May 31: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

This is a film that is definitely in my Top Ten. 

An awesome romance and dramatic story racing through time and the life of a single character through the wars with an excellent central performance by Roger Livesey and support from the wonderful Deborah Kerr.

It's production was fascinating, as was its subsequent restoration.

Martin Scorcese loved it, and helped pay for the restoration and supervise it:

"Every time I revisit The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, it seems to have become more resonant, more moving, more profound. You could say it's the epic of an ordinary life. And what you retain from this epic is an overpowering sense of warmth and love and friendship, of shared humour and tenderness, and a lasting impression of the most eloquent sadness."

There was also an interesting critical reception to the film.

Winston Churchill apparently hated it as it portrayed Germans sympathetically. Powell was warned not to make the movie, but made it anyway. This is a particularly powerful scene with Anton Walbrook.

Colin Fleming calls it the greatest British film ever made.

Another review here.

What a film...