Powell and Pressburger

[pvitari]

What, no thread for "The Archers" (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)? Surely there are many fans here of their unique brand of drama and romance.

OK, I confess, I'm starting this thread just to say I screencapped A Matter of Life and Death and the screencaps are now up at the usual place, http://www.paulasmoviepage.shutterfly.com.

Also, that I worship Roger Livesey and Anton Walbrook (though Walbrook sadly is not in AMOLAD).

If there is a P&P thread somewhere, I missed it during my search -- we can just close down this thread and move the conversation to the original thread.

[klondike]

What, no thread for "The Archers" (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)? Surely there are many fans here of their unique brand of drama and romance.

Trust me, PV, you can't swing even a tiny toy cat here @ SSO without hitting a half-dozen P&P fanatics, perhaps chief among 'em being Ms. Moira & my own self!
And if somewhere in our tenure there really hasn't been a specifically titled Powell & Pressburger thread, there have been plenty dedicated to their individual movies (I rate I Know Where I'm Going as my all-time #2 fave!), in addition to mere references to the Archers being enough to snowball into hijacking enitre threads that started out elsewhere!
So throw another long on the fire, and let's all get down & chat & chatter!

[pvitari]

I Know Where I'm Going! is my number one most romantic movie of all time. The magic of the music, the celidh, the Scottish isles, Roger Livesey, the fog, the light, the whirlpool, the castle of Moy, the idea that life has something different in store for you than the destiny you're quite sure lies ahead of you -- there's a power to this film that really can't be expressed in words.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is probably my overall most favorite P&P movie and I may get around to screencapping it one of these days, though I hear there's a restoration being done so I'm waiting for that.

Steve Crook, the headmaster of the P&P yahoo list and the Powell-Pressburger.org site, argues with me that AMOLAD is the most romantic movie of all time, and I have to admit, that amazing "meet on the radio while Peter Carter is going down in flames" scene plus the encounter on the beach, and then the scene on the escalator at the end adds up to some powerfully romantic movie-making, but for me nothing beats Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey reuniting in the castle of Moy at the end of IKIWG.

On September 24-26, 2004, I attended the "The Magic of Humanity" P&P film festival organized by P&P fan Malcolm Pratt in Memphis, Tennessee. Yes, Memphis of all places for a P&P retrospective! A glorious weekend of watching P&P films in gorgeous 35mm prints. We saw The Red Shoes, Blimp, AMOLAD, Black Narcissus, IKWIG, and The Tales of Hoffman. Thelma Schoonmaker Powell attended and I actually got to talk to her for a moment, though I have absolutely no memory of what was said. :)

Here's an article about that conference:

http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/mes ... id=1115110

Malcolm had a beautiful poster made for that conference. It's framed and hanging on the wall -- I should take a picture to post here. :)

But for now, two AMOLAD screencaps of our lovers. :)





I could happily spend all day picking out favorite shots from this movie. :) The beach, the close-ups, the heavens, the amazing blue eyes of David Niven... :)

The gentle irony that P&P bring to their movies -- the way they love humanity's foibles and frailties -- is one of the main reasons I love their films so much. I love how there are no typical "villains" - - the struggle is with oneself most of all. And I love the gosh-darn, jaw-dropping sheer BEAUTY of the visuals. (Thank you Georges Perinal, Jack Cardiff and everyone involved in that aspect!)

[charliechaplinfan]

It's so difficult to chose, so many favorites, I've always been terribly fond of The Black Narcissus, quickly followed by A Matter of Life and Death and then Colonel Blimp. I Know Where I'm Going has a slightly different feeling for me but special nonetheless. What a good idea to start a thread. The Red Shoes stands out on it's own. I'm looking forward to reading what others have to say.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Lot's of P&P fans here who would chomp at the bit to discuss some of these great films in depth (Just ask Mr. ChiO about Peeping Tom....).

I love most of their work, but standout favorites would include:
Edge of the World (1937)
The Small Back Room (1948)
Black Narcissus (1947)
The Life and Death of Col Blimp (1943)
Peeping Tom (1960)
The Red Shoes (1948)

[klondike]

A Canterbury Tale!
Also in my Top 10!
What a magnificent, magnetic, nearly-hypnotic movie! So deceptively quiet and pleasant and come-sit-over-here-why-don't-you!
But . . . Beware! This coy little film has a cobra-like power to turn you deaf to incoming phone-calls & interrupting in-laws, and octopus-like, can draw-in the most mildly-interested of passers-by.

