Green for Danger

( 2 )

Overview

This clever and well-crafted British thriller, set during the height of World War II and featuring a marvelous turn by Alistair Sim as a eccentric police detective, has been given an overdue DVD release in the United States by the Criterion Collection. Green For Danger has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1; the film was shot by Wilkie Cooper (Oswald Morris was a camera assistant) and looks superb in this edition, with the deep shadows and broad range of grey tones ...
See more details below
DVD (B&W)
$38.68
BN.com price
(Save 3%)$39.99 List Price
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up In Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (DVD)
  • All (14) from $19.00   
  • New (12) from $24.38   
  • Used (2) from $19.00   

More About This Product

Overview

This clever and well-crafted British thriller, set during the height of World War II and featuring a marvelous turn by Alistair Sim as a eccentric police detective, has been given an overdue DVD release in the United States by the Criterion Collection. Green For Danger has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1; the film was shot by Wilkie Cooper (Oswald Morris was a camera assistant) and looks superb in this edition, with the deep shadows and broad range of grey tones demonstrating how pleasing a well-shot black and white film can be. The film's audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono and sounds excellent, better than one might expect for a film of the period. The dialogue is in English, with no multiple language options included, though the feature does include optional English subtitles for the hard of hearing. Film historian Bruce Eder contributes an optional commentary track, in which he discusses the style and approach of the movie, and the disc also includes a chat with writer Geoff Brown in which he talks about the making of Green For Danger and the collaborative career of director/screenwriter Sidney Gilliat and producer Frank Launder. And the handsome accompanying booklet includes essays from Geoffrey O'Brien and director Gilliat. Few American firms would bother releasing a lesser-known British detective film in the United States, let alone with this degree of care, but the material certainly merits the attention and Criterion are to be congratulated for going the extra mile with this top-shelf package.
Read More Show Less

Special Features

New, restored high-definition digital transfer; Audio commentary by film and music historian Bruce Eder; New interview with British film historian Geoff Brown; Plus: A new essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien and a director's statement
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Bruce Eder
Sidney Gilliat's Green for Danger was the most inventive murder mystery to come out of England in the eight years since Alfred Hitchcock left the country -- and in a sense, it's no surprise that this would be the case as it was co-written, produced, and directed by the team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, the two authors of the screenplay for Hitchcock's last great English thriller, The Lady Vanishes. Based on Christianna Brand's novel, the 1946 movie is a fascinating variation on that venerable English creation, the drawing room thriller -- in this case, the drawing room is replaced by a hospital operating theater, and instead of family members, the suspects are comprised of the surgical team, doctors and surgeons two separate professional classes in England, and the nurses with whom they may or may not be involved. The movie featured one of the niftiest murders seen in a movie in years: the victim is killed on an operating table, in front of two doctors and a team of nurses who are unable to discern what has happened or why. World War II and Germany's V-1 bombings of England also figure into the plot and add to the atmosphere of uncertainty and suspense surrounding the events taking place in the hospital. Green for Danger also has an extremely important place in the history of British film production, as it was the first feature film after the war to be shot at the reopened Pinewood Studios, which was an important symbol of the industry's return to peacetime -- indeed, a close look at the credits shows this as the first film for members of a new generation or, perhaps, a newly promoted generation would be a better way of putting it of production designers Peter Proud, cinematographers Wilkie Cooper, etc., their careers newly restarted and on track to do major films into the 1960s and beyond. The movie also introduced Alastair Sim to international audiences as a serious leading actor, and set the stage for the stardom that he would later achieve in Scrooge, and again in the hands of Launder and Gilliat in The Belles of St. Trinian's. Additionally, the movie's casting, plotting, and execution served as a prime example of how British studios were going to compete with their higher-budgeted American rivals in the years after the war: by making movies that were cleverer and more offbeat than anything coming out of America.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/13/2007
  • UPC: 715515022323
  • Original Release: 1947

    • Rating:

  • Source: Criterion
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: B&W
  • Time: 1:31:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 36,186

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Alastair Sim Inspector Cockrill
Leo Genn Mr. Eden
Trevor Howard Dr. Barney Barnes
Sally Gray Nurse Linley
Rosamund John Esther Sanson
Judy Campbell Marion Bates
Henry Edwards Mr. Purdy
Ronald Adam Dr. White
Megs Jenkins Nurse Woods
Moore Marriott Joe Higgins
George Woodbridge Sgt. Hendricks
Hattie Jacques
Frank Ling Rescue Worker
John Rae The Porter
Ronald Ward
Technical Credits
Sidney Gilliat Director, Producer, Screenwriter
William Alwyn Score Composer
A.S. Bates Production Manager
Wilkie Cooper Cinematographer
Claude Guerney Screenwriter
Frank Launder Producer
Muir Mathieson Musical Direction/Supervision
Thelma Myers Editor
Peter Proud Production Designer
Read More Show Less

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Green for Danger
1. August 17, 1944 [3:56]
2. Terrible V-Is [5:37]
3. Young Doctors in Love [6:12]
4. Operating Theatre [6:21]
5. "Here We Go Round..." [6:44]
6. "You Killed a Girl, Didn't You?" [6:22]
7. Fate of Sister Bates [2:32]
8. Inspector Cockrill Arrives [2:29]
9. "Don't Trust Your Neighbor" [7:47]
10. Reenactment [5:10]
11. Poetry in the Night [3:24]
12. August 20, 1944 [2:02]
13. Mr. Eden Is Warned [1:59]
14. Gas [2:38]
15. And Then There Were Four [3:06]
16. Fantastic Scheme [7:41]
17. Close Call [2:29]
18. Terrifying Moment [4:36]
19. Another Death [5:04]
20. Comparative Failure [3:13]
21. Color Bars [1:57]
1. Introductions [3:56]
2. Maintaining the Puzzle [5:37]
3. Sets, Settings, and Clues [6:12]
4. Sidney Gilliat's Vision [6:21]
5. Wise Choices and V Weapons [6:44]
6. Judy Campbell [6:22]
7. Theatre at Night [2:32]
8. Novel and Author [2:29]
9. Brand's Eccentric Humor [7:47]
10. Concessions to the Censors [5:10]
11. The Faces of Sim [3:24]
12. A Nervous Adaptation [2:02]
13. Frank Launder [1:59]
14. Sidney Gilliat [2:38]
15. A Team at Last [3:06]
16. Alastair Sim [7:41]
17. Modus Operandi Revealed [2:29]
18. Trevor Howard [4:36]
19. Leo Genn [5:04]
20. A Great Anti-Detective Movie [3:13]
21. Color Bars [1:57]
Read More Show Less

Menu

Disc #1 -- Green for Danger
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
   Commentary
      Off
      On
      Index
   Geoff Brown Interview
      Play
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 2 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 7, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 3, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews