This England

I suffered this due to kind pressure from a friend. I saw in one of our TV magazines that it had three stars. So giving in I watched it. The presence of Constance Cummings, a great actress was promising and the scenery was sentimentally Vaughan Williams in its rolling fields. Then the film moved from the WW2 years to the worst Ye Olde England I have seen on screen, and the naughty Normans were in power. It was acted badly and I wondered how good or bad Amateur Dramatic companies were in 1941. After this was the Armada and the backdrops of villages bad beyond belief. Constance Cummings re-appeared and tackled the dire dialogue as best as she could. And so it went on; a whole litany of England ( let us forget the rest of the UK ) under the dreadful heel of the ' foreigners '. I got very tired of all this and its dubious simplicity. A mess of a film in cinematic terms. A lot of sound and fury signifying.... I leave it up to you viewers to decide

This is another of those priceless but grossly neglected gems from the war years, made for constructive reasons to raise the fighting spirit and morals and encourage the will to hold on, but they are all much more than just propaganda films. This one tells the story of a village and returns to its early struggles almost nine centuries earlier and then follows history through some eventful and fatal years, which makes it a panoramic cavalcade through history, and as such it is very interesting and invaluable. The first episode deals with the old Anglo-Saxon problems with the Normans and relates the events of a successful insurrection (1086), the second happens in 1588 and is not all about he Spanish Armada but some local problems in connection with it, the third is in 1804 in the middle of the Napoleonic wars, and then there is the First World War, all four years of it, with casualties and armistice and all. Of course, the film starts in 1941 with the Germans bombing the village and also ends up there with a very appropriate summary of the destiny of all these ordeals in a quotation by John of Gaunt in "Richard II", so it all leads to poetry, demonstrating the eternal resistance against any disturbance by any invasion or war of the peace at the village and its farm lands. It's a lovable film with a message concerning all kinds of people of any social standing or lack of standing.

A series of scenes from history anticipating 'Forever and a Day', 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', 'History of the World Part 1', and so on.

When the Brave Knights first set eyes upon the inspiring sight of Castle Camelot upon the brow of a hill in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', Terry Gilliam caustically cuts in "It's only a model!!"; and there are plenty of those in this. It even includes the mob baying for the blood of a witch (and even casts an American actress in the role, as the Pythons did); although that portion of the film is played straight.

Exactly what parts throughout are actually intended to be funny is never always clear, but the fact it was necessary (for obvious reasons) to retitle it 'Our Heritage' north of the border is certainly merits a smile.

This is the type of film that was very popular in the 40s and especially the war years.A portmanteau story featuring a house or an area over generations with a recurring often patriotic theme.A Hollywood example of this type of film is "Forever and A Day".Essentially this film features the same village at 5 separate times in history dating back to 1086 and ending in the Second World War.Basically showing how the villagers won their way through various problems with which contemporary audiences were familiar.Obviously showing that as they succeeded in winning through so must the audience that is viewing it.The problem is that since it uses the same actors in each episode and the themes are familiar it becomes repetitiously and boring.Unfortunately it is just showing its age and alas is now hard going to watch.

Now that many British films are available on the internet I was pleased to discover this one today. It appears to be a lovely mix of five time periods in England, a glimpse into the past when life was simpler and closer to the land, "rustic" would best describe it.

It's wonderful to see the in-between films of fine actors such as John Clements (of The Four Feathers, 1939), and Roland Culver. Emlyn Williams, who is credited with writing the dialogue, appears as a haunting presence in each story, a reminder of the poorer people who are usually the ones to suffer most. Each tale illustrated how the townspeople rose up to defy injustices as well as dealing with newcomers who were different which unfortunately reflected some of the fears and superstitions of their time especially toward the gypsy girl. The episode of wartime in 1804 made me realize how the state of marriage was often decided on as a ticket to a lifetime of security, much like Jane Austen's constant reference to a good match being based on the person's annual income.

I love the British films, very nostalgic. It also made me realize how in North America we are not tied as much by traditions or ancestral land memories, ours is still a relatively new world here.

"This England" is a treasure of early British films, produced during the war years, and reveals the extent of the Brits' determination and fortitude as they lived through challenging times in centuries past and in the present.