David Niven and Kim Hunter of the set of A Matter Of Life And Death (1946). Photo: courtesy of Altitude
Director David Hinton's Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger draws on a rich array of archival material to craft a captivating celebration of one of cinema's great collaborative partnerships. Together, the English Michael Powell and Hungarian Emeric Pressburger were the creative forces behind some of British cinema's most memorable films: The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter Of Life And Death, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp and The Tales Of Hoffmann.
Martin Scorsese narrates and hearing him express his love for these films makes it feel like Made In England is a meeting with destiny. He was the only choice, not only because of his personal and professional relationships with Powell and his longtime editor, and Powell's widow Thelma Schoonmaker, but because of his enthusiastic energy,...
Director David Hinton's Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger draws on a rich array of archival material to craft a captivating celebration of one of cinema's great collaborative partnerships. Together, the English Michael Powell and Hungarian Emeric Pressburger were the creative forces behind some of British cinema's most memorable films: The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter Of Life And Death, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp and The Tales Of Hoffmann.
Martin Scorsese narrates and hearing him express his love for these films makes it feel like Made In England is a meeting with destiny. He was the only choice, not only because of his personal and professional relationships with Powell and his longtime editor, and Powell's widow Thelma Schoonmaker, but because of his enthusiastic energy,...
- 5/24/2024
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Legendary film editor Thelma Schoonmaker is honoring the films of filmmaking duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger with an upcoming retrospective at MoMA.
Titled “Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger,” the screening series is presented in collaboration with the BFI and will take place from June 21 to July 31. The program includes more than 50 films — many of which are new restorations — and was curated by conservation experts, archivists, and curators at the BFI National Archive.
Oscar-winning editor Schoonmaker will open the series on June 21 with an introduction to the new digital restoration of “Black Narcissus” (1947). Schoonmaker was married to British director Powell from 1984 until his death in 1990.
Powell and Pressburger’s cultural legacy is most notably recognized in their film “The Red Shoes” (1948), which has inspired sequences in films such as Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan,” and Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull,” which Schoonmaker edited.
Titled “Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger,” the screening series is presented in collaboration with the BFI and will take place from June 21 to July 31. The program includes more than 50 films — many of which are new restorations — and was curated by conservation experts, archivists, and curators at the BFI National Archive.
Oscar-winning editor Schoonmaker will open the series on June 21 with an introduction to the new digital restoration of “Black Narcissus” (1947). Schoonmaker was married to British director Powell from 1984 until his death in 1990.
Powell and Pressburger’s cultural legacy is most notably recognized in their film “The Red Shoes” (1948), which has inspired sequences in films such as Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan,” and Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull,” which Schoonmaker edited.
- 5/1/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Following the best movie of last year, 2024 brings a lesson in cinema history from Martin Scorsese. He’s narrated a new documentary on two of the greatest directors of all time, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the duo responsible for The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death, and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Considering Scorsese’s close connection to their work, from being captivated at a young age and much later becoming friends with Michael Powell (who was married to Scorsese’s long-time editor Thelma Schoonmaker), he’s the perfect guide through their filmography.
Following the Berlinale premiere of David Hinton’s Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, it’ll now get a U.K. and Ireland release on May 10 from Altitude and the first trailer has arrived. With U.S. distribution coming from Cohen Media Group, Mubi has also...
Following the Berlinale premiere of David Hinton’s Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, it’ll now get a U.K. and Ireland release on May 10 from Altitude and the first trailer has arrived. With U.S. distribution coming from Cohen Media Group, Mubi has also...
- 4/15/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks to John Maxwell about his debut novel Water Street and “3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life,” which includes:
Midnight Cowboy (1969) The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943)
“3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life” is about those films that made you fall in love with film. The guest selects their trio of movies and we talk for 5 minutes, against the clock. When the alarm goes off for five minutes we move on to the next film.
Powered by RedCircle...
Midnight Cowboy (1969) The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943)
“3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life” is about those films that made you fall in love with film. The guest selects their trio of movies and we talk for 5 minutes, against the clock. When the alarm goes off for five minutes we move on to the next film.
Powered by RedCircle...
- 3/29/2024
- by Stuart Wright
- Nerdly
In the narrator’s seat for David Hinton’s eloquent documentary on the filmmaking duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Martin Scorsese is the ultimate fan. Tracing his all-around movie obsession to his first viewing of the U.K.-based pair’s 1948 tour de force, The Red Shoes, he leads us through a dozen of their features and a few of Powell’s solo efforts, connecting key sequences to memorable scenes in his own work. But beyond its clear explication of the films’ imaginative and technical power, Made in England is also a testament to mentorship and friendship; Scorsese was close to Powell, who died in 1990, for the last decade and a half of the British director’s life, and Powell married Scorsese’s longtime editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, in 1984.
The documentary ignites a longing to see the movies, whether for the first time or the umpteenth (many are available on...
The documentary ignites a longing to see the movies, whether for the first time or the umpteenth (many are available on...
- 2/24/2024
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 74th Berlin International Film Festival announced the winners of the fest at the awards ceremony held at the Berlinale Palast on February 24.
20 films competed for the awards in this year’s competition with Lupita Nyong’o heading the International Jury alongside Ann Hui, Christian Petzold, Albert Serra, Jasmine Trinca and Oksana Zabuzhko. The Encounters Jury, Lisandro Alonso, Denis Côté and Tizza Covi choose the winners for Best Film, Best Director and the Special Jury Award.
The Golden Bear for Best Film was awarded to Dahomey by Mati Diop. Emily Watson won The Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for her role in Small Things Like These, while Sebastian Stan received The Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance in A Different Man. Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias was honored with The Silver Bear for Best Director for his film Pepe, and the Silver Bear Jury Prize went to Bruno Dumont for Empire.
20 films competed for the awards in this year’s competition with Lupita Nyong’o heading the International Jury alongside Ann Hui, Christian Petzold, Albert Serra, Jasmine Trinca and Oksana Zabuzhko. The Encounters Jury, Lisandro Alonso, Denis Côté and Tizza Covi choose the winners for Best Film, Best Director and the Special Jury Award.
The Golden Bear for Best Film was awarded to Dahomey by Mati Diop. Emily Watson won The Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for her role in Small Things Like These, while Sebastian Stan received The Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance in A Different Man. Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias was honored with The Silver Bear for Best Director for his film Pepe, and the Silver Bear Jury Prize went to Bruno Dumont for Empire.
- 2/22/2024
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
For any film lovers who grew up on, generationally depending, the cinema of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, or the essential ’90s cinephile primer “A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies” — or both, as for this writer — “Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger” arrives as an unmitigated treat.
A straightforwardly constructed documentary trawl through the dizzy highs and sporadic lows of the most iridescently fabulous filmography in British cinema, David Hinton’s film would be plenty pleasurable as a mere feature-length clip reel. That it gets longtime Powell and Pressburger champion Martin Scorsese to narrate the proceedings, with the same blend of scholarly authority and avuncular enthusiasm he brought to “Personal Journey,” makes the doc more than the sum of its already attractive parts: a movingly sincere valentine from a filmmaker now due his own equivalent tributes, shortening the distance between youthful discovery and senior nostalgia.
