Restored

The Small Back Room

+ intro by the BFI Conservation team

A dark and compelling exploration of the psyche of an alcoholic.

  • Director

    Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

  • With

    David Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Jack Hawkins, Leslie Banks

  • UK 1948. 106min

  • Digital 4K

  • A new BFI National Archive restoration

Following a series of Technicolor extravaganzas, Powell and Pressburger turned to a suitably low-key presentation for this Nigel Balchin adaptation, chiming with the darker post-war mood. David Farrar gives perhaps his best performance as the embittered bomb disposal expert driven to drink, while Christopher Challis’ black and white cinematography looks especially stunning in this new restoration – the shadowy, surrealist sequences giving a compelling insight into the mental anguish of the alcoholic.

Restored by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive in association with StudioCanal. Funding provided by The Film Foundation and StudioCanal. Special thanks to Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker for their consultation. Supported by Simon and Harley Hessel.

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

See screenings of Bluebeard’s Castle and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.