Anthony Asquith - Forgotten Director?

[Konway]

Hello Everyone,
My favorite films from Asquith are The Browning Version (1951) and The Winslow Boy (1948). There are also other known films from him - Pygmalion (1938) (codirector), A Cottage on Dartmoor, The Way to the Stars (1946), etc. Like Hitchcock, Asquith's use of long takes are remarkable. What do you think about him?

[charliechaplinfan]

He's not forgotten by me, he's one of our best home grown directors, not that many would recognise his name today, my favourite is Pygmalion but A Cottage on Dartmoor, The Browning Version, The Winslow Boy and The Importance of Being Earnest are my favourites. His documentary on the Royal Ballet is really good too.

[Konway]

What I love about Asquith is the depth he puts into the filmmaking. David Lean said like this about Anthony Asquith - "A hell of a good director." I think Asquith's The Browning Version is one of the best films I have ever seen. For Example, I noticed the similarities between Crocker Harris in The Browning Version (1951) and Sister Ruth in Black Narcissus. Crocker Harris survived due to kindness and gratitude from Taplow and Hunter. But Sister Ruth led into disaster due to the lack of kindness and friendship.

[charliechaplinfan]

Yes, I think too that Anthony Asquith was someone David Lean looked up to, at least when he started making movies. Asquith's Pygmalion is a perfect picture, it's not an easy or fast moving story but the casting and pace of the movie make it a wonderful viewing experience, due in part to Asquith.

[Konway]

I agree Leslie Howard is the best Professor Higgins. One of the things I love Pygmalion is how Professor Higgins (Leslie Howard) and Eliza (Wendy Hiller) are so alike in so many levels. They both try to justify their actions. But they both have strong feelings for each other inside. In terms of actions, I blame Eliza a little more for mistakes.

Its actually the effort of Professor Higgins that made eliza successful. Eliza was giving up. But Professor Higgins pushed her and pushed her to become successful. The key was the strong determination of Professor Higgins. He knew it will both benefit him and benefit her. But Eliza failed to realize this. After the success at the ball, she never pays any gratitude towards Professor Higgins. Professor Higgins doesn't express his gratitude towards Eliza either. Instead of expressing her feelings, the "first thing" she did was throwing the slippers at him. That is an act of disrespect.

I like the film's ending a lot. I like it better than the ending Shaw had in his mind.