A straightforwardly constructed documentary trawl through the dizzy highs and sporadic lows of the most iridescently fabulous filmography in British cinema, David Hinton’s film would be plenty pleasurable as a mere feature-length clip reel. That it gets longtime Powell and Pressburger champion Martin Scorsese to narrate the proceedings, with the same blend of scholarly authority and avuncular enthusiasm he brought to “Personal Journey,” makes the doc more than the sum of its already attractive parts: a movingly sincere valentine from a filmmaker now due his own equivalent tributes, shortening the distance between youthful discovery and senior nostalgia.
- 2/21/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Ahead of its world premiere today at the Berlin Film Festival, Cohen Media Group has secured all North American distribution rights to Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger.
Martin Scorsese narrates the film, which is directed by Emmy winner David Hinton.
Cmg negotiated exclusive theatrical and ancillary rights in North America with a planned release in 2024 in an exclusive window prior to TCM’s subsequent TV premiere.
The film puts a spotlight on Brit filmmakers Powell and Pressburger who created some of the most revered films of the British golden age, including The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. In the words of Scorsese, their films were “grand, poetic, wise, adventurous, headstrong, enraptured by beauty, deeply romantic, and completely uncompromising.”
You can check out an exclusive clip of the film here and read our...
Martin Scorsese narrates the film, which is directed by Emmy winner David Hinton.
Cmg negotiated exclusive theatrical and ancillary rights in North America with a planned release in 2024 in an exclusive window prior to TCM’s subsequent TV premiere.
The film puts a spotlight on Brit filmmakers Powell and Pressburger who created some of the most revered films of the British golden age, including The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. In the words of Scorsese, their films were “grand, poetic, wise, adventurous, headstrong, enraptured by beauty, deeply romantic, and completely uncompromising.”
You can check out an exclusive clip of the film here and read our...
- 2/21/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Martin Scorsese, who helped rescue the British film-makers’ work from obscurity, is the perfect person to discuss their unique and now beloved work
The work of film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is discussed with passion and authority by Martin Scorsese in this richly enjoyable documentary, for which he presents his thoughts and recollections directly to camera. When the British establishment shamed itself by turning its back on these homegrown masters, it took this Italian American film-maker to rediscover them in the 1970s – and now the Powell/Pressburger films almost cannot be seen except through the medium of Scorsese’s glorious evangelism; their movies and his have virtually become intertextual events.
As he takes us through the great Powell/Pressburger films such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I’m Going!, Black Narcissus, Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffmann, Scorsese also plays clips of his own films,...
The work of film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is discussed with passion and authority by Martin Scorsese in this richly enjoyable documentary, for which he presents his thoughts and recollections directly to camera. When the British establishment shamed itself by turning its back on these homegrown masters, it took this Italian American film-maker to rediscover them in the 1970s – and now the Powell/Pressburger films almost cannot be seen except through the medium of Scorsese’s glorious evangelism; their movies and his have virtually become intertextual events.
As he takes us through the great Powell/Pressburger films such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I’m Going!, Black Narcissus, Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffmann, Scorsese also plays clips of his own films,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
‘Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger,’ the documentary executive produced and narrated by Matin Scorsese, has been acquired by Mubi ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
The arthouse streamer, distributor and production company has bought all rights for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Latin America, Turkey and India.
Directed by two-time BAFTA and Emmy winner David Hinton, ‘Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger’ is described as “Scorsese’s personal and moving look at two of British cinema’s greatest filmmakers.”
Powell and Pressburger created some of the great classics of the British golden age, including “The Red Shoes,” “Black Narcissus,” “A Matter of Life and Death” and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.” In the words of Scorsese, their films were “grand, poetic, wise, adventurous, headstrong, enraptured by beauty, deeply romantic, and completely uncompromising.
The arthouse streamer, distributor and production company has bought all rights for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Latin America, Turkey and India.
Directed by two-time BAFTA and Emmy winner David Hinton, ‘Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger’ is described as “Scorsese’s personal and moving look at two of British cinema’s greatest filmmakers.”
Powell and Pressburger created some of the great classics of the British golden age, including “The Red Shoes,” “Black Narcissus,” “A Matter of Life and Death” and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.” In the words of Scorsese, their films were “grand, poetic, wise, adventurous, headstrong, enraptured by beauty, deeply romantic, and completely uncompromising.
- 2/19/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Courtesy of Studiocanal
by James Cameron-wilson
1960 was a year that sent shockwaves throughout the film industry. Alfred Hitchcock, who was to direct Anna Massey twelve years later in his lurid thriller Frenzy – about a serial killer in central London – opened a movie called Psycho. Psycho was significant in several regards. Hitchcock refused to show the film to critics and barred his two leads, Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, from doing any promotional interviews as he wanted total control over the film’s publicity and its content. This was in June of 1960. Two months earlier another celebrated filmmaker had released an equally shocking film called Peeping Tom and whose critical reception ruined both the movie and the reputation of its director, Michael Powell. Hitchcock wanted audiences to judge Psycho for themselves. Most audiences never got a chance to evaluate Peeping Tom.
Both films were about serial killers and both showed the murderer as a self-effacing,...
by James Cameron-wilson
1960 was a year that sent shockwaves throughout the film industry. Alfred Hitchcock, who was to direct Anna Massey twelve years later in his lurid thriller Frenzy – about a serial killer in central London – opened a movie called Psycho. Psycho was significant in several regards. Hitchcock refused to show the film to critics and barred his two leads, Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, from doing any promotional interviews as he wanted total control over the film’s publicity and its content. This was in June of 1960. Two months earlier another celebrated filmmaker had released an equally shocking film called Peeping Tom and whose critical reception ruined both the movie and the reputation of its director, Michael Powell. Hitchcock wanted audiences to judge Psycho for themselves. Most audiences never got a chance to evaluate Peeping Tom.
Both films were about serial killers and both showed the murderer as a self-effacing,...
- 2/15/2024
- by James Cameron-Wilson
- Film Review Daily
Martin Scorsese will narrate and present Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger, a documentary about the legendary filmmaking duo. It’s out in May.
In the 1940s and early 50s, filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made some of the best and most important films to emerge from the UK. Among their most admired works are The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948).
Whether they were wartime romances, comedies or dramas with a hint of the fantastical, the duo’s films were beautifully shot uniquely their own, largely because – unusually – they wrote, directed and produced their movies, with almost no studio interference, under their company banner, The Archers.
Narrated by Martin Scorsese, Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger will explore the pair’s singular life and work, with the feature-length documentary running to a generous 129 minutes. Fittingly, given...
In the 1940s and early 50s, filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made some of the best and most important films to emerge from the UK. Among their most admired works are The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948).
Whether they were wartime romances, comedies or dramas with a hint of the fantastical, the duo’s films were beautifully shot uniquely their own, largely because – unusually – they wrote, directed and produced their movies, with almost no studio interference, under their company banner, The Archers.
Narrated by Martin Scorsese, Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger will explore the pair’s singular life and work, with the feature-length documentary running to a generous 129 minutes. Fittingly, given...
- 2/14/2024
- by Ryan Lambie
- Film Stories
With the New Year upon us, it’s time for our annual tradition of looking at the cinematic horizon. Having highlighted 30 films we guarantee are worth seeing this year and those we hope get U.S. distribution, we now venture into the unknown. We dug deep to chart the 100 films we’re most looking forward to, from debuts to documentaries to the return of some of our most-beloved auteurs, along with a small batch of studio films worth giving attention.
