Bluebeard’s Castle

Herzog Blaubarts Burg

Powell’s film of Bartók’s magnificent one-act opera is remarkable for its vivid colours and expressionist sets.

  • Director

    Michael Powell

  • With

    Norman Foster, Ana Raquel Satre

  • W Germany 1964. 62min

  • Digital 4K

  • Certificate

    PG

  • English subtitles

Itself an adaptation of Perrault’s account of the French folk tale about a woman discovering the sinister truth about her husband, Bartók’s masterly one-act opera for two singers was filmed by Powell for German television. The recent restoration does full justice to the vivid colours and Hein Heckroth’s extraordinary sets, expressionist reflections of the characters’ inner torment.

Restoration funding provided by the Louis B. Mayer Foundation, the BFI National Archive, and The Film Foundation.

Also available on BFI Player

+ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

  • Director

    Michael Powell

  • W Germany 1955. 13min

  • With

    Sonia Arova, Ballet of the State Opera Hamburg

  • Digital 4K

  • U

Made for German television, Powell’s short – the first ballet film shot in CinemaScope – is an adaptation of Goethe’s poem about chaos mounting in a sorcerer’s workshop during his absence. The director worked with regular collaborators like designer Hein Heckroth, cinematographer Christopher Challis and editor Reginald Mills.

The screening of Bluebeard’s Castle on Wednesday 15 May will be introduced by Alex Prideaux, Marketing and Events Manager – Our Screen Heritage.

See the new release Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger.