Search - I Know Where I'm Going! [Criterion Collection] on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1945 DVD Release: 02/27/2001 Format: DVD - Black and White,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 31 mins Studio: Criterion Members Wishing: 29 Genres: Drama, Romance, Romantic Drama

While awaiting access to England's Technicolor cameras for their upcoming super-production Stairway to Heaven, the producer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger dashed off a delightful "personal" project, I Know Where I'm Going. Young middle-class Englishwoman Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) is determined to have the finer things in life, and to that end she plans to marry Sir Robert Bellinger (Norman Shelley), a wealthy, middle-aged industrialist whom she does not love. En route to the Island of Mull, where her future husband resides, Joan is stranded in a colorful Scottish seacoast town. Inclement weather keeps her grounded for a week, during which time she falls in love with young, insouciant naval officer Torquil McNeil (Roger Livesey). Ignoring the dictates of her heart (not to mention common sense), Joan stubbornly insists upon heading out to sea towards her marriage of convenience, but the exigencies of Mother Nature finally convince her that her future resides on the Mainland. A winner all the way, I Know Where I'm Going is full of large and small delights, including a wonderful sense of regional detail and endearing, three-dimensional characterizations (even the mercenary heroine is a likeable character). The film is easily one of the best of the Powell-Pressburger films of the 1940s, and arguably the team's all-time best romantic drama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wendy Hiller - Joan Webster
Roger Livesey - Torquil MacNeil
Pamela Brown - Catriona Potts
George Carney - Mr. Webster
Petula Clark - Cheril
Walter Hudd - Hunter

Such Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger films as The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus may have bigger name recognition, but the delightful I Know Where I'm Going has an unusually devoted cult following. Thankfully, this exceptionally fine Criterion Collection DVD is perfect for devotees of the movie and to those who have yet to discover the film. Because of I Know Where I'm Going's cultural and artistic importance to the U.K., the British Film Institute restored both the original film print and its audio track to pristine condition. The movie was shot in the 1.33:1 format that fits a normal TV, while the audio track has been updated to Dolby Digital 2.0. The DVD extras are numerous. Featured here is a rather arty documentary on the movie that is miles better than most slapdash DVD featurettes. Powell fanatic Martin Scorsese appears in the documentary and is only one of the people who discusses why this little movie means so much to so many people. Scorsese's editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who was married to Powell, narrates the wonderful home movies that are included on the DVD. Writer Nancy Franklin provides a photo essay on the Scottish locations used in the films. There are also excerpts from two Powell documentaries on the region, as well as an audio essay from critic Ian Christie. The Criterion Collection once again outdoes the major film companies in releasing a definitive DVD release of a classic movie. I Know Where I'm Going deserves such loving treatment. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide