The films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger are celebrated, not necessarily for their story lines, but for their exquisite attention-to- detail. 'Gone to Earth (1950)' was shot on-location at Much Wenlock in Shropshire, England (with some interior filming at Shepparton Studios), and you'll rarely find a more glorious example of a natural setting used to evoke atmosphere. Even from the opening sequence, there's something magical about the English countryside – the wind seems to whisper with the music of a harp; the trees shudder in the breeze as though awaking from a stupor; the clouds stir overhead, signalling discontent in the heavens. Christopher Challis' stunning Technicolor photography captures every natural detail and imbues it with a mystical charm that is stifling and almost oppressive. The Archers produced the film in association with Alexander Korda and David O. Selznick, the latter of whom was so disappointed with the end result that he commissioned Rouben Mamoulian to extensively re-shoot scenes for the film's North American release, which was retitled 'The Wild Heart (1952).'

Even though Powell and Pressburger effectively ignored Selznick's insistent recommendations for improvement, the producer's influence is still readily seen. For one, the film starred Jennifer Jones, by then Selznick's wife, who looks luminous while retaining that earthy homeliness of an English country girl. Her character, Hazel Woodus, in many ways recalls Pearl Chavez from 'Duel in the Sun (1946),' Selznick's costly Western epic. Both women, at first naive and uncorrupted, must choose between marriage to a reliable if unexciting suitor (Joseph Cotten in one film, Cyril Cusack in this one) and the embrace of an unpleasant, morally-barren scumbag (Gregory Peck or David Farrar). In Selznick's Western, Pearl's half-Injun ethnicity is shamelessly exploited to offer her character some sort of uncontrollable base sexuality. In 'Gone to Earth,' that Hazel's mother was a gypsy is utilised for similar purposes, her physical attraction to the repulsive Jack Reddin apparently stemming from this shady half-heritage, in direct opposition to the noble Christianity of her parson husband.

Being mostly about atmosphere, 'Gone to Earth' doesn't have the exquisitely well-rounded characters of 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)' or 'I Know Where I'm Going! (1945).' Nevertheless, the main cast is to be commended for their understated roles. Jennifer Jones' British accent wavers on occasion, but her character is gorgeous and sympathetic, one whose transgressions we're willing to forgive on account of her general innocence; there's certainly a childlike naiveté in her unashamed affinity with nature, particularly her affection towards a pet fox. Less affable is David Farrar, whose oppressive, fox- hunting squire is a perpetual affront to Hazel's virginity. His character, at times, reminded me of Vincent Price's role in 'Dragonwyck (1946),' in which Gene Tierney's virtuousness is similarly destroyed by a uncouth and opportunistic nobleman. Cyril Cusack's clergyman, however honourable, embodies the adage that "nice guys finish last." The film quietly rebukes Edward Marston's unwillingness to take charge of his marriage to Hazel, and yet he overcomes his timidity only to lose everything he's ever cared about.

I heartily recommend this film, but as others have said before me, avoid the dreadfully hacked version- The Wild Heart. It amazes me that Selznick could ruin such a wonderful piece of cinema. For me the locations are stunningly beautiful yet bleak. Based on the Mary Webb novel the movie was filmed in Shropshire , the book , as most of Webb's were, was also set there. The windswept Stiperstones and The Devil's Chair are not make believe. They really do exist and you can easily visit these locations.I always wanted to visit Shropshire, as a child I loved the Lone Pine stories by Malcolm Saville that were set there ( I still do ). They, as Webb's stories all were set in real places. The little church ( Godshill ) in the film is still standing and you can still make out the shape of the baptism pool in the garden. It's a beautiful, atmospheric place.I have now visited these locations several times. The long chimney you see standing in several sequences can still be found in the ruins of the old Snailbeach mines. It is so wonderful to stand in these places, on these hills ( the stiperstones, the Long Mynd ) and imagine 57 years ago when all the actors and crew stood in the very same place, you can't explain how you feel, but it's something very extraordinary.The film itself is a strangely evocative piece that features eerily scored music, wild but effective performances. Cyril Cusack stands out in a restrained, dignified part as the sad parson.It is his character that I felt so sorry for.Although poor Jennifer Jones ( Hazel ) is a tormented soul that you can't help but feel attracted to.A glorious piece of cinema of the past with wonderful locations. The plot may be all too familiar but the scenery, the characters and yes, Foxy all help pass the time in a blink of an eye. Watch it a couple of times, each viewing brings out something else that you may have missed.

This amazing film was made in 1950 but was never released and has apparently never been shown in a commercial cinema. A mangled form of it minus 35 minutes, reedited, and with some extra linking scenes was released in 1952 as 'The Wild Heart'. This was because Jennifer Jones, the star, was the wife of the control freak David Selznick, who could not bear the fact that this masterpiece had been made without his supervision and represented something authentic, of which he himself was incapable. For the film which Powell and Pressburger really made, it was necessary to wait until 2001 when it was released in a restored version, with the most beautiful Technicolor cinematography, on DVD as part of the Powell and Pressburger retrospective revival. Of this film for more than half a century, therefore, one could truly say it had 'gone to earth', as the huntsman's cry has it in the final devastating scene. The film is based on a novel by Mary Webb, who died in 1927 aged only 46. Another novel of hers, 'Precious Bane', has been filmed more than once, and helped make the reputation of the British actress Janet McTeer. Jennifer Jones is totally stunning in this film as Hazel, a semi-wild half-Gypsy girl with a pet fox named Foxy, a pet raven, rabbits, and a small menagerie of other creatures. She lives with her Celtic harp-playing father in an isolated cottage. He is wonderfully played by Esmond Knight, with true country humour. The wild gypsy girl who roams the hills was a motif well known to Mary Webb from Theodore Watts-Dunton's fictional Welsh gypsy characters Sinfi Lovell and Rhona Boswell, who were based on real people. This film is shot on the Welsh borders as they were in 1949, and in Shropshire. The landscape is wild and wonderful, magnificently filmed, and the movie is like a paean to the wilds. The story is like a Thomas Hardy tale, though less sophisticated and with more than a touch of Victorian melodrama. Cyril Cusack does a superbly restrained job of playing a quiet vicar who cannot express himself and is paralyzed by inactivity, like the main character in John Cowper Powys's novel 'Wolf Solent'. He marries Hazel but 'respects' her too much to touch her and so does not consummate the marriage. That kind of thing often happened in those days. Along comes the monstrously egotistical and unrestrained squire, played to full effect by David Farrar, who becomes obsessed by Hazel, with dire consequences all round. One of the finest performances is by Hugh Griffith as Farrar's valet. It was one of the greatest moments of that fine character actor's career. Jennifer Jones is entirely magical and captivating, with her weird looks and her expression of always seeing the fairies. She does a superb job, as does Edmond Knight, of speaking a genuine rough country dialect. Since British viewers have to put up with Brooklyn and other mangled and horrible accents, it seems only right that Americans should have to try to decipher Welsh Border dialect for once, but of course they are too spoilt to try, and this has been a cause of complaint. However, the film has full authenticity and is a miraculous preservation in aspic of a lost world. The sets are very good indeed, and all the locations are genuine. This is no fantasy, it is real in what it portrays, only the story is a bit over the top melodramatically. Otherwise, this was then, and now is now. This film can be watched repeatedly by those who want to comprehend a world that is gone forever, like that of the film 'Owd Bob' (see my review of it). It would not be fair to refrain from pointing out that Foxy the fox deserved an animal Oscar, as he is in nearly every scene.