"The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp"
Jun 27 7:30pm PT
Colonel Blimp
Wed, 06/27/2012 - 19:30

Samuel Goldwyn Theatre
8949 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA, 90211

SPECIAL GUEST: THREE-TIME OSCAR WINNER THELMA SCHOONMAKER POWELL

THE WEST COAST PREMIERE OF THE NEWLY RESTORED, FULL-LENGTH VERSION

RESTORED BY THE ACADEMY FILM ARCHIVE

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE, ITV STUDIOS GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT LTD AND THE FILM FOUNDATION. 

Inspired by a satiric cartoon character created by David Low, "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" tells a story both epic and deeply personal as it follows the 40-year career of a British Army officer from the Boer War to World War II. Created by the dynamic British writing-directing-producing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (whose longtime partnership would ultimately produce 22 pictures), the lavish production features gorgeous Technicolor and tour-de-force performances by Roger Livesey and Deborah Kerr.

The film created much controversy during its initial release in Great Britain in 1943, and it did not reach the United States until 1945, when its original running time of 163 minutes was cut to 148 minutes and then to 93 minutes. This stunning digital restoration now offers audiences the opportunity to view the film in its entirety and experience its full power.

Powell's widow, Oscar-winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, served as the supervising consultant on this restoration, alongside Film Foundation founder Martin Scorsese. Powell introduced the Academy's screening of the work that critic David Kehr has called "very possibly the finest film ever made in Britain."

Restoration funding provided by The Material World Charitable Foundation, the Louis B. Mayer Foundation, Cinema per Roma Foundation, and The Film Foundation.