Though the majority lack a set release––let alone a confirmed festival premiere––most have wrapped production and will likely debut at some point in 2024. Be sure to check back for updates over the next twelve months (and beyond).
100. Civil War (Alex Garland; April 26)
A storm brewed across social media with the trailer for Alex Garland’s Civil War. Garland, who last invigorated and disgusted audiences with Men, still boasts...
Though the majority lack a set release––let alone a confirmed festival premiere––most have wrapped production and will likely debut at some point in 2024. Be sure to check back for updates over the next twelve months (and beyond).
100. Civil War (Alex Garland; April 26)
A storm brewed across social media with the trailer for Alex Garland’s Civil War. Garland, who last invigorated and disgusted audiences with Men, still boasts...
- 1/8/2024
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
With her late husband’s 1948 classic back in cinemas, the editor is keen to preserve his legacy and modest about her own phenomenal career
Thelma Schoonmaker was 15 when she first watched The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, a wartime classic by the British film-making duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, one day after school.
“It just so happened to be on, but I never forgot it. It reigned in my brain,” she says wistfully, almost 70 years later. “I had no idea it was made by the man I would later marry.”...
Thelma Schoonmaker was 15 when she first watched The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, a wartime classic by the British film-making duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, one day after school.
“It just so happened to be on, but I never forgot it. It reigned in my brain,” she says wistfully, almost 70 years later. “I had no idea it was made by the man I would later marry.”...
- 12/8/2023
- by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent
- The Guardian - Film News
Jeremy Thomas on Martin Scorsese giving gravitas to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger films: “I mean, The Red Shoes, unbelievable! Of course they’re period, Blimp, very period. And Black Narcissus, which I recently saw restored in a square in Bologna with thousands of people.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In the third instalment with producer Jeremy Thomas we discuss Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing leading to a conversation with David Cronenberg wanting to film William Burroughs’s Naked Lunch; Cronenberg’s adaptation of Jg Ballard’s Crash and the author’s reaction; Martin Scorsese reintroducing us to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterpieces, which include The Red Shoes, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, and Black Narcissus.
Jeremy Thomas on David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Naked Lunch by William Burroughs: “It’s magnificent, original work.”
The Cohen Media Group and Posteritati at their gallery hosted a reception for Jeremy...
In the third instalment with producer Jeremy Thomas we discuss Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing leading to a conversation with David Cronenberg wanting to film William Burroughs’s Naked Lunch; Cronenberg’s adaptation of Jg Ballard’s Crash and the author’s reaction; Martin Scorsese reintroducing us to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterpieces, which include The Red Shoes, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, and Black Narcissus.
Jeremy Thomas on David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Naked Lunch by William Burroughs: “It’s magnificent, original work.”
The Cohen Media Group and Posteritati at their gallery hosted a reception for Jeremy...
- 11/10/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Thelma Schoonmaker at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 2010. Photo by Petr Novák.At 83 years old, Thelma Schoonmaker has no intention of slowing down. Best known for her career-long collaboration with Martin Scorsese, the three-time Oscar-winning editor is still juggling multiple projects. As we sat down for our conversation in London, the press juggernaut for her latest film with Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon, was in full swing, while back in New York, her editing consoles were whirring away, already at work on the duo’s next feature: a documentary on the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It’s a film close to the legendary editor’s heart. Schoonmaker was married to Powell from 1984 until his death in 1990. She was introduced to the filmmaker—one of the greatest in the history of British cinema—by Scorsese, a lifelong admirer who had set out to rehabilitate Powell’s critical reputation.
- 11/6/2023
- MUBI
Martin Scorsese and his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker have seen more movies than you. Both of them have long been champions of independent and international cinema, and they have each done their part to amplify titles and filmmakers that might be lost in the sea of the commercial American film market. When they're not making movies, they're likely overseeing the restorations of lost classics or recommending great movies you've never heard of on Turner Classic Movies. But they're also constantly incorporating nods and tips of the cap to those films in their own work.
Schoonmaker was in a relationship with celebrated British filmmaker Michael Powell, the co-director (with Emeric Pressburger) of such classics as "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp," "I Know Where I'm Going!," "Black Narcissus," and "The Red Shoes." Their romance spanned a decade, starting in 1980 and sadly ending in 1990 when Powell died. In a recent interview with Little White Lies,...
Schoonmaker was in a relationship with celebrated British filmmaker Michael Powell, the co-director (with Emeric Pressburger) of such classics as "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp," "I Know Where I'm Going!," "Black Narcissus," and "The Red Shoes." Their romance spanned a decade, starting in 1980 and sadly ending in 1990 when Powell died. In a recent interview with Little White Lies,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
They made 24 often morally complex pictures before falling out of fashion. Now, as a monumental BFI retrospective kicks off, can their stricken pilots and posh ballerinas speak to our divided era?
It is May 1945 and night has fallen across Europe. The world is at war, cities are aflame and a Lancaster bomber is falling from the sky. Inside the burning cockpit, squadron leader Peter Carter gives his name and age then outlines his politics. “Conservative by nature,” he says. “Labour by experience.” Played by David Niven, the hero of A Matter of Life and Death is your emblematic Englishman – in that he is a muddle. He is trad and prog, romantic and practical, and amiably optimistic even in the teeth of disaster (and perhaps then most of all). He is describing himself as the plane goes down. By proxy, he is describing the film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, too.
It is May 1945 and night has fallen across Europe. The world is at war, cities are aflame and a Lancaster bomber is falling from the sky. Inside the burning cockpit, squadron leader Peter Carter gives his name and age then outlines his politics. “Conservative by nature,” he says. “Labour by experience.” Played by David Niven, the hero of A Matter of Life and Death is your emblematic Englishman – in that he is a muddle. He is trad and prog, romantic and practical, and amiably optimistic even in the teeth of disaster (and perhaps then most of all). He is describing himself as the plane goes down. By proxy, he is describing the film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, too.
- 10/16/2023
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
With six Oscar bids to her name, Scottish-born thespian Deborah Kerr is one of the most celebrated performers of all time. However, she never actually won one of those little gold statuettes, giving her the dubious distinction of tying Thelma Ritter and Glenn Close as the most nominated actress without a victory. Still, she must’ve done something right to rack up all that Academy recognition. Let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1921, Kerr got her start on the London stage before appearing in her first film when she was just 20-years-old: “Major Barbara” (1941). She had her big break two years later in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger‘s epic “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943). Kerr reunited with the filmmaking duo for “Black Narcissus” (1946), which brought her the first of three Best Actress victories at the New York Film Critics Circle.
Born in 1921, Kerr got her start on the London stage before appearing in her first film when she was just 20-years-old: “Major Barbara” (1941). She had her big break two years later in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger‘s epic “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943). Kerr reunited with the filmmaking duo for “Black Narcissus” (1946), which brought her the first of three Best Actress victories at the New York Film Critics Circle.
- 9/22/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Way back in 2011, long before he was cast in the TV adaptation of Good Omens, actor Michael Sheen (Aziraphale) told MTV that his favourite film was Powell and Pressburger’s 1945 masterpiece A Matter of Life and Death. That was still the case in 2019, as confirmed on social media. For someone currently appearing as an angel, it’s an incredibly appropriate favourite film – and the makers of Good Omens must have been listening, because there are several Easter eggs nodding to the film appearing in the fantasy-comedy’s second season.
