|
|
List Price: $39.95Amazon.com's Price: $35.99 You Save: $3.96 (10%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Now!
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0715515031226
Format: AC-3, Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Label: Criterion Collection
Manufacturer: Criterion Collection
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Criterion Collection
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 19, 2008
Running Time: 107 minutes
Sales Rank: 5893
Studio: Criterion Collection
Theatrical Release Date: February 23, 1952
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
After the lavish Technicolor spectacle of The Red Shoes, British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger retreated into the inward, shadowy recesses of this moody, crackling character study. Based on the acclaimed novel by Nigel Balchin, The Small Back Room details the professional and personal travails of troubled, alcoholic research scientist and military bomb-disposal expert Sammy Rice (David Farrar), who, while struggling with a complex relationship with secretary-girlfriend Susan (Kathleen Byron), is hired by the government to advise on a dangerous new German weapon. Frank and intimate, deftly mixing suspense and romance, The Small Back Room is an atmospheric, post World War II gem.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer,
Audio commentary featuring film scholar Charles Barr,
New video interview with cinematographer Chris Challis,
Excerpts from Michael Powell's audio dictations for his autobiography.
PLUS: A new essay by film scholar Nick James.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The Archers in decline, but still a film worth watching
Sammy Rice (David Farrar) is a first-rate scientist and something of an expert in defusing bombs. The year is 1943 and the Germans have starting dropping a new kind of terror weapon on Britain. It's something small, evidently attractive to children, and explodes either when it's picked up or just touched. No one is sure because the three children and one adult who did touch the things were killed. Rice is asked to investigate by the Army. He says he has to have an unexploded device to work on; that ... Read More
Rating:  - Offbeat gem
Far from being an indicator of the decline of the creative genius of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, The Small Back Room harkens back to the pair's earlier black-and-white period and is an offbeat gem. David Farrar shines as Sammy Rice, a bitter yet sensitive man unsure if he has enough character to accept the things he must and the strength to change what he can in his life. Kathleen Byron (who appeared with Farrar in P&P's Black Narcissus in 1947) plays Susan, a shrewd, strong woman nevertheless ... Read More
|
|
