Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (2024)
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Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger is a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Martin Scorsese. The feature is directed by David Hinton and features rare archival material from the personal collections of Powell, Pressburger, and Scorsese. Via Deadline
Chaverria, you should try "A Matter of Life and Death," "49th Parallel" and "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp." Alongside the two you mentioned, they round off my personal top five favorites from the Powell/Pressburger team (although there are probably six more that come extremely close).
The one Powell-Pressburger film that remains frustratingly out of reach for most fans in the US is "Oh, Rosalinda...!" - I was lucky enough to get the UK blu-ray when it came out, but now I believe it is OOP.
The one Powell-Pressburger film that remains frustratingly out of reach for most fans in the US is "Oh, Rosalinda...!" - I was lucky enough to get the UK blu-ray when it came out, but now I believe it is OOP.
I've seen the documentary yesterday and it has been an absolute pleasure.
Martin digging in every film, pointing out things that otherwise I would've never catch, explaining the main scenes and the most important script and directorial choices. And also telling anedoctes from his personal relationship with Powell and Pressburger.
That's how a documentary about a filmaker should be done.
What you can learn about movies from just reading about them is pretty limited — an ironic admission from a movie critic, I know. The best way to understand what makes a film or a filmmaker interesting is to submerge yourself in their work, to binge a whole catalog. But when that’s not possible, or if you want more context, a great guide and a well-crafted essay film can be invaluable.
Few such guides could outpace Martin Scorsese, whose narration (often delivered directly to camera) powers “Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger” (in theaters), directed by David Hinton. Scorsese’s World Cinema Project restores movies from underrepresented and forgotten filmmakers from around the world, works that might otherwise be lost to time. Among those were “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” and “The Red Shoes,” two seminal movies from the 1940s by the duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Scorsese has long counted the pair among his greatest influences; their movies pushed the boundaries of color, story and passion.
What makes “Made in England” so compelling is how effortlessly it swings from film analysis to cinema and cultural history to personal narrative. It’s a roughly chronological documentary about the filmmakers, but it’s also the story of personal obsession. For Scorsese, that story started in his own childhood, when he saw rough black-and-white transfers on TV that transfixed him. Later, he became obsessed with the filmmakers’ works, and Powell in particular eventually became a mentor and a friend. He and Scorsese’s longtime editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, were married until Powell died in 1990.
The film works through the history of both men, the origins of their collaboration and the ways their films evolved during and after World War II, particularly as commercial taste shifted. Their experimentations with sound, music and heightened realism are illuminated through “The Red Shoes,” “Colonel Blimp” and films like “Black Narcissus,” “The Tales of Hoffmann,” and the nearly career-killing “Peeping Tom,” all lovingly explored through Scorsese’s viewpoint.
Scorsese has narrated documentaries about film history before (including “A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies” and “My Voyage to Italy”), always with a distinctive angle. And it’s easy to see why. The average viewer — that is to say, someone not quite as obsessed with movies as Scorsese is — pops open the queue on a streamer of choice and starts drowning. There are, quite literally, more movies now than there have ever been, and even a fairly sophisticated viewer can struggle to choose.
“Made in England” is remarkably engaging thanks to Scorsese’s animated commentary and some flourishes, like comparisons between shots from Powell and Pressburger’s films and Scorsese’s. But whether you are lucky enough to attend the summer of Powell and Pressburger in New York’s cinemas, enjoy streaming from home or are just curious about these fascinating filmmakers, the documentary is a personal, vibrant gift.
Bought this blind after having gone through all of Powell's work immediately before.
Scorsese's love for Powell and his work is infectious. I kind of wish there was more focus on the quota quickies period, his influence by and friendship with Hitchcock, as well as any explanation for how The Queen's Guard or The Boy Who Turned Yellow came together considering the domestic reaction to Peeping Tom, but those were obviously not the focus of the documentary.
Very worth checking out for newbies and those who know his work in equal measure.
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Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (2024)
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