An Unusual Origin
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were British film-makers who started a production company called The Archers in 1939, just a few years after Pressburger came to Britain having fled the Nazis. As well as producing, they wrote and directed several very well-known and hugely influential films during the 1940s, including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus,...
An Unusual Origin
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were British film-makers who started a production company called The Archers in 1939, just a few years after Pressburger came to Britain having fled the Nazis. As well as producing, they wrote and directed several very well-known and hugely influential films during the 1940s, including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus,...
- 7/30/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
“You’re listening to a guy who learned a lot about ripping off movies from watching laserdiscs with director commentary,” says Paul Thomas Anderson at the beginning of his “Boogie Nights” DVD commentary, acknowledging something many of us learned in the early days of the Criterion Collection back in the late 1980s and early ‘90s: Listening to filmmakers talk about craft as their movie unspools is one of the best ways to start thinking like a filmmaker.
Of course, not all commentaries are created equal, and for every P.T. Anderson or Martin Scorsese who is great at articulating their process, there are dozens of directors who fall back on the “so and so was great to work with” style of narration or merely describe the onscreen action. In the interest of saving you the time and aggravation that come with wasting hours on unworthy tracks, here are 25 of the best...
Of course, not all commentaries are created equal, and for every P.T. Anderson or Martin Scorsese who is great at articulating their process, there are dozens of directors who fall back on the “so and so was great to work with” style of narration or merely describe the onscreen action. In the interest of saving you the time and aggravation that come with wasting hours on unworthy tracks, here are 25 of the best...
- 7/3/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Martin Scorsese is boarding a documentary about some of his favorite filmmakers, with plans to both narrate and executive produce a movie about the lives of the British duo Powell & Pressburger.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, under their production company The Archers, directed some of the finest films of Britain’s golden age of cinema – and often in ravishing color – such as “The Red Shoes,” “Black Narcissus,” “A Matter of Life Or Death” (also known as “Stairway to Heaven”) and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.”
Scorsese has often cited their influence, and has referred to their movies as “grand, poetic, wise, adventurous, headstrong, enraptured by beauty, deeply romantic, and completely uncompromising.”
David Hinton, a BAFTA and Emmy winner, will direct the untitled feature, which will be something of a personal journey for Scorsese as he reflects on how he was captivated by their films at a young age,...
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, under their production company The Archers, directed some of the finest films of Britain’s golden age of cinema – and often in ravishing color – such as “The Red Shoes,” “Black Narcissus,” “A Matter of Life Or Death” (also known as “Stairway to Heaven”) and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.”
Scorsese has often cited their influence, and has referred to their movies as “grand, poetic, wise, adventurous, headstrong, enraptured by beauty, deeply romantic, and completely uncompromising.”
David Hinton, a BAFTA and Emmy winner, will direct the untitled feature, which will be something of a personal journey for Scorsese as he reflects on how he was captivated by their films at a young age,...
- 5/4/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Talk about legends colliding.
Martin Scorsese is set to narrate and executive produce a feature documentary about the hugely influential British filmmaking duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Directed by two-time BAFTA and Emmy-winning helmer David Hinton, the doc is billed as “Scorsese’s personal and moving look at two of British cinema’s greatest filmmakers.” London-based sales agent Altitude is handling international sales and will release the film in the U.K. and Ireland.
Powell and Pressburger — who together ran production company The Archers — worked together over the course of 18 years and are highly regarded for their innovative use of editing, special effects and color, which at the time was very forward-looking. They made some of the great classics of the British golden age, including “The Red Shoes” (1948), “Black Narcissus” (1947), “A Matter of Life and Death” (1946) and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943). Pressburger died at the...
Martin Scorsese is set to narrate and executive produce a feature documentary about the hugely influential British filmmaking duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Directed by two-time BAFTA and Emmy-winning helmer David Hinton, the doc is billed as “Scorsese’s personal and moving look at two of British cinema’s greatest filmmakers.” London-based sales agent Altitude is handling international sales and will release the film in the U.K. and Ireland.
Powell and Pressburger — who together ran production company The Archers — worked together over the course of 18 years and are highly regarded for their innovative use of editing, special effects and color, which at the time was very forward-looking. They made some of the great classics of the British golden age, including “The Red Shoes” (1948), “Black Narcissus” (1947), “A Matter of Life and Death” (1946) and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943). Pressburger died at the...
- 5/4/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Altitude is handling international sales and will release the film in the UK and Ireland.
Martin Scorsese is to narrate an as yet untitled feature documentary on British filmmaking duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, with David Hinton directing.
UK-based sales outfit Altitude is handling international sales and will release the film in the UK and Ireland.
The film is produced by Nick Varley for Ten Thousand 86 and Matt Wells for Ice Cream Films. Martin Scorsese will executive produce.
It is financed by BBC Film, and the National Lottery and Scottish government through Screen Scotland.
Powell and Pressburger were responsible...
Martin Scorsese is to narrate an as yet untitled feature documentary on British filmmaking duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, with David Hinton directing.
UK-based sales outfit Altitude is handling international sales and will release the film in the UK and Ireland.
The film is produced by Nick Varley for Ten Thousand 86 and Matt Wells for Ice Cream Films. Martin Scorsese will executive produce.
It is financed by BBC Film, and the National Lottery and Scottish government through Screen Scotland.
Powell and Pressburger were responsible...
- 5/4/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Deborah Kerr would’ve celebrated her 97th birthday on September 30, 2018. With six Oscar bids to her name, the Scottish-born thespian is one of the most celebrated performers of all time. However, she never actually won one of those little gold statuettes, giving her the dubious distinction of tying Thelma Ritter and Glenn Close as the most nominated actress without a victory. Still, she must’ve done something right to rack up all that Academy recognition. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1921, Kerr got her start on the London stage before appearing in her first film when she was just 20-years-old: “Major Barbara” (1941). She had her big break two years later in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger‘s epic “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943). Kerr reunited with the filmmaking duo for “Black Narcissus...
Born in 1921, Kerr got her start on the London stage before appearing in her first film when she was just 20-years-old: “Major Barbara” (1941). She had her big break two years later in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger‘s epic “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943). Kerr reunited with the filmmaking duo for “Black Narcissus...
- 9/30/2018
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The wonder movie of 1946 sees the Archers infusing the ‘Film Blanc’ fantasy with amazing images and powerful emotions. Imagination and resourcefulness accomplishes miracles on a Stairway to Heaven, with visual effects never bettered in the pre-cgi era. Michael Powell’s command of the screen overpowers a soon-obsoleted theme about U.S.- British relations.
A Matter of Life and Death
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 939
1946 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 104 min. / Stairway to Heaven / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 26, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough, Bonar Colleano, Joan Maude.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Film Editor: Reginald Mills
Production Design: Alfred Junge
Original Music: Allan Gray
Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger came into their own making wartime movies, most of which steered far clear of the accepted definition of propaganda. After their Anglo-Dutch...
A Matter of Life and Death
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 939
1946 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 104 min. / Stairway to Heaven / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 26, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough, Bonar Colleano, Joan Maude.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Film Editor: Reginald Mills
Production Design: Alfred Junge
Original Music: Allan Gray
Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger came into their own making wartime movies, most of which steered far clear of the accepted definition of propaganda. After their Anglo-Dutch...