[ChiO]

Of my three favorite Powell movies, one is pre-Pressburger (EDGE OF THE WORLD) and one is post-Pressburger (PEEPING TOM), with A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH being the third. Those are three seemingly very different movies, but each (along with most obviously 49th PARALLEL, ONE OF OUR AIRCRAFT IS MISSING, and A CANTERBURY TALE) is about a journey to find community, self or salvation.

There is no denying that A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH has a beautiful romantic aspect. For my eyes (and heart), however, the most powerful love story in that movie is not between Peter Carter and June (Eros), but between Dr. Reeves and humanity (Agape), represented by Carter and June. Carter and June talk about sacrifice and giving up their lives, but Dr. Reeves does sacrifice and give up his life so that they both can live.

Not that I see any religious theme.

[charliechaplinfan]

I was going to mention Peeping Tom and then remembered that it wasn't a joint venture. I like that one too, I don't think the public appreciated what Powell was trying to achieve, thankfully Peeping Tom has become something of a classic.

[feaito]

Two weeks ago I revisited “Black Narcissus” (1947). I am a huge fan of Powell & Pressburger, so I had to buy the Blu Ray Criterion edition (I already owned the Criterion DVD release) and I do not regret it. Besides it has a documentary on the film and two mini-documentaries featuring Bertrand Tavernier (who’s an admirer of the film and Michael Powell) and I’m not sure if the DVD release includes all of these.

This film is visually awesome, stunning, sumptuous…the color is incredible! Out of this world….For me there’s nothing better than a movie filmed in Technicolor and if behind such a film there is a genius such as Jack Cardiff, one is sure to experience something really unique. One minor quibble: there is a consistent instability in the color throughout the film, which is especially noticeable in scenes involving the nuns (pale faces, white walls, and light colored clothing). It's as if subtle color filters are rapidly appearing and disappearing. I found it distracting.

It’s hard to believe that this feature was not filmed on location in India. Its atmosphere and look are so perfect. Great art direction, cinematography, photography; a masterpiece in all the sense of the word.

The eroticism inherent to the story, the sexual tension between the character played by David Farrar (great!) and the nuns impersonated by the Misses Kerr and Byron is so well conveyed by the actors. The change and the effect that the scenery, the people and the “House of Women” made on the arriving Nuns…Jean Simmons playing so well the sexy, dark, exotic, mischievous, flirtatious Kanchi…just about the same time she played the blond, ethereal Ophelia in Olivier’s “Hamlet”. Tavernier tells that Olivier was very angry with Powell for having chosen such a young, virginal actress as Simmons to play a trollop!!

I can’t recommend enough this film.

[JackFavell]

I just watched Black Narcissus for the first time a month or so ago - I love Jack Cardiff, and and I love Powell and Pressburger for making the color such an integral part of the story. It's creepy, sensual, beautiful, and one gets the feeling that these people really are in another world, a world of thinner air, where all the rules of the game are turned upside down or discarded. The actors are all first rate. After having seen Fanny recently, I was struck by how much better the film could have been if the director had used Cardiff's colors as a way into the story... thank goodness Powell and Pressburger did.

[feaito]

I only can imagine what it would feel like to see this film on the big screen (the nice restored 35 mm print)....a complete awesome experience it would be... DREAMING

[ChiO]

Last night I moderated a discussion of A CANTERBURY TALE at our Church's Lenten Film Series. Of the six films shown over the past two years, it is the second to generate applause when "The End" appears on the screen. And this from a group none of whom (and one is English!) had seen it before. Wait until the third or fourth viewing...I was either laughing or fighting back tears throughout. Powell movies just get better and better.

[JackFavell]

That's the truth! What was the other film to get applause, just out of curiosity?

[feaito]

Wow ChiO how lucky!....Wished I could experience something like that here....I have "A Canterbury Tale", so I'll make a point of watching it ASAP...Powell & Pressbuger are high on my list with David Lean's films from the '40s...BTW I have to see "This Happy Breed" soon too...

[ChiO]

What was the other film to get applause, just out of curiosity?

STARS IN MY CROWN -- twice. It got much applause last year, and I was asked to show it again this year. I did...to much applause.