Ladies of Burlesque: GONE TO EARTH (2K Restoration)
The Royal Cinema
608 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 1B4, Canada
Ontario
43.6553504
-79.41458169999999
Ladies of Burlesque’s 4th-anniversary celebration!!!
The neglected masterpiece rarely discussed in master filmmakers Powell and Pressburger’s filmography—a film as vivid and haunting as their THE RED SHOES, GONE TO EARTH celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2020 and Ladies of Burlesque is screening it with the understanding that few have seen, or even have heard of this Technicolor triumph.
GONE TO EARTH slipped through the cracks largely due David O. Selznick, the film’s American co-producer who hated the Powell and Pressburger final cut and took it upon himself to mutilate the film, re-shooting, re-editing, re-cutting its running time by nearly 30 minutes—rendering it incoherent—and releasing it under the title THE WILD HEART. While its American release failed at the box office, the recently-restored British version, under the supervision of Alexander Korda continues to enchant. Starring the criminally underappreciated Jennifer Jones (Selznick’s wife and protégé at the time), GONE TO EARTH is set in the Welsh borderlands. A tale of temptation, Jones plays Hazel—a young woman of magnetic beauty devoted to her pet Fox and the creatures that inhabit her surroundings. When a rich, egotistical squire (Farrar) becomes enchanted by her, he commits himself to possess her at any cost, even after she marries the local clergyman (Cusack).
Featuring the stunning cinematography of Christopher Challis and the musical compositions of Brian Easdale, GONE TO EARTH is a sensory feast—and a major discovery in classic film.
2K restored digital presentation
Featuring a burlesque performance by Delicia Pastiche
Generously sponsored by Gigi’s House of Frills and Duxbury Cider Co.