- 7/7/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Taking peculiar advantage of the old disaster-movie rule that audiences care more about whether a single dog lives or dies than they do about the fates of people, “Zoo” amplifies the horrors of the Luftwaffe air raids on Belfast during World War II by focusing not on human casualties but on what becomes of the animals trapped at the local zoo. Writer-director Colin McIvor adapts the true-ish story of how a handful of citizens came to the rescue of a baby elephant into an unlikely family film, one that will delight the kids (who see themselves portrayed as heroes) while leaving parents with a lot of explaining to do.
On one hand, they’ll have to reconcile the children’s heroic actions with the fact that they appear to be disobeying adults at every turn. Trickier still, the film hinges on a seemingly cruel edict, issued by the British Ministry of Public Security,...
On one hand, they’ll have to reconcile the children’s heroic actions with the fact that they appear to be disobeying adults at every turn. Trickier still, the film hinges on a seemingly cruel edict, issued by the British Ministry of Public Security,...
- 6/9/2018
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Rachel Meaden Dec 8, 2017
It’s 71 years old and considered one of the best British films ever made. Rachel takes a look at the wonderful A Matter Of Life And Death.
This article contains spoilers for A Matter Of Life And Death
It never made sense to me that they changed the title of A Matter Of Life And Death for American cinemas (it was thought that Us audiences wouldn’t go and see a film with the word ‘death’ in the title); Stairway To Heaven feels wrong for a couple of reasons. Not to be pedantic but technically it’s an escalator, also it’s never explicitly referred to as 'Heaven' in the movie. But mainly, it's far too imposing a title. Part of the film does explore the afterlife (and it doesn't get much more imposing than that...), but what's so brilliant about A Matter Of Life And Death...
It’s 71 years old and considered one of the best British films ever made. Rachel takes a look at the wonderful A Matter Of Life And Death.
This article contains spoilers for A Matter Of Life And Death
It never made sense to me that they changed the title of A Matter Of Life And Death for American cinemas (it was thought that Us audiences wouldn’t go and see a film with the word ‘death’ in the title); Stairway To Heaven feels wrong for a couple of reasons. Not to be pedantic but technically it’s an escalator, also it’s never explicitly referred to as 'Heaven' in the movie. But mainly, it's far too imposing a title. Part of the film does explore the afterlife (and it doesn't get much more imposing than that...), but what's so brilliant about A Matter Of Life And Death...
- 12/7/2017
- Den of Geek
Mubi is showing Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Small Back Room (1949), The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) and Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960) in November and December, 2017 in the United States in the series Powell & Pressburger: Together and Apart.The story goes that when they were casting their first flat-out masterpiece together, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger sent a letter to an actress outlining a manifesto of their production company, called "the Archers." At the time, the Archers was freshly incorporated, with Powell and Pressburger sharing all credit for writing, directing, and producing, and their manifesto had five points. Point one was to ensure that they provided their financial backers with "a profit, not a loss," which may raise eyebrows among those who are used to manifestos burning with anti-capitalist fire—but then, in a system like commercial cinema, profitability buys freedom.
- 11/8/2017
- MUBI
Filmmakers who look up to Martin Scorsese for his work just got another lesson in how to gracefully respond to a negative review. In a stirring essay for The Times Literary Supplement, the publisher of a mixed “Silence” review that ran back in January, the renowned director defends cinema as commensurate with the great works of literature, music, and art.
Read More: ‘Silence’ Review: Martin Scorsese Delivers a Gorgeous Crisis-of-Faith Drama
Cinephiles may ask themselves if such a fervent response is even needed, especially at a time when one is more likely to read an impassioned defense of television’s artistic merit. Tls, after all, is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary magazines in the world. It stands to reason that their film critic would hold literature in higher esteem than cinema. But Scorsese is not taking it anymore. He writes:
“Over the years, I’ve grown used...
Read More: ‘Silence’ Review: Martin Scorsese Delivers a Gorgeous Crisis-of-Faith Drama
Cinephiles may ask themselves if such a fervent response is even needed, especially at a time when one is more likely to read an impassioned defense of television’s artistic merit. Tls, after all, is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary magazines in the world. It stands to reason that their film critic would hold literature in higher esteem than cinema. But Scorsese is not taking it anymore. He writes:
“Over the years, I’ve grown used...
- 6/1/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Holmes and Watson. Lone Ranger and Tonto. Batman and Robin. Lucy and Ethel. Hamlet and Laertes. The list of heroes and their BFFs is long and overall an honorable one… and usually necessary.
A sidekick, at base, is a supporting character and a supporting character’s main function is to bring out aspects of the protagonist. In most cases, the sidekick is there so that the protagonist isn’t constantly monologuing. Granted, Hamlet is a champion monologuist but when Laertes is there he can be engaged in a dialogue. Holmes needs Watson so the reader can see how brilliant the Great Detective is. Whatever his other character traits may be, Watson’s prime one is to be surprised and amazed by Holmes and, in that, Watson represents us, the readers.
There are many different ways of interpreting a sidekick. Watson, for example, can be Nigel Bruce’s bumbling Colonel Blimp...
A sidekick, at base, is a supporting character and a supporting character’s main function is to bring out aspects of the protagonist. In most cases, the sidekick is there so that the protagonist isn’t constantly monologuing. Granted, Hamlet is a champion monologuist but when Laertes is there he can be engaged in a dialogue. Holmes needs Watson so the reader can see how brilliant the Great Detective is. Whatever his other character traits may be, Watson’s prime one is to be surprised and amazed by Holmes and, in that, Watson represents us, the readers.
There are many different ways of interpreting a sidekick. Watson, for example, can be Nigel Bruce’s bumbling Colonel Blimp...
- 4/16/2017
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
Holmes and Watson. Lone Ranger and Tonto. Batman and Robin. Lucy and Ethel. Hamlet and Laertes. The list of heroes and their BFFs is long and overall an honorable one… and usually necessary.
A sidekick, at base, is a supporting character and a supporting character’s main function is to bring out aspects of the protagonist. In most cases, the sidekick is there so that the protagonist isn’t constantly monologuing. Granted, Hamlet is a champion monologuist but when Laertes is there he can be engaged in a dialogue. Holmes needs Watson so the reader can see how brilliant the Great Detective is. Whatever his other character traits may be, Watson’s prime one is to be surprised and amazed by Holmes and, in that, Watson represents us, the readers.
There are many different ways of interpreting a sidekick. Watson, for example, can be Nigel Bruce’s bumbling Colonel Blimp...
A sidekick, at base, is a supporting character and a supporting character’s main function is to bring out aspects of the protagonist. In most cases, the sidekick is there so that the protagonist isn’t constantly monologuing. Granted, Hamlet is a champion monologuist but when Laertes is there he can be engaged in a dialogue. Holmes needs Watson so the reader can see how brilliant the Great Detective is. Whatever his other character traits may be, Watson’s prime one is to be surprised and amazed by Holmes and, in that, Watson represents us, the readers.
There are many different ways of interpreting a sidekick. Watson, for example, can be Nigel Bruce’s bumbling Colonel Blimp...
- 4/16/2017
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
Containing multitudes is a time-honored cinematic tradition.
