The Small Back Room
by Michael Powell;Emeric Pressburger
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: David Farrar, Henry Caine, Jack Hawkins, Kathleen Byron, Leslie BanksDirector: Michael Powell;Emeric Pressburger
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-08-19
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion Collection
Movie Reviews of The Small Back Room
Movie Review: Powell and Pressburger, returning to their roots.
Summary: 5 Stars
It was a surprise for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger to follow up the Technicolor extravaganzas of "Black Narcissus" and "The Red Shoes" with a throwback to their earlier work--the black-and-white, tightly focused World War II drama "The Small Back Room." Perhaps the film served as sort of a palate cleanser before they moved on to "The Tales of Hoffmann," a film so rococo that it made "The Red Shoes" look modest. However, "The Small Back Room" is still a riveting, superbly made, character-driven thriller that is worth anyone's time.
Set in the early spring of 1943, the film tells the story of Sammy Rice, a bomb expert sinking into drink and despair after a failed effort to defuse a bomb caused one of his feet to be blown off, leaving him in constant agony. In his depression, Sammy is allowing the political players in his government department (led by a smarmy Jack Hawkins) to walk all over him, to the sorrow and anger of Susan, Sammy's secretary and live-in girlfriend. Whether Sammy can sufficiently regain his confidence to save his job and his relationship with Susan is the crux of the story, which ends with a palm-sweatingly suspenseful sequence involving a German UXB on an English beach.
Powell and Pressburger brought virtually the entire crew from "The Red Shoes" over to "The Small Back Room," including production designer Hein Heckroth and composer Brian Easdale, and their artistry pays off. So does the artistry of Christopher Challis--a camera operator on "The Red Shoes," promoted to director of photography here--who provides B&W photography of uncommon clarity, depth and beauty. Above all, "The Small Back Room" is a wonderful showcase for the talents of David Farrar and Kathleen Byron, who were brilliant in "Black Narcissus" and equally fine here. Farrar's moody, bitter Sammy isn't all that different from "Black Narcissus's" Mr. Dean, but Byron's sane, kind-hearted Susan is a 180-degree turn from the crazed Sister Ruth of "Black Narcissus." The brilliance and variety that Byron demonstrated in these two roles makes it all the more tragic that she never achieved true stardom, as she deserved to do. But at least audiences will always have her performances in "Black Narcissus" and "The Small Back Room" as testimony to her radiant screen presence.
Summary of The Small Back Room
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.
In their career, the Archers--Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger--made films both epic and intimate. The Small Back Room falls into the latter category. The interiors in this black-and-white picture, after a trio in Technicolor, are close and dimly lit, but rustic exteriors (including Stonehenge) and a surrealistic set piece add welcome flair. In 1943, Londoner Sammy Rice (David Farrar, quite good), a master at defusing incendiary devices, works for the Ministry of Defense. Whiskey helps to relieve the discomfort of a leg injury caused, presumably, by a mission gone wrong. As he tells girlfriend Susan (Kathleen Byron, softer than in Black Narcissus), who serves as secretary for the back-room boys, "It leaves me not caring whether it hurts or not." In order to decode Germany's new booby-trapped bomb, the military enlists his expertise, but Rice's drinking problem makes him a liability. Noir, suspense, and documentary-style realism converge to create a sympathetic portrait of one man's struggle with shame and inadequacy, providing a link between Brief Encounter and The Lost Weekend. As critic Raymond Durgnat suggests, it isn't "a 'story one follows', but a sensibility in which one bathes." This shadowy room may not be the best place to begin with the Archers, but it's a fine place with which to end. The Criterion Collection edition adds erudite commentary from author Charles Barr, an essay from Sight & Sound editor Nick James, an interview with cinematographer Chris Challis, and dictation excerpts from Powell's memoir, Million Dollar Movie. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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