Kind Hearts & Coronets [1949] (REGION 1) (NTSC) - Anchor Bay

wonderful classic

I stumbled upon this movie by chance. Very good comedy indeed. Alec Guiness is especially wonderful in his 8-fold role as an entire aristocratic family. And the sound-quality, not always top-notch, was probably the best one could expect from such an old movie, I suppose.

Ealings dark corner

This and the ladykillers are the only 2 of Ealings output that have really stood the test of time and theres a very good reason for it. As a young man sets about bumping off the various pompous members of the D'Ascoyne family you delight as each upper class twit meets their gruesome end and it seems that nothing will stand in his way, so far so the same as ladykillers but whereas Guiness is the villain in that film,here he plays all the hapless members of the doomed family and the ending here is not the same all too convenient 'happy' good prevails but rather a dark and surprising twist that leaves you rooting for the bad guy and regretting his failure.
To be honest I could really happily live with just catching this on its occassional tv airings but what sets this package up as one to buy is Criterions usual eye for detail. If you've bought one of their dvds before then you dont need me to tell you that they've done everything humanly possible to get their mitts on the best available print and then polished it until it shines.But what matters here is disc 2 that contains a facinating 70 min doc. on Ealing studios and a rare tv appearance by Guiness,a 75 min q&a with Michael Parkinson,(seeing them both talk about Guiness' 'latest' film role in a promising new film called star wars is great stuff),.These 2 make this worth the entry price alone but with a buffed up main feature and very interesting written essay this is one well worth crossing the pond for.(don't forget you'll need a multi-region dvd player to play it.)

"I shot an arrow in the air..."

"Kind Hearts and Coronets" is an exquisitely written and performed film, which still appears fresh and vital today. Dennis Price is memorable as the aristocratic serial killer ,Louis, with his mellifluous accent ,perfect turn of phrase and winning way with the ladies. Almost as impressive is Alec Guinness who plays all eight of Price's victims ,as Louis seeks to establish himself as Duke of Chalmont by murdering his rivals. The leading ladies ,Joan Greenwood (Sibella) and Valerie Hobson (Edith), who vie for Louis' attention both give magnificent performances as well. The storyline and dialogue is excellent and the characterisation and acting superb. "Kind Hearts" is a classy film , a timeless one, with a rich vein of black humour running through it. Let's hope Hollywood don't do a remake.

A landmark in British Film comedy. Timeless classic.

While Alec Guinness is, rightfully, given top billing for his chameleon performance as umpteen members of the eccentric, delightful and ill-fated D'Ascoyne family, it is the brilliant performance of Dennis Price which carries this charming black comedy of manners. His deft and restrained portrayal of a coldly cynical and yet urbane murderer strikes exactly the right ironic tone so that the audience sympathy is always in the balance (even 50 years after its original release). It is a delightful view of a lost era and rigid class structure and there are some serious messages about rank and snobbery but, considering the plot concerns the career of a serial killer, the comic touches are wonderfully light. Guinness's intuitive grasp of subtle inflections of character to mimic so many different personality traits are simply touches of genius and there is a classic ending which lives in the memory. By today's standards the pace may appear slow but this is illusionary - there is much detail and action to savour through repeated viewings. A top 100 film of all times.

WARNING - This DVD is the French version !

"Kind Hearts and Coronets" is probably the best of the
Ealing comedies. The acting, the characters, the storyline and
especially the wonderful black humour blend together perfectly. What's
more, the print used by Warner Home Video for this DVD release is
absolutely immaculate...unfortunately it's also in French!!! Whilst
the DVD contains an English soundtrack, the opening credits and even
parts of the film appear on screen in French (such as a letter written
by Louis D'Ascoyne). I thought at first that they'd put the wrong disc
inside the case, however the small print on the back confirms it is
indeed the French version. With the possibility of further Ealing
comedies being released on DVD in the future, I made my feelings =
known to Warner by returning this DVD for a refund. Five stars for the
film, none for this poor DVD.