Sure, featuring a single actor as more than one character in your movie smells a bit like a gimmick—but at the end of the day, it’s an efficient and often effective means of showcasing the versatility of a performer. And that can hardly be faulted. We caught a whiff of it with Split this year, though McAvoy might be disqualified for being a Legion of One rather than a cast with a shared face. Personally, I had no idea the trend cast such a wide-reaching historical net — I’d stupidly assumed it was something made possible by the advent of modern makeup and digital tech. Again, stupidly.
Be it gimmick or something more nuanced (or both!) — it’s particularly fascinating that it has such a long standing history as a marketing device. Film quality aside, the main draw is often the performative tour-de-force itself. Some...
Sure, featuring a single actor as more than one character in your movie smells a bit like a gimmick—but at the end of the day, it’s an efficient and often effective means of showcasing the versatility of a performer. And that can hardly be faulted. We caught a whiff of it with Split this year, though McAvoy might be disqualified for being a Legion of One rather than a cast with a shared face. Personally, I had no idea the trend cast such a wide-reaching historical net — I’d stupidly assumed it was something made possible by the advent of modern makeup and digital tech. Again, stupidly.
Be it gimmick or something more nuanced (or both!) — it’s particularly fascinating that it has such a long standing history as a marketing device. Film quality aside, the main draw is often the performative tour-de-force itself. Some...
- 4/13/2017
- by Meg Shields
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger officially become ‘The Archers’ for this sterling morale-propaganda picture lauding the help of the valiant Dutch resistance. It’s a joyful show of spirit, terrific casting (with a couple of surprises) and first-class English filmmaking.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy /103 82 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Googie Withers, Hay Petrie, Arnold Marlé, Robert Helpmann, Peter Ustinov, Roland Culver, Robert Beatty, Michael Powell.
Cinematography Ronald Neame
Film Editor David Lean
Camera Crew Robert Krasker, Guy Green
Written by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Produced by The Archers
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
There are still a few more key Powell-Pressburger ‘Archer’ films waiting for a quality disc release, Contraband and Gone to Earth for just two.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy /103 82 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Googie Withers, Hay Petrie, Arnold Marlé, Robert Helpmann, Peter Ustinov, Roland Culver, Robert Beatty, Michael Powell.
Cinematography Ronald Neame
Film Editor David Lean
Camera Crew Robert Krasker, Guy Green
Written by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Produced by The Archers
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
There are still a few more key Powell-Pressburger ‘Archer’ films waiting for a quality disc release, Contraband and Gone to Earth for just two.
- 11/21/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Amour Fou (Jessica Hausner)
An ecstatically original work of film-history-philosophy with a digital-cinema palette of acutely crafted compositions. Amour Fou seamlessly blends together the paintings of Vermeer, the acting of Bresson, and the psychological undercurrents of a Dostoevsky novel. It is an intensely thrilling and often slyly comic work that manages to combine a passionately dispassionate love story of the highest order with a larger socio-historical examination of a new era of freedom,...
Amour Fou (Jessica Hausner)
An ecstatically original work of film-history-philosophy with a digital-cinema palette of acutely crafted compositions. Amour Fou seamlessly blends together the paintings of Vermeer, the acting of Bresson, and the psychological undercurrents of a Dostoevsky novel. It is an intensely thrilling and often slyly comic work that manages to combine a passionately dispassionate love story of the highest order with a larger socio-historical examination of a new era of freedom,...
- 11/18/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Titles include classics such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.
UK digital channel Talking Pictures TV has acquired some of the most iconic titles in British film history in two major library deals with ITV Studios Global Entertainment and the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall libraries, distributed by Miramax.
Talking Pictures TV, which broadcasts classic British movies on the Freeview and Sky platforms, has secured rights to more than 70 films from the ITV Studios Global Entertainment library and 33 films from the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall libraries through Miramax.
The ITV Studios Global Entertainment deal includes Lawrence Olivier’s Henry V; Reach For The Sky; Whistle Down The Wind; In Which We Serve; The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Hell Drivers; The Bulldog Breed; Séance on a Wet Afternoon; Defence of the Realm and Tarka The Otter.
Among the seminal films included in the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall deal are: The Entertainer; Loneliness of the Long...
UK digital channel Talking Pictures TV has acquired some of the most iconic titles in British film history in two major library deals with ITV Studios Global Entertainment and the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall libraries, distributed by Miramax.
Talking Pictures TV, which broadcasts classic British movies on the Freeview and Sky platforms, has secured rights to more than 70 films from the ITV Studios Global Entertainment library and 33 films from the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall libraries through Miramax.
The ITV Studios Global Entertainment deal includes Lawrence Olivier’s Henry V; Reach For The Sky; Whistle Down The Wind; In Which We Serve; The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Hell Drivers; The Bulldog Breed; Séance on a Wet Afternoon; Defence of the Realm and Tarka The Otter.
Among the seminal films included in the Samuel Goldwyn and Woodfall deal are: The Entertainer; Loneliness of the Long...
- 8/19/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the week of August 9th, 2016.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Episode Notes & Links Follow-up Star Wars The Force Awakens 3D Blu-ray The Thing delayed Olive Signature releases in October News Arrow Releases Criterion’s November line-up Twilight Time Sale / American Buffalo Oop Plain Archive Old Boy Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection Links to Amazon The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension Beethoven The ’Burbs The Dream Team Elvis The Great Outdoors Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words Microwave Massacre The Money Pit Patch Adams Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made Our Top Five Home Video Releases
Ryan
Bambi / Fantasia Seven Samurai / Qatsi Trilogy / Metropolis Ultimate Matrix / Blade Runner / Alien Anthology / Star Wars Cosmos The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition set
Deadwood,...
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Episode Notes & Links Follow-up Star Wars The Force Awakens 3D Blu-ray The Thing delayed Olive Signature releases in October News Arrow Releases Criterion’s November line-up Twilight Time Sale / American Buffalo Oop Plain Archive Old Boy Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection Links to Amazon The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension Beethoven The ’Burbs The Dream Team Elvis The Great Outdoors Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words Microwave Massacre The Money Pit Patch Adams Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made Our Top Five Home Video Releases
Ryan
Bambi / Fantasia Seven Samurai / Qatsi Trilogy / Metropolis Ultimate Matrix / Blade Runner / Alien Anthology / Star Wars Cosmos The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition set
Deadwood,...
- 8/17/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then there will never be a definitive list of the greatest cinematography, but for our money, one of the finest polls has been recently conducted on the matter. Our friend Scout Tafoya polled over 60 critics on Fandor, including some of us here, and the results can be found in a fantastic video essay below. Rather than the various wordless supercuts that crowd Vimeo, Tafoya wrestles with his thoughts on cinematography as we see the beautiful images overlaid from the top 12 choices.
“I’ve been thinking of the world cinematographically since high school,” Scout says. “Sometime around tenth grade I started looking out windows, at crowds of my peers, at the girls I had crushes on, and imagining the best way to film them. Lowlight, mini-dv or 35mm? Curious and washed out like the way Emmanuel Lubezki shot Y Tu Mamá También,...
“I’ve been thinking of the world cinematographically since high school,” Scout says. “Sometime around tenth grade I started looking out windows, at crowds of my peers, at the girls I had crushes on, and imagining the best way to film them. Lowlight, mini-dv or 35mm? Curious and washed out like the way Emmanuel Lubezki shot Y Tu Mamá También,...
