Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Rating:
Summary: Hello, Mr. Chips!
Review: The DVD version of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" is sure to be a much welcomed addition to any movie buff's collection of great classics. But this film long ago passed the realm of "must see." It is a must see again and again, due to two great performances in an even greater production by director Sam Wood. The story is, on first reading of its synopsis, a quiet one, but when Robert Donat and Greer Garson, along with Paul Henreid, give life to their characters before our eyes, we are drawn into a world that is alive with emotion. The story spans the career of one school master, Charles Chipping, and follows him from his start as a well-meaning but emotionally reserved teacher, to a man whose heart and outlook are remade by the love of his life, played by Greer Garson (her first film role, which also earned her an Academy Award nomination). Chips' (as his wife affectionately calls him) new life awakens in him a love and appreciation of teaching, as well as of his students themselves. Though he is destined to lose his wife, he gains a great deal as well, and spends his remaining years at the school revered as the treasure he is: a champion of learning, and a dear and devoted friend to his school and the boys in it. "Goodbye Mr. Chips" is a film that will continually reward the viewer each time it is watched, as there is so much to be seen and appreciated in this excellent adaptation of James Hilton's classic novel of the same name.

Rating:
Summary: Hello, Mr. Chips!
Review: The DVD version of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" is sure to be a much welcomed addition to any movie buff's collection of great classics. But this film long ago passed the realm of "must see." It is a must see again and again, due to two great performances in an even greater production by director Sam Wood. The story is, on first reading of its synopsis, a quiet one, but when Robert Donat and Greer Garson, along with Paul Henreid, give life to their characters before our eyes, we are drawn into a world that is alive with emotion. The story spans the career of one school master, Charles Chipping, and follows him from his start as a well-meaning but emotionally reserved teacher, to a man whose heart and outlook are remade by the love of his life, played by Greer Garson (her first film role, which also earned her an Academy Award nomination). Chips' (as his wife affectionately calls him) new life awakens in him a love and appreciation of teaching, as well as of his students themselves. Though he is destined to lose his wife, he gains a great deal as well, and spends his remaining years at the school revered as the treasure he is: a champion of learning, and a dear and devoted friend to his school and the boys in it. "Goodbye Mr. Chips" is a film that will continually reward the viewer each time it is watched, as there is so much to be seen and appreciated in this excellent adaptation of James Hilton's classic novel of the same name.

Rating:
Summary: Hello, Mr. Chips!
Review: The DVD version of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" is sure to be a much welcomed addition to any movie buff's collection of great classics. But this film long ago passed the realm of "must see." It is a must see again and again, due to two great performances in an even greater production by director Sam Wood. The story is, on first reading of its synopsis, a quiet one, but when Robert Donat and Greer Garson, along with Paul Henreid, give life to their characters before our eyes, we are drawn into a world that is alive with emotion. The story spans the career of one school master, Charles Chipping, and follows him from his start as a well-meaning but emotionally reserved teacher, to a man whose heart and outlook are remade by the love of his life, played by Greer Garson (her first film role, which also earned her an Academy Award nomination). Chips' (as his wife affectionately calls him) new life awakens in him a love and appreciation of teaching, as well as of his students themselves. Though he is destined to lose his wife, he gains a great deal as well, and spends his remaining years at the school revered as the treasure he is: a champion of learning, and a dear and devoted friend to his school and the boys in it. "Goodbye Mr. Chips" is a film that will continually reward the viewer each time it is watched, as there is so much to be seen and appreciated in this excellent adaptation of James Hilton's classic novel of the same name.

