The Alec Guinness Collection (Kind Hearts and Coronets The...

Buy This Item The Alec Guinness Collection (Kind Hearts and Coronets The... by Starz / Anchor Bay  Available from Amazon  $62.99  on 9-20-2008     Five of the British film industry's best-loved comedies in one boxed set makes <I>The Alec Guinness Collection</I> absolutely essential for anyone who has any passion at all for movies. It contains <I>Kind Hearts and Coronets</I> (1949), <I>The Lavender Hill Mob</I> (1951), <I>The Man in the White Suit</I> (1951), <I>The Captain's Paradise</I> (1953) (only available in this set), and <I>The Ladykillers</I> (1955). The Ealing Studio's greatest comedies captured the essence of post-war Britain, both in their evocation of a land once blighted by war but now rising doggedly and optimistically again from the ashes, and in their mordant yet graceful humor. They portray a country with an antiquated class system whose crumbling conventions are being undermined by a new spirit of individual opportunism. In the delightfully wicked <I>Kind Hearts and Coronets</I>, a serial killer politely murders his way into the peerage; in <I>The Lavender Hill Mob</I> a put-upon bank clerk schemes to rob his employers; <I>The Man in the White Suit</I> is a harshly satirical depiction of idealism crushed by the status quo; in <I>The Captain's Paradise</I>, a ferryboat captain complements his proper British wife with a fiery Spanish wife; while <I>The Ladykillers</I> mocks both the criminals and the authorities with its unlikely octogenarian heroine Mrs. "lop-sided" Wilberforce. Many factors contribute to these films' success--including fine music scores from composers such as Benjamin Frankel (<I>Man in the White Suit</I>), Malcolm Arnold (<I>Captain's Paradise</I>), and Tristram Cary (<I>The Ladykillers</I>); positively symphonic sound effects (<I>White Suit</I>); marvelously evocative locations (the environs of King's Cross in <I>Ladykillers</I>, for example); and writing that always displays Ealing's unique perspective on British social mores ("All the exuberance of Chaucer without, happily, any of the concomitant crudities of his period")--yet arguably their greatest asset is Alec Guinness, whose multifaceted performances are the keystone upon which Ealing built its biting, often macabre, yet always elegant comedy. <I>--Mark Walker</I> Reader Reviews Alec Guinness may be my favorite actor. At the very least, he is one of the small handful I rely on to entertain me in any mood at any time. Guinness movies are reliable and rewarding. From drama to comedy to scifi-fantasy, you can't go wrong with Sir Alec. He made some bad movies, they all do, but he was never bad in a movie. All five of the comedies in this set are from early in his career and all except Captain's Paradise are Ealing Studio comedies. Ealing was well known in its day for droll, charming comedies starring virtually unknown actors. The comedies tend toward dark, even politically incorrect humor. For instance, Kind Hearts & Coronets is about a man who tries to secure his inheritance by murdering several relatives who stand between him and fortune. Doesn't sound very funny to say it like that but it is hilarious in large part due to fact Guinness plays all the relatives, even the woman. Guinness rose to prominence in large part due to these gems. Most box sets include a few great films and a few clunkers as filler to round out the set. Not here. This may be the best set I have ever seen. All five movies are tremendously enjoyable and worthy of repeated viewing. I hesitate to tell other people what they must watch. Tastes differ and these are older movies in a style whose time has past. However, if you consider yourself a film buff or are at all interested in British cinema or watching Guinness in something besides Star Wars or David Lean epics, you should, at least, rent a couple of these comedies. I would recommend Kind Hearts & Coronets and The Ladykillers for starters.

The Alec Guinness Collection (Kind Hearts and Coronets The... Available from Amazon Price: $62.99 Updated on 9-20-2008.

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