Oscar-Winning Editor Thelma Schoonmaker To Intro Restoration Of THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP At The Academy

Courtesy of AMPAS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a new digitally restored, full-length version of “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943) on Wednesday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. This West Coast premiere will feature an introduction by three-time Oscar®-winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker. The film was restored by the Academy Film Archive, in association with the British Film Institute, ITV Studios Global Entertainment Ltd and the Film Foundation.

79th Annual Academy Awards

Inspired by a satiric cartoon character created by newspaper cartoonist David Low, “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” tells a story both epic and deeply personal as it follows the 40-year career of a British Army officer from the Boer War to World War II. Created by the dynamic British writing-directing-producing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (whose longtime partnership would ultimately produce 22 pictures), the lavish Technicolor production features tour-de-force performances by Roger Livesey and Deborah Kerr.

The film created much controversy during its initial release in Great Britain in 1943 for its satire of British Army leadership and sympathetic depiction of a German officer. The film did not reach the United States until 1945, when its original running time of 163 minutes was cut to 148 minutes and then to 93 minutes. This digital restoration now offers audiences the opportunity to view the work in its entirety and experience its full power. Schoonmaker, Powell’s widow, served as the supervising consultant on the restoration, alongside Film Foundation founder Martin Scorsese. She has won Academy Awards® for Film Editing for “The Departed,” “The Aviator” and “Raging Bull,” and earned nominations for “Hugo,” “Gangs of New York,” “Good Fellas” and “Woodstock.”

Tickets for “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID, and may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office, or by mail. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Ticketed seating is unreserved. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

Courtesy of AMPAS