Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful love story....
Review: I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING is over 50 years old, and to tell the truth I would not have purchased this film if Criterion had not made a version. I've taken a chance on some of the older films that have not undergone the Criterion clean-up and regretted it. No matter how good a film was if you can't see it it does not matter. I found this transer excellent. The sound is not first class, but one cannot make Dolby sound from a single track. The story is as old as the hills, a young woman (or man) set on marrying a wealthy suitor finds herself falling in love with a less well provided for suitor. Oh what to choose--love or money. In the real world, many folks opt for the former and some of them find happiness, and many opt for the latter and end up miserable. Most likely no one can say with any certainty what is best but I vote for love. Dame Wendy Hiller is wonderful as the headstrong young woman who travels to the rugged west coast of Scotland to meet and marry her fiancee. She and her co-star Roger Livesey both give extraordinary performances. Both were stage players and members of the Royal Shakespeare company, and the movie is more like a stage play than a modern screen play. The documentary on the DVD explains Livesey's shots were done on a sound stage in London as he was starring in a play when the film was made and could not make the journey to Scotland. That he is shown outdoors in Scotland and you probably won't notice the difference, says much about the talents of the cinematographer. When Livesy and Hiller are together the chemistry is grand. The external black and white shots in Scotland are fabulous. The documentary that accompanies the film explains how tourists, particularly Americans visit the film sites--the hotel where the anxious young woman is forced to wait out a storm, the red call box next to the burn, and the whirlpool where hapless sailors have lost their lives for centuries. Seems the tide coming in between two islands creates the whirlpool and the photographs of this marvel including a boat circling round and round are wonderful. The DVD contains English subtitles so the hearing impaired and/or veterans of the 1940s can review a much beloved film. Those who speak Gaelic or who had ancestors who did so will be thrilled to know there is plenty of local dialog--another reason for the English subtitles. Petula Clark fans will be pleased to see the young Petula play a little rich girl instead of the cockney kids she frequently played. Some of us remember her as the singer who made "Downtown" a top hit song. The film was dedicated to Scotsmen everywhere--including America.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Way to Escape
Review: I never heard of this film and probably never would have except for a connection I made with another Amazon.com reviewer (hannah12). I suppose as many other people do, I found that hannah12 reviewed several books, movies and BBC series that I enjoyed, so I began reading her other reviews. That's how I was introduced to "I Know Where I'm Going", and I was not disappointed. The plot is thin, but appealing. It's the gorgeous scenery, even in black and white, that makes this movie a standout-it was filmed on location in Scotland. And being a dog-lover, the scenes that include beautiful Scottish Deerhounds are particularly special to me. Wendy Hiller is terrific as the headstrong young lady bound and determined to marry a very rich older man and Roger Livesey perfect as the low-key local laird with lots of breeding, but little money. This is a movie with tons of atmosphere. It's a great way to escape from our everyday lives here in the good old USA.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Way to Escape
Review: I never heard of this film and probably never would have except for a connection I made with another Amazon.com reviewer (hannah12). I suppose as many other people do, I found that hannah12 reviewed several books, movies and BBC series that I enjoyed, so I began reading her other reviews. That's how I was introduced to "I Know Where I'm Going", and I was not disappointed. The plot is thin, but appealing. It's the gorgeous scenery, even in black and white, that makes this movie a standout-it was filmed on location in Scotland. And being a dog-lover, the scenes that include beautiful Scottish Deerhounds are particularly special to me. Wendy Hiller is terrific as the headstrong young lady bound and determined to marry a very rich older man and Roger Livesey perfect as the low-key local laird with lots of breeding, but little money. This is a movie with tons of atmosphere. It's a great way to escape from our everyday lives here in the good old USA.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant. Period.
Review: I saw this film on PBS ten or more years ago, and was utterly charmed by everything about it. It was solely responsible for my later investigation of the films of Powell and Pressburger. Some films touch you in a way that is universal and timeless. This girl-meets-Scottish Laird story is one of them. Wendy Hiller is captivating in this post-Pygmalion role. Saying too much about it is like talking about a souffle - you miss the essence. Just buy or rent it. A sure bet. Powell was married in later years to Martin Scorcese's brilliant brilliant film editor, Thelma Schoonmaker. Her commentary will likely be insightful. I believe the young girl in this film is 60s pop star, Petula Clark. Not sure though.
