The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Widely considered a masterpiece, directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger explore the changing notions of modern warfare against the tradition of British military systems from the Boer War (1899–1902) to World War II. General Candy (Roger Livesey), who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women (all played by Deborah Kerr), and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier. The film was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1943. Yet, because of its sympathetic depiction of a German officer, the film was heavily attacked upon release. Due to the British government's disapproval of the film, it was not released in the United States until 1945 and then in a shortened form, as The Adventures of Colonel Blimp or simply Colonel Blimp.