David Lean Directs Noël Coward (Criterion Collection)

Four of director David Lean's adaptations of writer Noël Coward's plays are collected in this set. First, Lean's debut solo directorial effort, "This Happy Breed" (1944) is a fine, understated drama that looks at a typical, working-class British household and how it's affected by the events of the years between World Wars I and II. Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, John Mills, and Kay Walsh star. Then, Coward adapted his own witty stage farce for this (literally) spirited screen version of "Blithe Spirit" (1945). Rex Harrison is a writer whose research into the occult leads him to muddled medium Margaret Rutherford, who accidentally conjures up the ghost of Harrison's first wife. Kay Hammond co-stars as the trouble-making spectre. Four-disc set also includes the Criterion Collection versions of "In Which We Serve" and "Brief Encounter" (1945). 6 3/4 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH); audio commentary; featurettes; interviews; bonus "The Southbank Show" episode; documentary "David Lean: A Self Portrait" (1971); theatrical trailers; booklet; more.