Waerdnotte This film is one of the Powell and Pressburger films that have received less attention than many of their more well-known works, and it is a real beauty of a film.With some excellent acting from Jennifer Jones, Cyril Cusack and David Farrer (Farrer rarely reached this level of believability in any other Archers film) Powell's direction is ahead of the game, and with the photography of Christopher Challis the film evokes the early New Hollywood style of the mid sixties, with many more long shots of groups of people and a far more mobile use of camera than Powell had previous used. The colouring is sumptuous, with many close-up head shots surrounded by the rich colours of sky and countryside.The story of a naive country girl courted by two suiters; a country priest and a local squire is very reminiscent of post-war westerns, and Powell shows the relationships between the three as a battle between the order and probity of the priest's lifestyle and beliefs and the squire's passion and unrestrained desires, a Hardyesque reflection of British society in the 19th century, a view found in the Archer's other films such as A Canterbuty Tale and I Know Where I'm Going. It is a look back to what might be considered a more genteel Englishness, but does it with far more style than the contemporary Ealing Studio films.Beautiful to look at, forward-looking cinematography and some cracking music by Brian Easdale who had already worked on The Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes, this is classic Powell and Pressburger. It can be seen as the pinnacle of their 1940s work, bringing together the technicolour beauty of films like The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death and the rural idealism of A Canterbury Tale.

c-partridge In making GONE TO EARTH Powell built on his childhood memories of rural England. The finished film owes a lot to Christopher Challis' superb photography and Brian Easedale's music. But it owes even more to Jennifer Jones' portrayal of an adolescent girl in tune with the prechristian countryside: her love for a tamed fox symbolizes this special relationship with the pagan past. She was 30 years old when she romped over the Shropshire hills and the Shepperton studio but she has the energy and bodily rhythms of a 16-year-old as she plays her pagan princess. This doomed princess has the ironic fate of being forced into relationships with two contemporary masters of the present-day Christian landscape: one is a mother-haunted cleric, the other a bodice-ripping squire.Playing these stereotypes is not easy and the two actors, Cyril Cusack and David Farrar, make an ill-balanced pair. Like Powell's earlier BLACK NARCISSUS, this film works on a symbolic and psychological level; but both story and dialogue have painful weaknesses made worse by censorship and the dreadful U.S.commercial cut. Avoid older versions of GONE TO EARTH: they usually contain censorship cuts which change the rhythm of several scenes and mutilate the climax. See the whole film - now available on DVD - on the largest screen you can obtain. Then you will appreciate Powell's skill in capturing the colours of the English countryside and projecting Jennifer Jones' energy as the pagan princess.

carollangdonuk Saw this film August 2005 at the National Film Theatre, London had been longing to see it since reading the book "Gone to Earth" by Mary Webb. It used to appear on TV from time to time but no longer.I have to say it was well worth the long wait and the trip to London. It was remarkable how the film kept atmosphere of the countryside and the buildings as in the book. The acting all round was brilliant and Jennifer Jones was superb. All right her local dialect had to be understood by an American public, but there are plenty of people with mixed accents. The photography was outstanding.In a story of sombre characters and places, humour was provided by the local squire's manservant, anything but servile. "She'll do" says David Farrar on picking up Jennifer Jones for the first time, "but will you do" mutters the manservant.cl

m0rphy I now own this title on a DVD since it has recently been issued in the UK in its' new digital, re-mastered version.The colours are certainly impressive.I also visited Much Wenlock, Shropshire recently and photographed us next to the town clock (seen at the beginning of the film) which commemorates Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897, the year the film is set. The music of Brain Easdale has a haunting quality and I don't think enough credit has been given to this by other reviewers since it adds immeasurably to the atmosphere of the film.While in Much Wenlock I bought a review of Mary Webb's short stories, including "Gone To Earth" as I always like to read the book from which films are adapted (to see where the film plot diverges).Yes it is rather a corny Victorian melodrama but the acting is convincing enough.I could not help but think there were certain parralls with her (Jennifer Jones) previous epic of "Duel in the Sun" (1946).For Lewton McCanless read Jack Reddin, for Jesse McCanless read Reverend Marston, for Mrs Marston read Senator McCanless etc etc.In both films Jennifer Jones plays a half breed, Native American to Gypsy and is discriminated on accordingly by society. This film has been hidden from view for too long since its' release in 1950 by the major tv networks and viewers should certainly see this Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger film if they can, especially if they enjoyed their other films like "Black Narcissus", "The Red Shoes" or "A Matter of Life & Death" from 1946.Technicolour has rarely been put to such good use.I suppose the main reason why you would watch "Gone To Earth" is to see the ravishing Jennifer Jones in the role of Hazel Woodus although all the cast are very effective.If viewers would like to see another example of David Farrar I saw him in "They Met in the Dark (1944) with James Mason and Joyce Howard.