Rating: 
Summary: I Know Where I'm Going
Review: I was totally underwhelmed by this movie. I thought the plot was contrived and silly. Wendy Hiller may have been a great stage actress but she doesn't translate well to the big screen. Roger Livesey was enjoyable but equally transparent. I find it hard to believe that a purported intelligent woman who is a gold digger with a father fantasy would think it was a reasonable to get on a rickety boat in the middle of a horrendous storm and risk her death and the deaths of others so that she could resist her attraction to a poor man (Livesey) in order to marry the rich old guy on an island on the other side of the storm. The boat scenes are ludicrous and the movie was an over-acted waste of celluloid.
Rating:
Summary: Favorite Movie
Review: I've worn out my VHS copy! A beautiful and charming love story. The film is full of wonderful characters. I especially liked Pamela Brown, the sultry Scot. Looking forward to viewing the DVD version!
Rating:
Summary: A haunting and treasureable film.
Review: IKWIG (as its creative team of Powell and Pressburger dubbed it) was made on a black-and-white stock right after WWII, when technicolor film and equipment were temporarily unavailable. It was the tale of a London-based woman who has always known what she's wanted all her life, and has decided to marry a wealthy, nice, but elderly business tycoon. ("You can't marry Consolidated Chemical Industries!" sputters her father. "Can't I?" is her reply.) He has rented a sprawling castle on a distant isle of the remote, nature-claimed Hebrides Islands, off the coast of Scotland, and she's traveling to meet him for the wedding, there. Unfortunately, the weather doesn't cooperate, and she's stuck for days one island short of her goal, where she encounters endless local traditions, people, and scenery, along with the young Laird of Killoran. Her desperation to achieve her goal nearly causes the death of several people, and has a profound effect on her understanding of the culture she's dropped into from London. I would venture to call IKWIG the uber-chick film. It has several of the qualities that succeed so well in romance novels/film making: a self-reliant, intelligent heroine; a rugged hero who is at first perceived as the antagonist; a growth in understanding about the world around her, that allows ultimately for a complete change of POV in the heroine. It is that rare creature, a romance film that isn't a romantic comedy. It has some brilliantly inventive comic moments, especially (and significantly) before the film moves leaves England--like the heroine's dream sequence as she sleeps aboard a train, climaxing in a distant shot from above that has the hills covered in tartan as the train passes into Scotland--but that isn't the focus. (If anything, it is a bit of magical theater that represents a flight *away* from reality, showing us the early values of the heroine; just as the culture she finds in the Hebrides becomes a massive section of magical theater which, less brilliant, hammers away at her preconceptions both through its human and elemental aspects.) However, there are many things about IKWIG that lift it above the chick film genre presented by such horrific stuff as Scriptless in Seattle. Powell was in love with the Hebrides, and, unusually for a fictional film of this period, IKWIG is filled with the culture of its surroundings. There's no sense of embarassing "types" as in so many Hollywood films-on-location, but rather more than a dozen subsidiary characters, none of them models, who fit naturally into their assigned roles, with or without dialog, and contribute to the film's sense of otherness. The writing is unsentimental and never cloys, but brings out many of the local traditions, superstitions, and myths surrounding the Hebrides in a natural and seemingly impromptu fashion; so that when we attend a party given in honor of the sixtieth wedding anniversary of the Laird of the Campbells, we actually see three bagpipers playing as the floor shakes under the heels of dancers; and we witness an extremely good amateur a capella group sing a glee. IGWIG takes its time to give us the full value of these things, and we're left grateful for the sense of connection. How different it feels than Pretty Lady, with a cliched plot hitched to endless shopping sprees and "let's do lunch" dates. The extraordinary beauty of the environment was captured live without special effects--in fact, Powell said they never used a smoke machine; all their fog, brilliant sunshine, gales, and scenery were natural. Everything save the interiors (and shots with the Laird; Livesey had a commitment that kept him in London) were made on location, near a village of several hundred inhabitants which was largest settlement on the isle. Erwin Hillier, the editor on the film, was a student of Fritz Lang, and much preferred the heavily contrasted depth photography he'd been trained in to the soft-edged, romantic tone of Hollywood, or the stolidly outlined b&w of contemporary British films. The script is subtle, rich, and impeccably characterized, with a lot going on beneath the surface. (For example, it's a film about growing up emotionally; of coming to terms with the world around you, and determining what values are real. Yet on another level, there's an unstated three-way contrast among the heroine, an ambitious, educated, lower-class girl, the tycoon and his new money, waiting out the war safely in his island castle, and the traditional upper-middle class landowners and gentry of the Hebrides, impoverished by war deprivations but quietly, heroically making do.) The acting is flawless, without any of the "beautiful people" syndrome in evidence which has so dogged cinema over the years. A comparative failure upon its release (critics and audience weren't in the mood for mystical landscapes and romance after WWII), it's racked up numerous awards and a very large following, since. Martin Scorsese speaks of it as among his favorite films. Although a few stylistic points creak with age (notably the use of music in the background behind dialog in some sections), this is a powerful, lyrical, intimate film with enormous replay value, thanks to the great subtlety of its images and performances. If you're looking for the perfect film to see with a date, or a loved one, consider this. Even if you're not, consider it, anyway. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Who would not be wanting to go to Scotland to find love?
