Notes from Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger
“Time rushes by, love rushes by, life rushes by…”, Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook) in The Red Shoes, 1948
When I attended Il Cinema Ritrovato this summer, there was a section titled A Taste of Powell Before Pressburger, and an unofficial prelude to Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger, a retrospective at BFI Southbank and across the UK between October and December celebrating the filmmaking partnership of Michael Powell (1905-1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988).
I also watched Black Narcissus for the first time in Bologna, on a new 35mm print. But when I found out the retrospective in London will include a screening of Black Narcissus projected from a vintage nitrate print, I knew I had to be there - a once in a lifetime opportunity. There were a few other films by Powell & Pressburger from my wish list that were also screening during that week.
Thelma Schoonmaker presented Black Narcissus, she’s been busy since the summer promoting Powell’s films and this retrospective. Not to mention also promoting the latest film she’s edited, Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese).
Stills from Black Narcissus via FilmGrab:
It was great to be able to watch Black Narcissus again, and the films listed below.
An Airman’s Letter to His Mother (1941, 35mm)
49th Parallel (1941, 35mm)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943, 35mm)
A Canterbury Tale (1944, 35mm)
I Know Where I’m Going! (1945, new restoration)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Black Narcissus (1947, Nitrate 35mm)
The Red Shoes (1948, New 35mm)
Twice Upon a Time (Emeric Pressburger, 1953, new restoration)
These are the films I watched in Bologna in the summer:
Hotel Splendide (Michael Powell, 1932)
The Edge of the World (Michael Powell, 1937)
The Love Test (Michael Powell, 1935)
Black Narcissus (Powell & Pressburger, 1947, new 35mm)
I found their war films prescient and moving, despite them being commissioned by the British Ministry of Information. They very much speak to present times especially when it comes to nationalism, patriotism and the rise of right wing politics in Europe. This piece by Ian Brooks, ‘Rejecting hatred and fear’: why Powell and Pressburger’s weird, confounding films are perfect for our times summarises it well.
The following by Mark Duguid (via Screenonline) is also worth reading if you are not familiar with these films:
In 1941, Powell and Pressburger were invited by the Ministry of Informationto make a propaganda film designed to influence American public opinion into supporting their government's entry into the war. The result, 49th Parallel (1941), was a stirring film about a German U-boat crew stranded in Canada and attempting to reach neutral American soil, which won Pressburger the Oscar for Best Original Story.
"...One of Our Aircraft Is Missing" (1942) celebrated the air force and the Dutch resistance - the latter also the subject of The Silver Fleet (1943), produced by Powell and Pressburger and directed by Vernon Sewell and Gordon Wellesley.
But with The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), their first production as The Archers, the duo found themselves in conflict with the War Office. The film was a subtle but unmistakable critique of Britain's military leaders, implying that they risked a catastrophic defeat by insisting on fighting by 'gentlemen's rules'. Churchill was so incensed by the film that he tried to prevent its release.
They ended the war years with their two most personal films yet, kicking off their most imaginative and captivating period. A Canterbury Tale (1944) was a self-conscious attempt to bring a spiritual dimension to the propaganda message of earlier films, in the form of a feature-length hymn to England, particularly Kent. Strange and haunting, it ended up baffling audiences and critics alike; it was only in the 1970s that the film came to be recognised as one of their very best (it was Pressburger's personal favourite). "I Know Where I'm Going!" was a mystical, anti-materialist love story set, again, in the Scottish islands, with the war a distant backdrop.
A few other standouts:
Anton Walbrook
I left London a new gushing fan.
Trailer - Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger
This was played before each screening and I think it’s one of the best trailers made this year.
Poster - Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger
Everytime I walked by this lightbox, I’d pause to admire it, and praise it if I was with someone.
The juxtaposition of two crucial scenes from two different films - the fall of Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) and transitioning from mental breakdown to derangement (Black Narcissus, 1947), and a teardrop falling on a pink rose marking a transition from life to death (A Matter of Life and Death, 1946).
These two scenes representing madness and sadness look so good together, and even more striking on this lightbox. If there are poster exhibitions or competitions, this one should be included.
Poster Lightbox, Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger, BFI Southbank, London
Photo: Hind Mezaina
Twice Upon a Time (Emeric Pressburger, 1953, new restoration)
I was surprised to hear from James Bell’s introduction of this film that it didn’t do well when it was first released. I wasn’t the only one who walked out wondering why it didn’t do well. It’s so delightful and this new restoration should be screened annually during the holiday season. It is perfect for families to watch together, and only 76 mins long.
The only film Pressburger directed alone was this adaptation of a book by his old collaborator Erich Kästner, about identical twins who are separated as babies when their parents’ divorce. Each grows up unaware of the other’s existence, until by chance they meet on holiday and agree to swap places. A whimsical curio barely released at the time, and all but impossible to see since, it screens on a new digitisation from the negative held at the BFI National Archive.
James Bell
Favourites
Besides Black Narcissus and Twice Upon a Time, I also really liked these films and would like to see them again. I had only seen The Red Shoes once on Mubi, but watching it on the big screen felt a first time viewing.
Exhibition - Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror
In addition to the film retrospective, there was an exhibition in BFI Southbank’s Blue Room, and the first time for an exhibition this size to be held there. I thought they did very good job in terms of exhibition design and presentation, and hope more film related exhibitions can be held there.
…we immerse ourselves in Powell and Pressburger’s mesmerising 1948 production The Red Shoes. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale, it tells the story of a young woman whose desire is to become a leading dancer. Victoria Page (played by prima ballerina Moira Shearer) secures a transformative role at the Ballet Lermontov, that of a girl beguiled by a pair of magic red slippers. Gradually, the boundaries between fact and fiction blur as Page’s life intertwines with the feverish part she dances.
Discover over 100 previously unseen costume and production designs, scripts, behind the scenes photographs and posters, alongside the iconic red ballet shoes featured in the film. The exhibition will also feature personal items owned by Moira Shearer and costumes from Matthew Bourne’s recent ballet adaptation.
Photos below by me.
