Tunes of Glory

The Criterion DVD offers a really fine transfer: colours are rich, and there is a total absence of any artefacts, nicks or blemishes in the print. Sharpness is also very good, there is a hint of occasional grain but this is in the original celluloid I think - and anyway is nothing to worry about.

One slight caveat which has been commented upon by various review sites (so is not just a flaw in my DVD copy) is near the end of the film the appearance on the transfer of an opaque vertical line close to the right edge of the image, about a centimetre wide on my 28" screen. This is not really as distracting as it sounds and was presumably unfixable by Criterion from the source print. It starts near the end of the snooker room scene and stays for about 5 minutes - disappearing during Guinness's tour-de-force final scene where he addresses the assembled officers in a bravura display of fine acting - which leads to the unforgettable (and very moving) climax of the film. Certainly no-one should be put off by this slight flaw as it didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the film.

Soundwise this film offers a straight mono track - which with a 5 channel set-up will unusually use only the centre speaker. Manually adjusting my amp I was able to switch to the two fronts (minus the centre) which gives a slightly wider soundstage. In any event the dialogue is clear (subtitles will help with some of the more inpenetrable lines) and Malcolm Arnold'd bagpipe-based score comes through well.

The extras are slight but OK: the audio-only interview with the aged John Mills in 2002 is not too revealing but he is a lovely man, as comes across well here. The filmed interview with Guinness is better but covers his whole career rather than this film - and he doesn't give too much away of the real man. The trailer is interesting - because it is so appallingly (and hilariously) bad, with a dreadful voiceover and bizarre captions.

Get this DVD for the fine transfer of a brilliant film, which at the end of the day is the prime reason for any DVD package.

Hence the importance of fellow officer Maj. Charlie Scott, brilliantly portrayed by Dennis Price. (His is by far the strongest performance in the earlier Kind Hearts and Coronets in which Guinness also appeared, playing no less than eight different parts.) Scott has the social graces and political skills which Sinclair obviously lacks. However, Scott is one of those whom Dante would assign to the seventh and worst ring in Hell because, in a moral crisis, Scott will always preserve his neutrality. A sub plot involves Morag Sinclair (Susannah Price) and her romantic involvement with a young soldier who seems highly reputable. Of course, her father thoroughly disapproves. (Those who have seen The Sweet Smell of Success are urged to think of J.J. Hunseker's response to daughter Susan's interest in Steve Dallas.) The castle setting is almost smothering as Sinclair manipulates circumstances with skills worthy of Iago. Barrow becomes an object of pity as his authority gradually evaporates...and with it any sense of his self-worth.

For many who see this film for the first time, Guinness will seem upsettingly "out of character" in the role of Sinclair. There are some qualities in him to admire as an officer but almost nothing to admire in him as a human being. We can only imagine how much venom has accumulated in his system over the years, throughout his difficult career, because of real or imagined slights. He now finds himself reporting to a commanding officer who bears no specific animosity toward him but who nonetheless energizes him as a lamb would a lion.

Guinness savored his performance, as do we. After seeing it again, it is easier to understand why.

Tunes of Glory is an astonishing story as it displays the rough surface of the Highland military, but at the same time presents the affectionate side of grown men that have returned from war. On top of this the audience gets to see two outstanding performances by Alec Guinness and John Mills that are supported by a terrific cast. In the end the audience will have experienced a wonderful film that leaves them with thoughts and stirred feelings.