Kind Hearts and Coronets (The Criterion Collection)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alec Guinness, Audrey Fildes, Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie HobsonBrand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 106 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Kind Hearts and Coronets (The Criterion Collection)
Movie Review: The Death of the D'Ascoyne clan...in many humorous ways.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Kind Hearts and Coronets", a rather odd title for one of the darkest and most gleefully perverse comedies ever made, in Britain or any other country. The title is a reference to a line by Tennyson, "Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood." Well, plenty of Norman blood is shed in this signature Ealing farce. I had not previously seen the film until the day the Criterion release came out, but I had heard a lot of positive about it and figured a blind buy would be worth it.
What a purchase! I never expected a film from 1949 to be so amoral and sexually charged. The movie opens in jail, with a hangman making the final preparations for the execution of the 10th Duke of Chalfont, Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price). The remainder of the movie is told in flashback with Mazzini's narration - he tells us, quite detached from the events on screen, exactly how he came to be in such a precarious position.
Mazzini's mother, a member of the wealthy D'Ascoyne clan, ran off with an Italian opera singer and was barred from associating with her family again. On her deathbed, as a result of a tragic accident, she made a last request to be buried in the family plot - which was refused. In his anger, Mazzini vows revenge, and decides to murder all the remaining members of the D'Ascoyne clan one by one - which would also make him the next Duke of Chalfont. Throughout all this, there is also another running subplot involving his childhood friend Sibella Holland (Joan Greenwood) and her equally intriguing scheming, and how they play off each other.
Did I mention this a comedy? It sounds so serious but it isn't, and since all the actors underplay the increasingly absurd situations, the subtle acting and the purposefully dry and detached but extremely funny narration make this a classic. The delicate language of the script is evident, as it is filled with deliciously biting one-liners (for example: "It is so difficult to make a neat job of killing people with whom one is not on friendly terms."); a lot of the humor comes from the class structure at the time (1900 or so), as Mazzini outworldly gives all appearances of being a charming gentleman on his way up in the world when in reality he is a ruthless and efficient serial killer. Dennis Price is pitch-perfect; from the first few minutes he engages our sympathy and we are rooting for him to succeed in his quest, yet he also manages to convey a strong wickedness simultaneously. Without his throughly grounded performance, the film wouldn't work.
Speaking of great performances, I have yet to mention the best part: Sir Alec Guiness, by himself, plays the entire D'Ascoyne clan (yes, even the lone female, in one particularly hilarious killing on a hot air balloon for women's suffrage). It's an acting tour de force - with some makeup, a few wigs, and a different posture and accent he is able to conjure up a variety of silly and memorable characters. my particular favorite is Admiral Horatio D'Ascoyne; after making a terrible blunder in terms of the naval direction of his ship, he crashes it straight into another and both sink. All survive except him, we are told in the voiceover, since he stubbornly went down with the ship. The shot of Guiness saluting as he slowly sinks to death had me in tears.
In short, "Kind Hearts and Coronets" is a highly subversive, witty, and devious satire of class manners and murder - certainly the kind of sardonic and cynical British comedy classic that they rarely make anymore. Filled with uniformly excellent performances, a sly script, and many fascinating twists and turns (including the famously open ending), this DVD is highly recommended. The Criterion Collection edition includes a sterling new HD transfer 1.33:1, an informative full-length documentary on Ealing Studios (with a lot of time spent on "Kind Hearts"), and a great rare 70-minute interview with Alec Guiness, conducted after "Star Wars", in which he is relaxed and full of anecdotes (often very amusing). Buy it...now.
Summary of Kind Hearts and Coronets (The Criterion Collection)
Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 02/28/2006 Run time: 106 minutesSimilar DVD Movies
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