Product Description

In Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's stunningly photographed comedy, romance flourishes in an unlikely place-the bleak and moody Scottish Hebrides. Wendy Hiller stars as a headstrong young woman who travels to these remote isles to marry a rich lord. Stranded by stormy weather, she meets a handsome naval officer (Roger Livesey) who threatens to thwart her carefully laid-out life plans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14282 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-02-20
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
Assured, headstrong Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) knows exactly what she wants and how to get it, until she's stranded in a rough, windswept Scottish village--in sight but out of reach of an island where a rich fiancée, a lavish wedding, and a loveless marriage await. While a raging storm prevents her crossing, a quiet, modest, and penniless Scottish laird named Torquil (Roger Livesey) slowly wins her cheerfully mercenary heart and upsets her carefully arranged plans with messy emotions. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's much-loved romantic drama is a handsome work full of vivid, offbeat characters (Pamela Brown is especially striking as an earthy villager always accompanied by a pack of bloodhounds) living in a world that's part tradition and part myth. Villagers work and celebrate with the simple spirit of common folk ("We're not poor, we just haven't any money," Torquil admonishes the materialist Joan). Powell brings his lively manner and bold visual invention to the creation of his beautiful but harsh primal paradise, culminating in the awesome spectacle of a massive whirlpool that could be the work of the "legend of Corryvreckan" or the stormy embodiment of Joan's hysterical heart. Awash in mystic power of ancient castles and chanted legends, I Know Where I'm Going is one of the most romantic visions of Britain's most magical director. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Powell and Pressburger's Unique Tale of a Strong-Willed Woman's Journey of Self-Discovery
The legendary British filmmaking duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger created a series of sparkling films in the 1940's and 50's, and they worked in such synchronicity that their seamless collaboration has not been replicated until the Coen brothers came along. Their most famous works are probably 1947's Black Narcissus and 1948's The Red Shoes, both dominated by Jack Cardiff's luscious color cinematography. Far lesser known and filmed in a vivid palette of just black and white and shades in between, this lush 1945 romance carries the fresh visual inventiveness (thanks mainly to Erwin Hillier's expert camerawork) and rich dramatic texture of their later works. Written by Pressburger in less than a week, the rather slight story centers on headstrong Joan Webster, a middle-class Englishwoman with a clear-eyed ambition to marry Sir Robert Bellinger, a much older, wealthy industrialist, on the fictional Isle of Kiloran in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.

The film's title refers to her singular determination to get to the remote island, but a gale prevents her taking a boat to Kiloran. Forced to stay put on the Isle of Mull, Joan gets to know a small community whose inhabitants hold values that are quite foreign to her. There she meets Torquil MacNeil, a strapping naval officer trying to go home for some shore leave. It turns out that he is the laird of Kiloran who has leased his island to Bellinger. Gradually, Joan gets immersed into the local populace, especially feeling drawn to MacNeil, but her innate restlessness leads to a hazardous act. It seems a shame that Wendy Hiller (Pygmalion, Separate Tables) made so few films before turning forty as she possessed a youthful Hepburnesque vigor that could have accommodated a number of roles. Her multi-faceted turn as Joan is a strong reminder of her talent. Roger Livesey is a solid match for Hiller as MacNeil, and you can't tell that all his scenes were filmed in London since he was appearing in a West End play at the time. Pamela Brown makes a vivid impression as dog-loving Catriona Potts, a free spirit who owns the lodge in which Joan stays.

The 2001 Criterion Collection DVD is a classy packaging of this old chestnut. It begins with a thoughtful commentary track by film historian Ian Christie. The centerpiece is a 1994 retrospective documentary, "I Know Where I'm Going! Revisited", which follows New York writer Nancy Franklin's journey to visit the actual locations of the film a half-century later. Surviving locals are interviewed, as is 1960's pop songstress Petula Clark, who played a precocious, twelve-year-old girl in one scene. This disc also houses some of Michael Powell's home movies, which were taken during his treks through Scotland and here, Powell's widow Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese's favorite film editor, narrates over the visuals. A final extra is an excerpt from Powell's early documentary, "The Edge of the World", about the inhabitants of a similar island faced with the prospect of being relocated away from their home roots.

Just like the good old movies because it is!
My father originally saw this and loved it. He watched it again with each of his 3 daughters and actually several more times so we bought it and gave it to him. He has watched it several more times since then and will many mores times, I am sure. It is one of his favorite movies and I agree, it is really nicely done. So I recommend this movie. It is worth owning.

Fabulously Entertaining
I'm an old guy and I've seen a lot of movies in my time, including most of the always-interesting Powell/Pressburger releases. But it wasn't until last night that I got a chance to view this one. It's a perplexing puzzle, wrapped in an enigma and shrouded in mystery, as to why this wonderful movie is not (1) better known, and (2) recognized as a certified work of genius. Where have I been all these years? I'm crazy about Scotland--I've bicycled through the highlands and isles--I have Scottish blood in my veins, yet I hadn't really heard much about this film.
I won't attempt to give a plot summary--others have done that admirably here--but I will heartily and enthusiastically recommend this magnificent work of cinematic art. First and foremost it's a romance, and so that might dissuade all you "macho men" from venturing in. But do your wives and girlfriends a favor and take the time to catch this one. There are so many rewarding things about it: visually, you have the absolutely stunning beauty of the wild and windy Western Isles, the craggy peaks and ruined castles, the savage seas, the barren and windswept shores, the mists that creep in off the water.
The b/w cinematography--please don't let that dissuade you from seeing it, just because it's not in color--is simply incredible; it must have taken some real guts and determination to go out and film in those conditions. The always artificial-looking technique of back projection is briefly used during an ill-advised attempt to cross a rough stretch of the sea to the isle of Killairn, but that is a forgiveable sin, since it would have been impossible in those days to even keep a small boat like that afloat during such rough weather, let alone do filming with a circa-1940's camera.
I mustn't forget the delightful and beautiful Wendy Hiller, with those wonderful cheekbones and that insouciant manner; she is as zesty and as mercurial as the Scottish weather itself.
The soundtrack is a treasure. There is a ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee") scene where there is dancing and music from three Scots pipers, as well as beautiful singing. Don't miss the bewitching title song which we hear when the young girl is on the train to Scotland.
Martin Scorsese appears on the extras, saying basically the same thing as me: he saw the movie years after it had been out and couldn't believe he'd missed it.