Review: In "I Know Where I'm Going!" stubborn Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) embarks on a long journey north to marry the wealthy Sir Robert Bellinger on the Scottish island of Kiloran in the Heberdies. However, the fates and the Scottish weather work against her plans and teach here the folly of the title sentiment and the song that goes with it. Originally deterred from reaching the island by fog, Joan encounters naval Lieutenant Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey) who talks her into spending the night at the house of his friend, Catriona Potts (Pamela Brown). The next day the fog is gone but a fierce gale has taken its place. Joan and Torquil move to the Tobermory Hotel to better wait out the gale but not before passing Castle Moy where we learn of a curse that forbids any of the Lairds of Kiloran from entering the place. Torquil, it turns out, is the one of the Lairds but is forced to rent the island to Bellinger just to pay the bills. At this point we know exactly where this movie is going, even if it takes Joan and Torquil a bit longer to figure things out. There are two things that make this a most enjoyable romance. First, the fact that Hiller and Livsey are considerably more real in looks and actions than the actors we usually find staring in such films. When Joan and Torquil have their big fight about her trying to cross over to Kiloran by boat, they are of course talking about everything except how they feel about each other. It is such a mature conversation, for lack of a better word at the moment, and reflective of the entire film's approach to the idea of love and romance. Second, there is a real sense of Scotland in "I Know Where I'm Going!", both in terms of the stunning location shots but also the large supporting cast of characters. This film does for Scotland what "The Quiet Man" did for Ireland, although that comparison immediately brings strong feelings of regret that this film is not in color. Still, it is no wonder that fans of this film make a pilgrimage to the Isle of Mull.
This Criterion Collection edition of "I Know Where I'm Going" provides all of the insights we have come to expect. There are still photographs and home movies shot by Michael Powell with commentary from his widow, as well as a documentary on the making of the film. The most astounding revelation is that leading man Roger Livesey never went to Scotland for filming because he was in a West End play at the time. Every shot you see of Torquil out and about is a double and the fact that the interior of Castle Moy was a studio interior is rather stunning given how little film time it is given (albeit the payoff for the entire film). Ironically, James Mason was originally cast in the role but turned it down because he was going to have to "live rough" on the islands of northern Scotland. Actually, this is a somewhat atypical Criterion Collection in that it caters more to the "ordinary" fan of the film rather than the usual student of cinema. Personal Note: Seeing Pamela Brown in this film was a special treat because she was the actress who originated the role of Jennet Jourdemayne in Christopher Fry's wonderful verse play "The Lady's Not for Burning." I have seen Brown in a few other film roles, such as "Richard III" and "Cleopatra," but this is the first time I got a sense of the actress as she would have been in that play and I fully understand the comment that the actress had eyes you can drown in. Along similar lines, keep an eye out for young Petula Clark as Cheril (the little girl wearing glasses who looks up from her book to ask Joan about her impending marriage).
Rating:
Summary: Who would not be wanting to go to Scotland to find love?