Rating:
Summary: BEST ACTOR AA FOR 1939.
Review: The excellent film version of James Hilton's sentimental novellette. The tribute to the English public school system and to one Mr. Chipping is done with immaculate care in every respect; it is a serene, tenderly heart-warming story. Like the story, the film is nostalgic: if we never knew a Mr. Chips, we should have - he belongs in every young man's past. Robert Donat gives an incredibly fine charactisation of the much-loved schoolmaster. Donat's performance is noteworthy not merely for his uncanny ability to make a convincing transition from young schoolmaster to octogenarian, but for his subtle underlining (if underlining can be subtle) of the dramatic moments in an essentially undramatic life. Chips was a shy person; like an iceberg, two-thirds of him was always subsurface. Donat wisely understated him playing him softly which doubled his poignance. It is only when he is seen as a crotchety old man scattering across campus in his tattered robe - that Donat went a TRIFLE overdrawn: a fraction of the cute and overacted side. But that is just and impression and not deep enough to discredit an otherwise flawless performance. Greer Garson's portrait of Katherine, the assertive young woman who changed the dour Mr. Chipping into the loveable Mr. Chips is altogether believable and quite entrancing: here is one of the nicest people we could ever wish to encounter! The boys are completely captivated hy Katherine - and so is the viewer. Paul Henreid is splendid as the German instructor and Terry Kilburn is unforgettable. A beautiful picture in every respect.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story about REAL people
Review: The most wonderful thing about this movie is the quiet and relaxed way the story is told. There are no heroics (wee, maybe the climb up the mountain in the mist or the Latin reading near the end). All of the characters are in harmony with each other ie the acting is brilliantly understated. Mr Donat & Ms Garson are perfectly cast for the roles. The make up as you see Mr Chipping age from his first day as teacher to a venerable old man is excellent.

This is one of my favorite movies. It should NOT be remade and colorising is a travesty for this film! If you don't shed a tear in this, then you're made of stone!

Rating:
Summary: A meaningful life unfolds over time
Review: The origin of all the inspirational teacher movies, Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a heartwarming film that unfolds the story of a man who is transformed by love, and goes on to influence the lives of his pupils and colleagues. Nostalgic, even when it was released in 1939, this is a tender and affectionate study of a society, an education system, and a man who belatedly outgrows his constraints and develops a true vocation from his professional commitments. It is Chips' transformation that makes this film a classic example of a man who belatedly discovers how to use strengths that ultimately give meaning and value to his life.

The film opens amidst the hustle and bustle of a new academic year at Brookfield with new and returning pupils hurrying to attend the first-day assembly. Chips arrives late for the event and is locked out with a young pupil with whom he shares his knowledge of the stone tablets that serve as memorials to past students and staff.

Mr. Chips: So, you're a stinker, eh?
Student: A stinker, Sir?
Mr. Chips: A new boy. That's what we call them here. Stinkers... (he indicates a stone tablet that commemorates the hero of the Armada: "Sir Francis Drake 1552")
Student: Drake! Was he here, Sir?
Mr. Chips: Yes.
Student: Was he a stinker too, Sir?
Mr. Chips: To be sure he was. But he grew out of it. And so will you.
This exchange sets-up the question of how 'stinkers' are helped to mature into the fine young men and heroes whom we see later in the film. We see the answer in a series of flashbacks that extend over sixty years of Chipping's life.

The young Mr. Chipping arrives at Brookfield, filled with enthusiasm and ambition. Some early misjudgements make him vulnerable to criticism by the Headmaster who reprimands him for his poor control of the boys.

Our profession is not an easy one, Mr. Chipping. It calls for something more than a University degree. Our business is to mould men. It demands character and courage. Above all, it demands the ability to exercise authority. Without that, I think any young man should ask himself seriously if he has not perhaps mistaken his vocation. When a man is young, Mr. Chipping, there are many other walks of life open to him.

In a disastrous attempt to assert his authority, the teacher forbids his pupils to attend a cricket match, which the school then loses because of the absence of a key player. Despite Chipping's apology, the reaction of the pupils and his colleagues leads him to develop a protective shield of authoritarianism and inflexibility. Chipping's enthusiasm ebbs away over the years: he is so intimidated by life that he retreats into a sterile existence that smothers rather than protects him. Passing him over for promotion, the Headmaster praises Chipping for his ability to exact high academic performance from the boys but explains that he is thought to lack the empathy and vision that is needed in a Housemaster.

