Tomorrow We Live Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Tomorrow We Live Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 8, 2024

George King's "Tomorrow We Live" (1942) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Josephine Botting and Robert Murphy; new program with critic Pamela Hutchinson; archival program with composer Roy Douglas; and a collection of original promotional materials for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Tomorrow We Live is a classic propaganda film, so if you keep this in mind, everything it produces will make perfect sense. The silly characters, the awful speeches, and the cartoonish resistance acts are entirely intentional. All countries that participated in WWII made such propaganda films and the majority of them are well persevered in their national film archives. Some are short and some are long. Some are better made than others. A few are well-known, but most are now forgotten.

George King’s Tomorrow We Live is set in a small port town in Brittany whose identity has been altered by the German invaders. A small number of local residents have agreed to become collaborators, but many more are secretly assisting the resistance fighters in the area and across the country. The cafés, bistros, and shops are open, but there is a curfew in place and only a select few have permits that allow them to avoid it.

Jean (John Clements), a resistance fighter on the run, arrives in town to connect with members of a local resistance cell who can help him reach Britain. Shortly after, he befriends the beautiful waitress Frisette (Gabrielle Brune), who is active in the resistance cell, and the mayor’s daughter, Marie (Greta Gynt), who, unlike her father, a patriot pretending to be a collaborator, has remained neutral. As Jean awaits to be given a signal to board the boat that will take him to Britain, a large-scale resistance operation takes out the German commandant (Fritz Wendhausen) and a massive train loaded with military supplies, prompting an immediate counteroperation, at the end of which several dozen innocent residents are executed. While the counteroperation is underway, Jean, Frisette, and Marie become resistance heroes.

All characters of some importance are painfully one-dimensional, and the drama they are engaged in is fittingly transparent. While this is hardly surprising given the type of film Tomorrow We Live was conceived to be, it is enormously disappointing because it would not have been too difficult to make both at least somewhat realistic. For example, while creating the conventional contrasts all propaganda films from the 1940s produced, the screenplay transforms all Germans into cartoonish characters, which is a major flaw that could have been easily avoided. For obvious reasons, their intellectually superior opponents frequently recite patriotic statements that make them appear similarly cartoonish, too, which is another major flaw that could have been easily avoided. At the right time, the screenplay then demands that both sides engage in a badly staged ‘realistic’ battle meant to convey that brave French patriots are everywhere and willing to give their lives to protect their homeland from the German invaders. So, to be perfectly clear, the story that Tomorrow We Live tells is not bad, it is poorly scripted and acted.

What else is there to say about Tomorrow We Live? The excellent character actor Herbert Lom contributed to it, but even seasoned film aficionados will probably miss him as the German character he plays is insignificant. The opening credits reveal that Tomorrow We Live was lensed by Otto Heller, who worked on such vastly superior films as The Ladykillers, Peeping Tom, Alfie, The Ipcress File, and Funeral in Berlin.

Indicator/Powerhouse Films’ Blu-ray release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of Tomorrow We Live. An identical Blu-ray release is available for purchase in the United Kingdom as well.

Tomorrow We Live Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tomorrow We Live arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release introduces an outstanding exclusive new 4K restoration ofTomorrow We Live. I liked absolutely everything that I saw on my system. All visuals looked very healthy and vibrant, exactly as they should after a proper 4K makeover. Delineation, clarity, and depth were always very good or excellent, too. In some areas, both darker and well-lit, minor fluctuations are noticeable, but they are introduced by the original cinematography. The grayscale is fantastic. All blacks, whites, and grays appear properly balanced. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Tomorrow We Live Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All exchanges are clear and easy to follow. However, in several areas background hiss begins to sneak in and becomes easy to hear. It is never distracting, but its presence is impossible to miss. The music produces good dynamic contrasts, or at least for a film from the early 1940s. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Tomorrow We Live Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Image Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for The Whole Truth.

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Josephine Botting and Robert Murphy.

• Pamela Hutchinson: Turning Heads - in this exclusive new program, critic Pamela Hutchinson discusses the life and career of actress Greta Gynt. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• The BEHP Interview with Roy Douglas - in this archival program, composer Roy Douglas discusses his life and career with critic Alex Gibson. The program was recorded on September 25, 2005.

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp, archival interviews and articles, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and technical credits.

Tomorrow We Live Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some propaganda films, and especially those that utilize authentic footage, can be interesting time capsules, so they are definitely worth exploring. In America, for instance, a few of the big studios funded quite a few propaganda films that were disguised as film noirs, and many of them are great time capsules. Tomorrow We Live is a straightforward propaganda film that is not effective as a time capsule. It was lensed by Otto Heller, who worked on such masterpieces as Peeping Tom and Alfie, but what he does in it is instantly forgettable. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' Blu-ray release introduces a great new 4K restoration of Tomorrow We Live. An identical Blu-ray release is available for purchase in the United Kingdom as well.