Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

drednm This superb allegory by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger follows the pilgrimages of three disparate people during WW II as they make their way to Canterbury along the 600-year-old Pilgrims Path. Each is seeking a miracle or consolation from their journey.Alison (Sheila Sim) is a London shop girl who ventures to the English countryside to work on a farm as a "land girl" and to revisit the spot where she vacationed with her now dead soldier boyfriend. Bob (John Sweet) is a naive American GI who's girlfriend back in Oregon has stopped writing to him. He told his mother he'd visit Canterbury. Peter (Dennis Price) is a disillusioned organist whose career has been limited to playing in movie theaters and who is soon to ship out overseas.The three disembark a train together and venture toward the great cathedral city when Alison is attacked in the dark by a strange offender known locally as the "glue man." He's poured nasty glue all over her head. As the three find lodgings and talk to locals they learn that the glue man has struck many other times.Alison settles into her farm job while Bob discovers the countryside still (in 1944) very much tied to 19th-century ways. Peter tries to find out more about the glue man. They all meet a local eccentric (Eric Portman) who may be the glue man. He lectures locally on the rewards of country life and works as a magistrate in Canterbury. They all meet at the cathedral as they meet their fates.Absolutely gorgeous B&W photography lovingly displays the beautiful countryside with ample shots of wide sky and billowing fields, rustic farms and buildings, and always Canterbury in the background.The simple story lines are set against the complex allegory of a journey of discovery. Each of the pilgrims finds something in Canterbury, but what happens to them afterwards is left to our imagination. Both Alison and Bob find answers to their private sorrows, and Peter attains a cherished dream. All three are changed in deep and moving ways.John Sweet was an amateur actor stationed with the US Army in England when he was discovered for this role. His plainspoken American is both naive and deeply wise. His growing love of the countryside and the old ways is infectious. Sheila Sim plays a sturdy and practical girl who deals with her loss while loving her new life in the country. Dennis Price plays the most complicated character, since his loss is more a loss of ambition and opportunity than a loss of human love. His discovery at the cathedral is very moving. Portman is a lonely and aging man who may be attracted to Alison as a kindred spirit, but all paths do not lead to the same destination.Many notable actors in small parts include Edward Rigby, Charles Hawtrey, Hay Petrie, Freda Jackson, Esma Cannon, Graham Moffatt, Eliot Makeham, Esmond Knight, and Judith Furse.Powell and Pressburger scored a major success with this moving and seemingly simple story. But the characters will stay with you long after watching this glorious masterpiece.

drystyx I didn't know what to expect from A CANTERBURY TALE. I rather thought (oh oh, I'm starting to talk like a bloke now, I am), I rather thought that it would be more along the lines of one of the boisterous tales, but instead we get the pilgrimage.And a tale that begins as a wild boisterous tale turns into one of the darker tales, but never loses its cheerfulness.It's very difficult to talk about this film without a spoiler. It's a mystery that is not only before its time, but still before its time. Other such mysteries have been done, but none are as far in the future as this one is.But I don't mean to mislead you. It's still set in the late days of World War II, for all intents and purposes on the road to Canterbury. It begins as a whimsical Andy Hardy style mystery, but beneath, we suspect more, then the camaraderie and atmosphere of the folk people disarm us. And later our suspicions are aroused again.Portman, as the benevolent caretaker Culpepper character, plays the opposite character of the evil Nazi he portrayed so well in THE 49TH PARALLEL, and strangely enough, the fields and working people are very similar to the major part of the u boat film, in the Christian commune. Portman had great range as an actor. Here, he is a shepherd character.I would love to say more without spoiling the film, but don't dare. It flows very well, and has a magic quality about it.

MartinHafer I was a bit surprised by "A Canterbury Tale", as it obviously was well made (after all, it was a Powell/Pressburger Production--having both written and directed it as well)--and this team made marvelous films. Yet, despite all its good parts, the whole picture just didn't work for me--mostly because it lacked a good story and some of the acting was downright embarrassing.The film is set in the English countryside during WWII. An occasionally dim-witted American bumpkin (sort of like a slightly smarter version of Gomer Pyle--terribly overplayed by an amateur American actor in his only film) gets off the train bound for Canterbury at the wrong stop. As a result, he's stuck in a country town until he's able to find his way to his destination. In addition, an English soldier and young lady also get off the train there. Soon they are embroiled in a rather irrelevant plot involving a weirdo who runs around throwing glue in ladies' hair in the darkness of the blackout! Talk about a stupid plot. But, as the plot really was seemingly unnecessary for the film and it's all just an excuse to make a film about the war effort, the wonderfulness of country life, camaraderie with the Americans and the similarities of all good people. Frankly, this was VERY frustrating as the film was wonderfully made in so many ways--great direction, lovely music, terrific camera work and a nice feel for the heartland of England...but no real story...none. So, I guess for a film with no real plot, a score of 6 is actually very good!I see that most reviewers really liked this film and some even adored it. Because of that, I felt pretty awkward about not liking the film, though Bob the Moo's usually thought-provoking review gave me some consolation--at least Bob saw some of the same problems I saw with the film! And, considering his excellent reviews, that puts me in pretty good company.

T Y One of the great pleasures of Powell & Pressburger films (and there are many) is that they exist outside of genre categories and constraints. The fun of watching them is that they always trust the audience to find their own way through idiosyncratic material. On top of that you're always observing filmmakers working in a very open, artful idiom. Granted this movie is supremely light stuff, the rough equivalent of a Nancy Drew mystery, but so much of it is charming and the P & P approach is of very high quality.The 'plot' is inexplicably inept. It's about a loose criminal whose method, motive and moniker are beyond bizarre. But everything else more than makes up for it. Freed as it is from genre clichés, there's plenty of room for viewers and their readings; you detect, pursue and ponder what you like, and this movie does its best to stay out of your way. Watching earnest people for any length is pretty trying, but this is so striking it's hard to complain. It's shot so beautifully I'd watch it again just for the compositions. I feel about this movie as many do about Night of the Hunter, a similarly visual but thoroughly mediocre film.The only really bad aspect of the movie is the American GI; an overearnest pinhead, as dense as they come, played by a horrible, off-putting actor whose skills would be inadequate even for community theater. I was aware that this is an "American" as presented to British audiences, and likely about as realistic in intent as British characters in American films. But for god's sake, after 5 minutes with this irritating simpleton I'd be giving his coordinates to the Nazis. I'd cheer to see him strangled.The movie is MUCH too long, and pacing is out the window, but the location photography is stunning and there are a handful of memorable/funny sequences. This movie actually made me wish that Hitchcock had been less contrived and controlled in his presentation of England and Englanders.