1949 Directed by Henry Cornelius
When an unexploded WWII bomb is accidentally detonated in Pimlico, it reveals a treasure trove and documents proving that the region is in fact part of Burgundy, France and thus foreign territory. The British government attempts to regain control by setting up border controls and cutting off services to the area.
Stanley Holloway Hermione Baddeley Margaret Rutherford Paul Dupuis Raymond Huntley John Slater Jane Hylton Betty Warren Barbara Murray Sydney Tafler Frederick Piper Philip Stainton Charles Hawtrey Basil Radford Naunton Wayne Roy Carr Nancy Gabrielle Malcolm Knight Roy Gladdish Stuart Lindsell Gilbert Davis Michael Hordern Arthur Howard Bill Shine Harry Locke Sam Kydd Joey Carr Lloyd Pearson Arthur Denton Show All…
Passeport pour Pimlico, Luchtbrug naar Pimlico, Pas do Pimlica, Blockade in London, Pasaporte para Pimlico, Passaporto per Pimlico, 핌리코행 여권, Um País de Anedota, Paşaport către Pimlico, Пропуск в Пимлико, Biljett till Burgund, Pimlico Pasaportu, 通往平利可的护照
Crude humor and satire Epic history and literature Politics and human rights comedy, funny, humor, hilarious or jokes war, wwii, combat, military or duty spy, agent, intrigue, thriller or suspense political, democracy, documentary, president or propaganda comedy, funny, hilarious, humor or jokes Show All…
In this one a treasure trove is uncovered by a boy's prank with explosives that apparently legitimizes a 14'th century claim to a suburb of London, making the town of Pimlico its' own nation called Burgundy. regardless of the nonsensical nature of the plot this one is fairly entertaining for its age. The film doesn't focus much on the characters but more so on the events in the region at large so much of the character development lacks seriously in this one. Yet it doesn't hamper the film too much as there's still enough going on with the residents struggling through being cut off from greater England's resources such as water, power, food and telephone lines. In the end the…
Most of the films that first came to mind to watch on Brexit Day were too bleak for a Friday night: Children of Men popped into my head or perhaps Battle Royale?
But I settled on this glorious Ealing comedy instead: an unexploded bomb presents a small London community with the opportunity to declare independence from the austerity of rationing and many of the frictions of life in post-war Blighty.
But the bliss of temporary isolation and freedom from a wider bureaucracy proves false: the world has moved on and the reality of Pimlico's position as part of a bigger whole eventually has to be dealt with.
It is film tinged with nostalgia for the social and national cohesion of…
Cor blimey!
Judging from the middling-to-lower ratings here on Letterboxd, this seems to be considered a lesser film in the Ealing oeuvre. That's a shame, since I found this to be a very amusing bit of satirical absurdity. Sure, the humor is ultra-dry, so admittedly it's not for everyone. Still, I recommend this film for lovers of golden age British cinema.
The Ealing comedies are a British film institution, and are amongst the most highly revered. Despite their iconic status within British film history, the Ealing comedies are one of my biggest film blind spots. I recently began to delve into them, starting with The Man in the White Suit and The Lavender Hill Mob which I really enjoyed. Imagine my delight then when I came across Passport to Pimlico, often considered to be one of the first great Ealing comedies, on BBC iplayer. In the years since its release, Passport to Pimlico has remained a popular film, even being included on the British Film Institute's 100 best British films of the 20th century. It is also a film that I…
Passport to Pimlico continues to be an incredibly amusing comedy from Ealing Studios released during the heights of their popularity, and in the same year as Whisky Galore! and Kind Hearts and Coronets. The narrative itself is about a section of London declaring itself independent from the rest of the UK and the chaos and uproar which ensues. It's got an excellent cast including Stanley Holloway and Margaret Rutherford and plays like an acknowledgement to the disposition and alliances of London during WWII, or as an accurate allegorical foretelling of Brexit, take your pick.
In the London area of Pimlico a few years after World War II, residents accidentally trip an unexploded bomb. In the wreckage they find a treasure of ancient coins, documents and artifacts. A professor of history (Margaret Rutherford) tells them the items belonged to the Duke of Burgundy, who was believed killed in battle centuries ago. The materials show he was not killed in battle but survived and was rewarded with a grant of land, in fact the land now known as Pimlico. By law, then, the residents of Pimlico are citizens of Burgundy, not Britain, and the treasure belongs to them.
What follows is a comic fable, as Burgundians declare themselves independent, free of the rule of Britain. Complications…
Probably the best summation of the Ealing Studios comedy style and its chief modes and concerns, notably that of the community coalescence of Little England versus the authoritarian strong-arm of the State and the insidious British habit of poking fun at authority whilst simultaneously relying on its certainties - however irksome - and always returning to the folds of its overbearing teat once the underbelly has been temporarily prodded in jest; “you’ve had your fun, now back to work”...
The setup of Passport to Pimlico is timely again with the rules and tariffs of a post-Brexit society yet to be agreed and a reminder that, although fiction, things never entirely change with the multi-headed concerns of nationhood, indigenousness, immigration, policing,…
'Blimey, I'm a foreigner!'
Takes a while to get the gags going but Passport to Pimlico becomes exponentially more hilarious with each passing minute and in the post-Brexit era this razor-sharp satire of bureaucracy and national identity has lost none of its wit, prescience and sophistication. With the crumbling, bombed out remains of post-war London as the backdrop, the film takes a swipe at rationing, redevelopment schemes and living restrictions of the time with this cheeky and anarchic farce about a street finding out that they're technically a foreign territory and thus exempt from British laws and regulations.
Ealing stalwart Stanley Holloway delivers much of the comedic juice but the film is an ensemble effort, with the likes of Margaret…
C’è stato un tempo in cui un giovane me stesso si credeva un esperto di cinema.
Aveva raggiunto da poco la maggiore età, forse neanche, e aveva completato la filmografia di Kubrick. E tanto bastava per mettersi su un piedistallo e permettersi pure di fare classifiche e paragoni.
(Quello che segue ha la forma di un dialogo, ma in realtà è un monologo. Chi vuoi che si metta a discutere con un ragazzino presuntuoso?)
«Il cinema americano è sicuramente il più importante. Poi ci siamo noi italiani, lì a testa a testa coi francesi. Poi dopo, boh, i giapponesi? A seguire probabilmente ci saranno i tedeschi… o forse i russi se valutiamo tutta la storia»
«Ma sai chi di sicuro…
This is really good and very funny, especially in its second half, but I'll be honest. I spent most of it making notes for my upcoming 'Independence for Manchester' manifesto.
A community willingly severs all ties with its neighbours, without any consideration for the consequences, let alone the economic ones, imagining that they can go it alone, and that somehow they will be better off, only to discover very quickly that their situation is unsustainable, but continue to stick their head in the sand, until they are forced into a position where they finally have to admit they cannot survive, let alone thrive, alone, and have to seek out a resolution which makes it appear as if they haven't lost face.
"You never know you're well off, until you aren't."