- 4/28/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
There aren’t many films we’re anticipating more than Martin Scorsese‘s priest drama Silence. An adaptation of Shûsaku Endô‘s novel, the story follows Andrew Garfield as Father Rodrigues, a 17th-century Portuguese Jesuit who travels to Japan with a fellow priest amid rumors that Rodrigues’ mentor (Liam Neeson) has abandoned the Church.
Once aiming for a Cannes debut, rumors suggest that likely won’t be happening, but a new report from Screen Daily suggests Paramount will release it this November, a fitting bow in the heat of awards season. Unlike Scorsese’s last film, The Wolf of Wall Street, the date means he won’t be so down to the wire in the editing room.
As we await the drama, Scorsese has also chimed in to celebrate 100 years of Technicolor, the motion picture process invented in 1916 and then later utilized for a great number of cinematic classics. In...
Once aiming for a Cannes debut, rumors suggest that likely won’t be happening, but a new report from Screen Daily suggests Paramount will release it this November, a fitting bow in the heat of awards season. Unlike Scorsese’s last film, The Wolf of Wall Street, the date means he won’t be so down to the wire in the editing room.
As we await the drama, Scorsese has also chimed in to celebrate 100 years of Technicolor, the motion picture process invented in 1916 and then later utilized for a great number of cinematic classics. In...
- 4/5/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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From Thomas F Wilson in Back To The Future to Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off - when actors play multiple roles...
The dramatic use of actors playing multiple characters is a bold and rather theatrical device that has its ups and downs. It goes at least as far back as Captain Hook being played by the same actor who plays the Darling children's father in stage productions of Peter Pan, a technique largely adopted in film adaptations of the story, too (hello to Jason Isaacs).
It's used a lot in cinema too. Done well, it's impressive, but when it's bad, it's Jack & Jill. Whether used in comedy or drama or outright horror, there are countless examples of actors delivering terrific performances in more than one role at once, and that's before we even get past Cloud Atlas. Still, we've had a go at totting up 25 of the best.
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From Thomas F Wilson in Back To The Future to Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off - when actors play multiple roles...
The dramatic use of actors playing multiple characters is a bold and rather theatrical device that has its ups and downs. It goes at least as far back as Captain Hook being played by the same actor who plays the Darling children's father in stage productions of Peter Pan, a technique largely adopted in film adaptations of the story, too (hello to Jason Isaacs).
It's used a lot in cinema too. Done well, it's impressive, but when it's bad, it's Jack & Jill. Whether used in comedy or drama or outright horror, there are countless examples of actors delivering terrific performances in more than one role at once, and that's before we even get past Cloud Atlas. Still, we've had a go at totting up 25 of the best.
- 11/5/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Patrick Macnee as John Steed
Patrick Macnee, who was much loved for his role as John Steed in The Avengers and also enjoyed a successful film career, has died at his home in California at the age of 93.
Born into a wealthy English family, Macnee studied at Eton until he was expelled for selling pornography, went on to serve in the Royal Navy and then travelled to Canada to try his hand at acting, launching a career that would last until his retirement 12 years ago.
Following an early appearance in The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, he went on to deliver notable performances in films including The Howling, Waxwork, A View To A Kill and This Is Spinal Tap. He lent his vocal talents to Battlestar Galactica and challenged Columbo. Alongside the Avengers, he appeared in other classic TV series like Rawhide and Magnum Pi. He played both Sherlock Holmes and Doctor.
Patrick Macnee, who was much loved for his role as John Steed in The Avengers and also enjoyed a successful film career, has died at his home in California at the age of 93.
Born into a wealthy English family, Macnee studied at Eton until he was expelled for selling pornography, went on to serve in the Royal Navy and then travelled to Canada to try his hand at acting, launching a career that would last until his retirement 12 years ago.
Following an early appearance in The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, he went on to deliver notable performances in films including The Howling, Waxwork, A View To A Kill and This Is Spinal Tap. He lent his vocal talents to Battlestar Galactica and challenged Columbo. Alongside the Avengers, he appeared in other classic TV series like Rawhide and Magnum Pi. He played both Sherlock Holmes and Doctor.
- 6/25/2015
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
(Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1951; Studio Canal, U)
One of the great experiences of British cinema in the mid-20th century was to sit in the stalls as the curtain drew aside and an arrow hit a bull’s-eye on a target, announcing a film by the Archers, the team of British director Michael Powell and Hungarian émigré screenwriter Emeric Pressburger. They took a joint credit as “writer, director and producer”. This logo presaged a wartime movie such as 49th Parallel or The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, which took a subtler, more humane view of the conflict than the usual black-and-white propaganda, or it proffered a thoughtful view of a possible postwar world the way A Canterbury Tale and A Matter of Life and Death did.
In the 1940s and 50s, the Archers stood apart from the prevailing social realism of that period in their feeling for the mystery of the landscape,...
One of the great experiences of British cinema in the mid-20th century was to sit in the stalls as the curtain drew aside and an arrow hit a bull’s-eye on a target, announcing a film by the Archers, the team of British director Michael Powell and Hungarian émigré screenwriter Emeric Pressburger. They took a joint credit as “writer, director and producer”. This logo presaged a wartime movie such as 49th Parallel or The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, which took a subtler, more humane view of the conflict than the usual black-and-white propaganda, or it proffered a thoughtful view of a possible postwar world the way A Canterbury Tale and A Matter of Life and Death did.
In the 1940s and 50s, the Archers stood apart from the prevailing social realism of that period in their feeling for the mystery of the landscape,...
- 6/21/2015
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Part I. Anger, Suez and Archie Rice
“There they are,” George Devine told John Osborne, surveying The Entertainer‘s opening night audience. “All waiting for you…Same old pack of c***s, fashionable assholes. Just more of them than usual.” The Royal Court had arrived: no longer outcasts, they were London’s main attraction.
Look Back in Anger vindicated Devine’s model of a writer’s-based theater. Osborne’s success attracted a host of dramatists to Sloane Square. There’s Shelagh Delaney, whose A Taste of Honey featured a working-class girl pregnant from an interracial dalliance; Harold Pinter’s The Room, a bizarre “comedy of menace”; and John Arden’s Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, which aimed a Gatling gun at its audience. Devine encouraged them, however bold or experimental. “You always knew he was on the writer’s side,” Osborne said.
Peter O’Toole called the Royal Court actors “an...
“There they are,” George Devine told John Osborne, surveying The Entertainer‘s opening night audience. “All waiting for you…Same old pack of c***s, fashionable assholes. Just more of them than usual.” The Royal Court had arrived: no longer outcasts, they were London’s main attraction.
Look Back in Anger vindicated Devine’s model of a writer’s-based theater. Osborne’s success attracted a host of dramatists to Sloane Square. There’s Shelagh Delaney, whose A Taste of Honey featured a working-class girl pregnant from an interracial dalliance; Harold Pinter’s The Room, a bizarre “comedy of menace”; and John Arden’s Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, which aimed a Gatling gun at its audience. Devine encouraged them, however bold or experimental. “You always knew he was on the writer’s side,” Osborne said.
Peter O’Toole called the Royal Court actors “an...
