| | | A Film by Powell & Pressburger.
Features: DVD, 2 Pack
At once a compelling piece of anti-isolationist propaganda and a quick-witted wartime thriller, 49th Parallel is a classic early work from the inimitable British filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. When a Nazi U-boat crew headed by the ruthless Eric Portman is stranded in Canada during the thick of World War II, the men evade capture by hiding out in a series of rural communities before trying to cross the border into the United States. Both soul-stirring and delightfully entertaining, 49th Parallel features a colorful cavalcade of characters played by larger-than-life actors Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey, Anton Walbrook and Leslie Howard.
"Entertaining, imaginative and suspenseful!" Chicago Reader
"Taut, exciting WWII yarn." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"...an extremely effective film." Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
Editor's Note
A taut, suspenseful World War II drama about Nazi servicemen trying to reach neutral American land after their U-boat is sunk in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. Academy Award Nominations: 3, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay. Academy Awards: Best Original Story.
Plot Summary
After a German U-Boat is bombed to smithereens in the Hudson, its Nazi survivors determine to reach the still-neutral United States and hide out -- and they'll gladly murder anyone who tries to stand in their way.
| Features | BBC Powell/Pressburger Documentary: A Pretty British Affair | | 1943 Powell/Pressburger Short, The Volunteer, Starring Ralph Richardson | | Audio Commentary By Film Historian Bruce Eder | | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono | | Excerpts From Powell's Audio Dictations For His Autobiography | | Interactive Menus | | New Essay By Film Scholar Charles Barr | | New, Restored High-Definition Digital Transfer | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Image |
| Release Date: 2/20/2007 |
| Running Time: 123 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1941 | | Catalog ID: 1683 | | UPC: 00715515022422 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (1943) | | | Oscar, Emeric Pressburger, Best Writing, Original Story | |
Nominee (1943) | | | Oscar, Michael Powell, Best Picture | | | Oscar, Rodney Ackland, Emeric Pressburger, Best Writing, Screenplay |
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| | Professional Reviews | DVDBeaver.com 10 of 10
From Olivier's somewhat hammy French Canadian characterization to Leslie Howard's almost duplicate portrayal of the quasi-fearless academia intellectual Alan Squier from "The Petrified Forest', I reveled in this powerful story of a Nazi U-boat sunk by the Canadian Air Force with all the crew lost excepting six men who had been sent ashore before the attack... to take on a country. In a sweeping road-picture across Canada the fugitive Germans are taken from a trading outpost in Hudson Bay to a Prairie commune then onto Vancouver's coast and then to southern Ontario...This is another example of Powell and Pressburger's ability to create 'pure cinema' - an absolute delight. Anton Walbrook, Eric Portman, and Glynis Johns also chip in with outstanding one dimensional, yet totally believable, performances. I can't say enough about this film - 5 out of 5. - Gary W. Tooze
DVD Times 7 of 10
49th Parallel was an immense success, not only in achieving its aim of alerting the US of the threat of the spread of the war, but it also did well commercially - the film out-performing Chaplin's The Dictator in the box-office - and it was critically acclaimed, with Emeric Pressburger winning an Oscar for Best Screenplay...There's no denying the talent involved - the film making use of Laurence Olivier, Anton Walbrook, Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey and Eric Portman, all very fine actors who put in strong performances - but with the almost hysterical pitch of the propagandist tone (Germans in our midst!), they are inevitably a little on the melodramatic side, with Olivier in particular hamming it up spectacularly - although amusingly and no doubt with tongue firmly in cheek - as a French-Canadian trapper. - Noel Megahey
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