Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Went the Day Well? Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 19, 2011

Alberto Cavalcanti's "Went the Day Well?" (1942) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a BBC audio essay about British Cinema of the 1940s and Alberto Cavalcanti's short film "Yellow Ceasar" (1941). In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Bad news?

Brazilian-born Alberto Cavalcanti's Went the Day Well? begins with the end, which is a happy one, but this is not to say that the film is in any way predictable. On the contrary, it is one of the most unusual early British war films I have seen.

The film opens up in the small village of Bramley End, a quiet place where it seems like nothing ever happens. The locals are well aware that there is a war going on but they live their lives as they always have.

A large group of soldiers, however, unexpectedly enters the village and change everything. At first, the locals assume that they are British soldiers passing through the area. They welcome and even befriend a few of them. But a couple of days later, the visitors gather everyone in the local church and announce that they are in fact German soldiers. Shortly after, they block all roads leading in and out of the village.

Shocked by the developments, the locals unite and proceed to defend themselves. They do not know, however, that there is a traitor amongst them who reports their moves directly to the leader of the German soldiers.

Based on a short story by Graham Greene, Went the Day Well? is a fine piece of British propaganda that mixes comedy with drama exceptionally well. It builds slowly and spends a great deal of time on details that even documentary films exploring similar subjects would ignore (Humphrey Jennings’ short The Silent Village immediately comes to mind). Indeed, there is a genuine feeling that in addition to trying to rally British morale, the film also aims to educate about possible scenarios where ordinary people might find themselves in extraordinary situations.

As expected, the film does look dated, but it never feels pretentious. The many well scripted speeches the various characters recite, for instance, are effectively countered by a steady dose of graphic violence – at least as far as early 1940s cinema standards are concerned - that nearly pushes the film into gothic horror territory. Unsurprisingly, the prominent nationalistic overtones are not overly distracting.

The film stutters a bit towards the end where some of the German soldiers undergo important character transformations. Predictably, they become evil monsters who rightfully get what they deserve. During a few of the sequences where they do, however, there is some truly awkward dark humor.

Still, considering when the film was made, and specifically the fact that at the time a German invasion of Britain was very much a possibility, its tone, style and attitude are most appropriate. In other words, this is a curious piece of history that allows one to get a solid grasp of a specific trend in British cinema of the early 1940s and its unapologetically subversive nature.

The film boasts a fine cast led by Leslie Banks (Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much), C.V. France (Frank Lloyd’s If I Were King), Valerie Taylor (Roman Polanski’s Repulsion), David Farrar (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Black Narcissus), Marie Lohr (Julien Duvivier’s Anna Karenina), and Basil Sydney (Byron Haskin’s Treasure Island).

Went the Day Well? Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Alberto Cavalcanti's Went the Day Well? arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

This is a wonderful release, very much on par with Optimum Home Entertainment's terrific Ice Cold in Alex, The Cruel Sea, and Cross of Iron. Obviously, Went the Day Well? has undergone a serious full blown restoration and it clearly shows. The image is remarkably stable, conveying terrific depth and fluidity. Fine object detail is also very impressive, especially during the darker footage where light is restricted. The improved clarity, however, is the high-definition transfer's biggest strength. On the R2 SDVD release of Went the Day Well?, for instance, the footage from the forest (see screencapture #2) looks quite weak - contrast levels are not convincing and macroblocking literally collapses the image. Here, aside from a few problematic frame transitions, there are absolutely no image fluctuations. Color reproduction is also dramatically improved - the blacks are lush but not boosted, while the variety of grays and whites are gentle and natural looking. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern. There are no traces of overzealous denoising either. Naturally, a light layer of fine grain is visible throughout the entire film. Finally, despite a few minor damage marks popping up here and there - obviously inherited and more than likely impossible to remove without affecting the integrity of the image - the film looks remarkably healthy. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Went the Day Well? Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The restoration efforts are also easy to recognize in the audio department. The English LPCM 2.0 track has excellent depth and a type of clarity a lot of early British films that were released on SDVD since 2000 simply lack. Clearly, various stabilizations were performed, and hiss, pops, and crackle carefully removed. As far as I am concerned, the audio is optimized as best as possible.

Went the Day Well? Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Yellow Ceaser (1941) - a short film by Alberto Cavalcanti that pokes fun at Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. In English, not subtitled. (PAL, 23 min).

• Audio Featurette - a BBC essay produced by Beaty Rubens, originally broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on September 13th, 2010, about British Cinema of the 1940s. Presented by Simon Heffer. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

Went the Day Well? Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of early British Cinema will be delighted with Optimum Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Alberto Cavalcanti's Went the Day Well?. Having undergone a full restoration, the film looks and sounds terrific. Now I cannot wait to see the rest of the Ealing Studios films the British distributors have announced for Blu-ray release. Do not miss this disc, folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.