- 3/13/2015
- by Christopher Saunders
- SoundOnSight
Editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who has collected three Oscars (“The Aviator,” “Raging Bull” and “The Departed") shares with Martin Scorsese, her collaborator on 22 movies over three decades, an infectious enthusiasm for the movies she loves. Last week I got on the phone with her in Taiwan, which Ang Lee suggested to Scorsese as a location for shooting “Silence,” which is set in 17th century Japan. They’ve been shooting for almost a month. I told her that when I was working for editor Richard Corliss at Film Comment Magazine in the early 80s, British director Michael Powell submitted via mail his typed Guilty Pleasures manuscript. “Marty probably put him up to that,” Schoonmaker said. I adore Powell and his writer-producer partner Emeric Pressburger’s output in the 40s and 50s, from the stunning color masterpieces “The Red Shoes,” “Black Narcissus,” and “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” to the black-and-white...
- 3/9/2015
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Chicago – The old fashioned paranoid thriller lives, with the release of ‘Black Sea,’ a submarine movie that combines elements of the silent running of those underwater tin cans with the motivation of finding treasure – in this case Nazi gold – that has been buried where it sunk 70 years ago. The director of this film, Kevin Macdonald, creates a nail biting tension in the will-they-or-won’t-they survival mode of the British and Russian members of the submarine’s crew, led by Captain Robinson (Jude Law).
The Scotland-born Macdonald began his career as a notable documentary maker, winning an Oscar for his documentary “One Day in September” (1999), about the raid by Palestinian terrorists of the 1972 Munich Olympics. But he has also spun some Oscar gold in the narrative category, as Forest Whitaker won Best Actor for the Macdonald directed “The Last King of Scotland.” He continued to produce both features (“State of Play,...
The Scotland-born Macdonald began his career as a notable documentary maker, winning an Oscar for his documentary “One Day in September” (1999), about the raid by Palestinian terrorists of the 1972 Munich Olympics. But he has also spun some Oscar gold in the narrative category, as Forest Whitaker won Best Actor for the Macdonald directed “The Last King of Scotland.” He continued to produce both features (“State of Play,...
- 1/30/2015
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Best British movies of all time? (Image: a young Michael Caine in 'Get Carter') Ten years ago, Get Carter, starring Michael Caine as a dangerous-looking London gangster (see photo above), was selected as the United Kingdom's very best movie of all time according to 25 British film critics polled by Total Film magazine. To say that Mike Hodges' 1971 thriller was a surprising choice would be an understatement. I mean, not a David Lean epic or an early Alfred Hitchcock thriller? What a difference ten years make. On Total Film's 2014 list, published last May, Get Carter was no. 44 among the magazine's Top 50 best British movies of all time. How could that be? Well, first of all, people would be very naive if they took such lists seriously, whether we're talking Total Film, the British Film Institute, or, to keep things British, Sight & Sound magazine. Second, whereas Total Film's 2004 list was the result of a 25-critic consensus,...
- 10/12/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cinematography festival to present retrospective on the innovative British film-making duo, attended by Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Camerimage (Nov 15-22) is to host a special retrospective around the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
The film festival that celebrates cinematography, held in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, will be attended by Powell’s wife and three-time Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker as well as film scholars and Powell-Pressburger experts Erich Sargeant and Ian Christie.
Films of the due set to be screened at Camerimage include:
The Edge Of The World; 1937; cin. Monty Berman, Skeets Kelly, Ernest Palmer
One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing; 1942; cin. Ronald Neame
The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp; 1943; cin. Georges Périnal
A Canterbury Tale; 1944; cin. Erwin Hillier
‘I Know Where I’m Going!’; 1945; cin. Erwin Hillier
A Matter Of Life And Death; 1946; cin. Jack Cardiff
Black Narcissus; 1947; cin. Jack Cardiff
The Red Shoes; 1948; cin. Jack Cardiff
[link...
Camerimage (Nov 15-22) is to host a special retrospective around the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
The film festival that celebrates cinematography, held in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, will be attended by Powell’s wife and three-time Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker as well as film scholars and Powell-Pressburger experts Erich Sargeant and Ian Christie.
Films of the due set to be screened at Camerimage include:
The Edge Of The World; 1937; cin. Monty Berman, Skeets Kelly, Ernest Palmer
One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing; 1942; cin. Ronald Neame
The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp; 1943; cin. Georges Périnal
A Canterbury Tale; 1944; cin. Erwin Hillier
‘I Know Where I’m Going!’; 1945; cin. Erwin Hillier
A Matter Of Life And Death; 1946; cin. Jack Cardiff
Black Narcissus; 1947; cin. Jack Cardiff
The Red Shoes; 1948; cin. Jack Cardiff
[link...
- 10/3/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Thelma Schoonmaker was at the Venice Film Festival today to accept the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. She was also on the Lido to present a restored version of her late husband Michael Powell’s The Tales Of Hoffman. I sat down with Martin Scorsese‘s longtime Oscar-winning editor for a chat this morning overlooking a raging Adriatic Sea. Our conversation ranged from two of the most important men in her life, to the controversy surrounding The Wolf Of Wall Street, the ways digital editing is changing the business, and getting ready for Scorsese’s passion project Silence.
Schoonmaker, who first edited a Scorsese film with Who’s That Knocking At My Door in 1967, and has cut each of his movies since Raging Bull, also works with the director to see Powell’s films restored and the word spread about the helmer of such classics as The Red Shoes, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp...
Schoonmaker, who first edited a Scorsese film with Who’s That Knocking At My Door in 1967, and has cut each of his movies since Raging Bull, also works with the director to see Powell’s films restored and the word spread about the helmer of such classics as The Red Shoes, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp...
- 9/2/2014
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline
Throughout the summer, an admin on the r/movies subreddit has been leading Reddit users in a poll of the best movies from every year for the last 100 years called 100 Years of Yearly Cinema. The poll concluded three days ago, and the list of every movie from 1914 to 2013 has been published today.
Users were asked to nominate films from a given year and up-vote their favorite nominees. The full list includes the outright winner along with the first two runners-up from each year. The list is mostly a predictable assortment of IMDb favorites and certified classics, but a few surprise gems have also risen to the top of the crust, including the early experimental documentary Man With a Movie Camera in 1929, Abel Gance’s J’Accuse! in 1919, the Fred Astaire film Top Hat over Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps in 1935, and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing over John Ford’s...
Users were asked to nominate films from a given year and up-vote their favorite nominees. The full list includes the outright winner along with the first two runners-up from each year. The list is mostly a predictable assortment of IMDb favorites and certified classics, but a few surprise gems have also risen to the top of the crust, including the early experimental documentary Man With a Movie Camera in 1929, Abel Gance’s J’Accuse! in 1919, the Fred Astaire film Top Hat over Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps in 1935, and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing over John Ford’s...
- 9/2/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Bill Hader has come a long way since his stint on Saturday Night Live, creating many popular characters and impersonations such as Stefon, Vincent Price and CNN’s Jack Cafferty. He is one of the highlights in such films as Adventureland, Knocked Up, Superbad and Pineapple Express, and so it is easy to see why author Mike Sacks interviewed him for his new book Poking A Dead Frog. In it, Hader talks about his career and he also lists 200 essential movies every comedy writer should see. Xo Jane recently published the list for those of us who haven’t had a chance to read the book yet. There are a ton of great recommendations and plenty I haven’t yet seen, but sadly my favourite comedy of all time isn’t mentioned. That would be Some Like It Hot. Still, it really is a great list with a mix of old and new.
- 8/28/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
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