The Way Ahead

WONDERFUL BRITISH FILM
The Way Ahead is Excellent piece of British Film Making,documentary-like and has shows the evolution of some stalwart civilians being educated in the tactical principles of battle in North Africa. It is filled with important star performances and highlights teamwork and togetherness in the war effort.The Director Sir Carol Reed succinctly captures the spirit of the events.

Strangely this 1.33:1 film has been matted to a 960 anamorphic transfer while maintaining the original aspect ratio 4.3. Hence there are thick black bars on the side edges. The resulting image is in-and-around 720 pixels wide. The dual-layered image comes from an impressive source. Contrast is reasonably strong and detail surprisingly good. There isn't any intrusive damage and only minor speckles deviating from a pristine smooth appearance.In a couple of words Superb Transfer.

Thanks VCI.

Wonderful Movie
Above average example of wartime "morale" movies that the British somehow did so well.If you are a movie buff you will recognize the excellent support players by sight if not by name. I know I am generalizing but I have often wondered why British productions (even on t.v.)have such a stock of wonderful male/female actors as compared to U.S. productions which seem stocked with average acting ability/pretty faces.Is it the number of productions produced every year? Anyway,this is a wonderful flick!

Keeping that stiff upper lip - David Niven's stirring WWII propaganda film
How do you become a looked-to leader of men without it fluffing up your ego? In THE WAY AHEAD (released in the United States as THE IMMORTAL BATTALION) David Niven embodies that very quality, playing an unassuming, quietly self-assured Army lieutenant who toughens up his batch of whiny conscripted malcontents and eventually converts them into efficient military fighting men. As a nod to verisimilitude, David Niven at the time was, in real life, a wartime Rifle Brigade Major when he was approached about a film project promoting the British Army. Accordingly, Carol Reed's 44-minute-long, 1943 training film THE NEW LOT was expanded into this involving 1944 war drama. And since Carol Reed also helms this one, it was bound to not suck. And if you've only ever seen the severely edited U.S.-released THE IMMORTAL BATTALION, you should get your mitts on this one. THE WAY AHEAD is half an hour longer and so fleshes out the narrative more.

I remember reading a brief WWII anecdote...

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