The Wild Heart / Gone to Earth (Special Edition)

I'd never seen this film before, but I bought the Blu Ray because I love Jennifer Jones and I love any movie made by the amazing Michael Powell. I put the movie in my Blu Ray player and projected it onto my 4 foot by 8 foot screen, From the gorgeous titles to the very end of this absolutely fabulous film I was blown away. The Technicolor cinematography, the settings, the costumes, the acting, music, art direction, it was all overwhelming! This was one of the most powerful beautiful films I'd ever seen, and the emotional telling of the story was simply wonderful. By the end, I sat in my chair with chills running up and down by entire body... This was one of the greatest films I've seen now in my life.

Jennifer Jones stars in the 1950 Powell/Pressburger masterpiece "Gone to Earth". "The Wild Heart" is the American truncated version (running at 86 minutes as opposed to 110 minutes for the British version). Both versions are in technicolor and have been beautifully restored, but the longer British version is superior. Jones' husband, David O. Selznick did not like the final result of the British film and (for the American release) cut scenes from the original and had some new scenes filmed--the scenes cut also were important regarding plot development.But in either case, the film is mesmerizing, mainly due to the ethereal beauty of Jennifer Jones. You just cannot take your eyes off of her in these films.

A major flop when first released in this country although it contains one of Jennifer Jones best performances Released here as The Wild Heart after Selznick fooled around with it and cut it. Original title Gone to Earth was a much better title and film. I was glad to get this as Jones is always an interesting actress.

All of the actors were terrific in this movie. The story was unusual and the ending was a little upsetting.

Most Powell & Pressburger film are available on Criterion,like Red Shoes.To get 2 beautiful Technicolor films from them,thank you Kino LorberThey have other good Jennifer Jones movies,too!This is a great 1080 Blu-ray transfer,+ Extras!

With this Kino Lorber Blu-ray release, the original Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger production of "Gone to Earth" finally gets a U.S. issue on DVD. Released in the UK in 1950, the film is an adaptation of a book by Mary Webb and concerns a naïve gypsy girl Hazel Woodus (Jennifer Jones) whose life is ruled by superstition. Torn between the love of two men, a minister (Cyril Cusack) and a lusty squire (David Farrar), Hazel marries the minister after conducting a midnight ritual atop a windswept mountain but later gives in to her carnal desires for the squire with tragic results.Upon its UK release, Hollywood mega-producer David O. Selznick (who had just married Jennifer Jones the previous year) was dissatisfied with the film and recut it as well as adding a few additional scenes and released it in the U.S. under the new title "The Wild Heart" in 1952. Both versions are presented here on the single disc with commentaries for each.Of the two versions, the original "Gone to Earth" is the richer film with "The Wild Heart" feeling a bit choppy and disjointed (it runs 82 minutes while "Gone to Earth" runs 110 minutes). The only major differences I notice in "The Wild Heart" is the additional of a music intro, a monologue by Joseph Cotton, edited scenes and one or two newer scenes near the end.This is an enchanting film, beautifully filmed in the Shropshire countryside. Powell and Pressburger were noted for their colorful cinematography and this film is no disappointment with Christopher Challis's cinematography rich and sumptuous as well as a stirring score by Brian Easdale. Jennifer Jones gives one of her best performances, combining a touching innocence with a feral charm. Her breathtaking close-ups make it easy to understand why she was one of the great beauties on the screen during the 40s and 50s. The quality of both prints is excellent (it was originally filmed in Technicolor and encoding was made from a high-quality Eastman composite negative, made from the Technicolor separations.)Two commentaries are included. Troy Howarth, in his commentary for "The Wild Heart" provides the most entertaining one, discussing the merits of the film as well as profiling all the actors. Samm Deighan's commentary for "Gone to Earth" is a bit stuffy and dry and concentrates on the academic aspects of the story. The disc also includes trailers for other Jennifer Jones' films released by KL ("Since You Went Away", "Duel in the Sun", "Portrait of Jennie", "Ruby Gentry" and "A Farewell to Arms").

here's hoping that KINO includes the original (and better) version - GONE TO EARTH -- the reedited version (w different footage) aka THE WILD HEART is worth owning but not without the original Powell/Pressburger film...WILD HEART as a standalone film is worth 3 stars .

The reviews so far submitted on this Blu-ray release need to be removed as they solicit false information. The KINO release will indeed include both the 1950 British release and the 1952 edited US version.With that said, GONE TO EARTH is shot featuring lush and vibrant Technicolor and beautiful cinematography and cries out for a HD home video release. KUDOS to KINO Lorber for issuing this title.

There are two versions of the film on this blu ray, the Selznick version and the Powell one. Perhaps it would be safer to watch the latter, if you must, although it is considerably longer and risks prolonging the tedium. Certainly the Selznick cut is awful. Jennifer Jones (the producer's wife at the time) is not the worst thing in it; that wooden gong goes to David Farrer. But no actor could wade through such a swamp of cliches and come out with credibility intact. The producers saved some money by using the same shade of lipstick for Jones as for the unfortunate Cyril Cusack, her parson-character husband. The fox was real most of the time and turns in a strong performance. Ignore the hype about technicolour "glory"; no amount of technical interest can make up for the flaws of the story and the production.