Review: In "I Know Where I'm Going!" stubborn Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) embarks on a long journey north to marry the wealthy Sir Robert Bellinger on the Scottish island of Kiloran in the Heberdies. However, the fates and the Scottish weather work against her plans and teach here the folly of the title sentiment and the song that goes with it. Originally deterred from reaching the island by fog, Joan encounters naval Lieutenant Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey) who talks her into spending the night at the house of his friend, Catriona Potts (Pamela Brown). The next day the fog is gone but a fierce gale has taken its place. Joan and Torquil move to the Tobermory Hotel to better wait out the gale but not before passing Castle Moy where we learn of a curse that forbids any of the Lairds of Kiloran from entering the place. Torquil, it turns out, is the one of the Lairds but is forced to rent the island to Bellinger just to pay the bills. At this point we know exactly where this movie is going, even if it takes Joan and Torquil a bit longer to figure things out. There are two things that make this a most enjoyable romance. First, the fact that Hiller and Livsey are considerably more real in looks and actions than the actors we usually find staring in such films. When Joan and Torquil have their big fight about her trying to cross over to Kiloran by boat, they are of course talking about everything except how they feel about each other. It is such a mature conversation, for lack of a better word at the moment, and reflective of the entire film's approach to the idea of love and romance. Second, there is a real sense of Scotland in "I Know Where I'm Going!", both in terms of the stunning location shots but also the large supporting cast of characters. This film does for Scotland what "The Quiet Man" did for Ireland, although that comparison immediately brings strong feelings of regret that this film is not in color. Still, it is no wonder that fans of this film make a pilgrimage to the Isle of Mull.
This Criterion Collection edition of "I Know Where I'm Going" provides all of the insights we have come to expect. There are still photographs and home movies shot by Michael Powell with commentary from his widow, as well as a documentary on the making of the film. The most astounding revelation is that leading man Roger Livesey never went to Scotland for filming because he was in a West End play at the time. Every shot you see of Torquil out and about is a double and the fact that the interior of Castle Moy was a studio interior is rather stunning given how little film time it is given (albeit the payoff for the entire film). Ironically, James Mason was originally cast in the role but turned it down because he was going to have to "live rough" on the islands of northern Scotland. Actually, this is a somewhat atypical Criterion Collection in that it caters more to the "ordinary" fan of the film rather than the usual student of cinema. Personal Note: Seeing Pamela Brown in this film was a special treat because she was the actress who originated the role of Jennet Jourdemayne in Christopher Fry's wonderful verse play "The Lady's Not for Burning." I have seen Brown in a few other film roles, such as "Richard III" and "Cleopatra," but this is the first time I got a sense of the actress as she would have been in that play and I fully understand the comment that the actress had eyes you can drown in. Along similar lines, keep an eye out for young Petula Clark as Cheril (the little girl wearing glasses who looks up from her book to ask Joan about her impending marriage).
Rating:
Summary: Underneath the Archers
Review: It is difficult to resist the spell of the Archers (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger) at full throttle. I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING is one of their greatest collaborations. It is on the surface a slight story about a headstrong English lass (a young but formidable Wendy Hiller)who travels to the Outer Hebrides to marry a wealthy older man. On the way, she is constantly interrupted and subverted in her aim, not only by local weather conditions but also by dashing local laird Roger Livesey who does not reveal his real identity. (Livesey's rich friuty voice and imposing screen presence enlivened several of the Archers' 40s films most notably in the title role in THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP and as the doctor who sacrifices his own life to argue David Niven's case in the heavenly trials of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH). These interruptions and digressions provide a magnificent springboard for the Archers' eloquent, lyrical celebration of the mystery and wildness of isolated British landscapes and more especially seascapes. Like so many of their best films it exerts a powerfully exotic appeal-much of it was shot on location on the island of Mull. The film makers intensely explore the milieu in terms of storms and mists, whirlpools, ancient curses, ruined castles, a strong sense of the supernatural and a wonderfully detailed ruby wedding and ceilidh, Scottish style. In other words, the aesthetic terrain of the heart. As with A CANTERBURY TALE, which is full of the mysteries of the Kentish countryside and of Chaucer's Britain, the Archers create a mystical experience out of regional nature and custom. Typically also the erotic element is foregrounded; you only have to look into Pamela Brown's wistful gaze and contemplate her long, lush tresses to relize the awakening the Archers have in mind for the naive Wendy Hiller character. It has little to do with her original plans.
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