effect depending on the sets and the technicalities, and for me it isn't as emotionally engaging as "Canterbury", IKWIG or indeed "Red Shoes" are. My favourite scenes in AMOLAD are indeed those where we see the village life, the loving couple and the discussions of Niven and Goring on earth rather than in heaven (which probably is one of the points of the film, i.e. that these aspects are supposed to be much more important than the staleness of heaven).

I fully agree with what you say about AoC being only generally informed by Shakespeare's play, though I found it funny to try out how far the analogies go and where to place the individual characters. But it never fully works out; and if we accepted Mirren as Miranda and Mason as Prospero, this would throw a whole new light on the Shakespeare play as well (though I suppose there are scholars who have read their relation in the play as somewhat incestuous already).


Well, even if we view Mirren as Caliban AND Ariel, her mother still must be Sycorax (considering how Sycorax mistreats Ariel this would even make sense). But as I said, all this assigning of characters ultimately leads nowhere, but it may indeed be that the Shakespeare connection is one of those factors that raise the film above the level of pure Sunday afternoon entertainment, apart from the magic of its images, of course.

You know, I remember pretty clearly that in Vol 2 of his autobiography, Powell addressed trying to get a film of The Tempest off the ground somewhere around this time - maybe later. It was to star James Mason, who was all for it according to Powell, but it still didn't come off. One of many heartbreaking non-starters for him in later years. At any rate, perhaps either he sublimated his Tempest-making desires in AoC, or making it put him on the scent of a Mason/Tempest that never was.

He must have been a big Mason fan, he tried to get him to do IKWIG before settling for Livesey.

I'm watching it right now and I'm finding it to be a very trying experience. I was going to turn it off completely, but I figured coming here was a good compromise instead. The film's attempted mix of a dramatic arc with bizarre camp moments just doesn't work, while Mason's supposedly burnt out painter is hard to care about. But yes, Godfrey and to a lesser degree Mirren rise above this thoroughly wretched outing.

I'm glad someone else posted alternative shots as the handwringing over this was way out of line imo. This is my favorite film and I was ecstatic when the Sony disc was released, ordered it immediately, and watched it the day it came and a few times since - never once did the color seem off, but quite the opposite. I know this is long after the fact, but tommaso threw out a reference to the horrific transfer in the Tales of Hoffman thread and I couldn't resist countering the overwrought hyperbole in here. I can attest that on my calibrated panny 42" HDTV the colors are far closer to this than Gary's....I don't know what he did to screw them up, but they are definitely not right and the Sony disc is 100% fine - and certainly better than the frightfully garish earlier releases.


And it's still a splendid piece of film making...a movie that moves me in so many ways, but I can't ever fully give words to. I just plain love it

You do realize of course that the courtroom sequence is the reason the film exists right? It's absolutely germane to the very basis of the story: an American servicewoman falling for the British airman....her just happening to hail from Boston, the birthplace of the Sons of Liberty and the agitation for freedom from the tyranny of King George. The English public was not happy with the boisterous obnoxious Americans seemingly everywhere in 1944 and 1945, who also seemed rather arrogant in their superman role of coming to save the day - which the English saw more as 'what took you so long.'

The Trial is thus a fascinating insight into the deep feelings of resentment across the UK homefront and how P&P were commissioned to try and soothe them. Here in the states, WWII has become this rather sanctified moment in history where America rose to the occasion in incredible ways and our men sacrificed so much for freedom - while generally ignoring (forgetting?) the abject suffering the citizenry of the UK, France, etc etc etc had to endure. We love patting ourselves on the back for our 'sacrifices' and pretending we suffered right along with our allies, but we really have no clue what suffering through war really is. To have their distant cousins simultaneously taking over local pubs and complaining about the beer during the war must have been too much to bear for so many.

Seeing a segregated heaven in this context is therefore just fascinating, and the entire sequence adds so much depth to the picture for me. It would be easy to simply film an international romance set during the war - and plenty of others did exactly that - but only P&P could conceive and execute a film so ingeniously that was also a historical rumination on the cosmopolitan landscape the United States professed to embrace - but at its heart was patently terrified of - and the debt the U.S. has to it's true founding mother: England. Things were a bit simpler in Europe in terms of who the bad guys were, but America had to send Germans to fight in the Pacific, and Japanese to fight in Europe...and a whole lot of scots, Irish, welsh, and old English to the UK who had learned a lot of bad manners in their generational split from the home country. I still haven't decided what exactly they were trying to say in that whole sequence...but I believe whole-heartedly that it remains one of the most ingenious and fascinating attempts to reconcile the profound differences the two nations have with one another despite being so intimately and literally related to one another.


All that and a love at first sight story too!

And while you're entitled to your personal taste, I still think your screencaps are the best proof that the colour scheme is wrong. Goring's face in the third cap and Niven's in the sixth look like the temperature is around zero degrees Celsius... Everything else about the transfer is a great improvement over the Carlton, of course, but I think I'll never be happy with it.

fair enough, and of course you too are entitled to your personal taste! It's too bad you can't enjoy it though, because it is such an incredibly lovely film...And I apologize if I came off as too dismissive or antagonistic, I just reacted incredulously to your strong claims of it being 'ruined.' I do sometimes fail to voice my feelings appropriately, so I do apologize if I came off to harshly.

No problem, especially as the internet is not exactly the right medium to convey subtleties of tone and mood anyway. Oh, and I'm thoroughly able to enjoy AMOLAD; I just have to watch the old Carlton disc