... We felt that with your unusual gifts of getting work out of the boys that you'd rather concentrate on teaching and leave the rather tiresome job of Housemaster to someone with special gifts in that direction...I doubt if Mr. Wilkinson will ever turn out as many minor Latin poets as you have.

Although surrounded by the rich, social network of the school, and a senior member within it, Chipping is exposed as an isolated figure whose relationships are restricted to the functional, and are grounded only in perfunctory respect and status. Humiliated, Chipping withdraws into his room, where his loneliness and the darkness close in around him. Fortunately, a young colleague persuades him to accompany him on a walking tour to the Tyrol where Chipping meets the fascinating Katherine Ellis who is destined to be his wife and help-meet.

Chipping's feelings are reciprocated in a charming courtship that changes his view of himself, and alerts him to the possibilities of living his life in a different way.

Chipping: Do you suppose a person in middle age could start life over again and make a go of it?
Katherine: I'm sure of it. Quite sure. It must be tremendously interesting to be a schoolmaster.
Chipping: I thought so once.
Katherine: To watch boys grow up and help them along. To see their characters develop and what they become when they leave school and the world gets hold of them. I don't see how you could ever get old in a world that's always young.
Chipping: I never really thought of it that way. When you talk about it, you make it sound exciting and heroic.
Katherine: It is.
Chipping: (He turns to her) And the schoolmaster? Is he exciting and heroic too?
Katherine: (teasing him for his earlier actions and diffidence) I've met only one - a reckless person who climbed the Blochner in a mist...

The couple marry before the start of the school year. And from the start, the pupils and colleagues view Chips (as he is now affectionately named by Kathy) in a new light. She encourages him to use the strengths (such as empathy and a dry sense of humour) that she knows him to have, but that are little seen by others. Inevitably, Chips wins the trust and admiration of the pupils and the change in his status is reflected when he wins the appointment of Housemaster.

Despite personal and larger-scale tragedy, we see that Chips' life becomes one of meaning and influence: we see his crucial role in the transformation of 'stinkers' into admirable men and the foundations of the freedoms enjoyed by others, built on their sacrifices.

This film epitomises key aspects of a meaningful life: Chips learns to use his previously concealed Signature Strengths (see "Authentic Happiness" by Marty Seligman), is transformed by love and a capacity to be loved and is taught that it is never too late to change.

Rating:
Summary: An Overlooked Masterpiece!
Review: The year is 1939, often considered the greatest year for American movies: Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, Dark Victory, Gunga Din, Of Mice and Men, and the best of them all - Goodbye, Mr. Chips. It is unabashedly sentimental, even corny, but it remains after sixty years one of the two best movies about teachers (the other being the Miracle Worker) and has at its center one of the best acting performances of all time - Robert Donat as the title character in his Oscar winning performance (winning against Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Laurence Olivier and Mickey Rooney). His performance is for the ages, particularly in light of the fact that he ages 60 years during the course of the film. It also has a wonderful romance (with a luminous Greer Garson) and a fine supporting cast (including the school children) but it is the understated poignancy of Donat's performance that makes this a true classic.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This along with "Boys town" is the best film of the 1930's. It's a great story about a teachers life. I highly recomend.

Rating:
Summary: A classic romance; faithful rendition of the book
Review: This film is one of the wonderful classics made in that amazing year of movies, 1939. Greer Garson's first film in America, and she is absolutely wonderful! Robert Donat well-deserved beating Clark Gable (Rhett Butler in GWTW) for best-actor Oscar with his performance as Mr. Chippings. The movie, unlike the musical version made in 1969, is very accurate to the book written by James Hilton (an easy delightful read; the author also wrote "Lost Horizon"). A poignant love story involving a man, a woman, and an English boy's school.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Terrible Transfer
Review: This fine film is absolutely ruined in the so-called digital video transfer onto VHS. It is horribly over-contrasted, so much so that all the details are completely washed out. The master is also very noisy.

This film deserves much better. I give it one star because it is better not to be subjected to this atrocity of a transfer.