Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell + Pressburger
Powell and Pressburger produced a body of work at once daringly subversive, breathtakingly inventive and passionately romantic.
‘‘I’m always thinking about the Powell and Pressburger films when I’m thinking about colour, about creating worlds, and about how to tell a story as exuberantly as possible.’
– Ari Aster
Hailed as quintessentially British, Powell and Pressburger’s often-controversial films in fact emerged from the creative energy sparked when ‘Man of Kent’ Michael Powell combined his dynamic direction with the elegant, incisive writing of Emeric Pressburger, a Jewish Hungarian emigré. And that cross-border collaboration flowed throughout their productions. The Archers was made up of creatives from across Europe – their collective talents taking flight on Powell and Pressburger’s productions. Their corecreative team, The Archers, was made up of individuals from across Europe – their collective talents taking flight on these productions, both in front of and behind the camera.
This second part of this major BFI season explores Powell and Pressburger’s celebrated dance and opera productions, through which they realised their ideal of the ‘composed film’, alongside rarities, newlyremastered early work, and a selection of films focused on individuals with very different – and often troubling – obsessions.
James Bell, Senior Curator of Fiction, BFI National Archive
With thanks to
Previews and events
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror
Our new BFI Southbank exhibition immerses you in Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes.
Espionage: Never Turn Your Back on a Friend + A Free Agent + intro by Dick Fiddy
Two rare TV outings for Michael Powell.
The Red Shoes in the Spotlight
Guests including filmmaker Sally Potter discuss the lasting impact of Powell and Pressburger’s 1948 masterpiece.
Queering Powell + Pressburger + discussion with Zorian Clayton, Sarah Street, Emma Smart and Andrew Moor
A discussion of the impact of Powell and Pressburger’s work on queer culture.
Re-release
I Know Where I’m Going!
Powell and Pressburger’s heady romantic masterpiece has never looked or sounded finer than in this revelatory restoration from the BFI National Archive.
The Red Shoes
Powell and Pressburger’s glorious, emotionally rich and resplendently colourful drama is a paean to the world of dance.
The Red Shoes (35mm)
Powell and Pressburger’s glorious, emotionally rich and resplendently colourful drama is a paean to the world of dance.
BFI IMAX
A Matter of Life and Death
A wartime romance, metaphysical drama and joyous adventure, this is one of Powell and Pressburger’s towering achievements.
Black Narcissus
Rumer Godden’s tempestuous, Himalaya-set convent story is given an electric adaptation in this luscious Technicolor melodrama.
Starved for Technicolor: Fantasy and Spectacle
Vivid colour, dazzling imagery and brilliantly inventive art design in some of Powell and Pressburger’s most visually splendid films, magnificently showcased on the big screen.
A Matter of Life and Death
A wartime romance, metaphysical drama and joyous adventure, this is one of Powell and Pressburger’s towering achievements.
Black Narcissus
Rumer Godden’s tempestuous, Himalaya-set convent story is given an electric adaptation in this luscious Technicolor melodrama.
War Starts at Midnight: Nationalism and Conflict
Sidestepping jingoism and obvious propaganda, Powell and Pressburger’s thrilling war films fascinate for their rare complexity and compassionate humanism.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
This magnificent, multi-faceted war-time drama remains a highpoint of the collaboration between Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Ballet and opera
Film, music and dance are brought together in a gloriously composed fusion, in Powell and Pressburger’s celebrated ballet and opera films.
The Tales of Hoffmann + intro by Andrew Moor
Dazzling, one-of-a-kind feast of music, dance, costume and cinema.
Oh… Rosalinda!!
Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus is transported to a Technicolor post-war Vienna.
Honeymoon
Flamenco, ballet and sweeping Spanish landscapes in Powell’s overlooked dance film.
Bluebeard’s Castle + intro by Lillian Crawford
An intense psychodrama based on the Béla Bartók opera with a libretto by Béla Balázs, alongside Powell’s newly restored ballet short, with designs by Hein Heckroth.
Bluebeard’s Castle
An intense psychodrama based on the Béla Bartók opera with a libretto by Béla Balázs, alongside Powell’s newly restored ballet short, with designs by Hein Heckroth.
‘All this filming isn’t healthy’: Obsessives and outsiders
The experience of isolated individuals is explored across a number of films, from the troubling and disturbing to the lightly comical.
The Small Back Room + intro by Josephine Botting
Dark, compelling exploration of the psyche of the alcoholic.
Peeping Tom + intro by Kiri Bloom Walden
Warped but brilliant tribute to filmmaking that almost ended Powell’s career.
Peeping Tom + Doesn’t Exist magazine launch + panel discussion with film historian Ian Christie, filmmaker Carol Morley and fashion editor John Foley hosted by Victor Fraga
Warped but brilliant tribute to filmmaking that almost ended Powell’s career.
They’re a Weird Mob
Michael Powell’s Australian culture-clash comedy, a huge domestic hit, remains one of his most fascinating outliers.
Age of Consent
Libidinal forces drive internal awakenings against stunning ocean-views en plein air.
Powell before Pressburger
Powell cut his teeth making low-budget films under the British ‘quota’ system from 1931-36. The surviving titles have been remastered by the BFI National Archive.
The Love Test + Something Always Happens
Scheming chemists in laboratory love triangle shock, alongside a Hollywood-inspired romantic comedy about a charming car salesman and a wealthy heiress.
Lazybones + Her Last Affaire
Romantic intrigue and suspected murder – and an uproarious comic double-act.
Crown v. Stevens + Behind the Mask (aka The Man Behind the Mask)
A film noir-ish thriller about a young man drawn into a murder plot.
Pressburger without Powell
A selection of films written by Pressburger while he was a youthful émigré in Germany and France, and several made in Britain without Powell’s involvement.
Wanted for Murder + intro by Simon McCallum
A serial killer stalks post-war London in this underseen noir, co-written by Emeric Pressburger.
Experimenta
Artist film and alternative moving-image culture; works that break with convention.
Michelle Williams Gamaker and Powell + Pressburger + Michelle Williams Gamaker in conversation with Dr Kulraj Phullar
Exploring race, identity, her love of cinema and the power of storytelling, artist Michelle Williams Gamaker disrupts and reimagines Powell and Pressburger’s films.
Projecting the Archive
A rare chance to see rediscovered British features from the BFI National Archive.
The End of the River + intro by film scholar Dr Kulraj Phullar
Former editor Derek N. Twist directs Sabu in this Powell and Pressburger-produced drama.
Talks and courses
Library Talk: The Glass Pearls
A discussion of Emeric Pressburger’s recently re-published 1966 novel.
Seniors
Seniors’ paid matinee: The Red Shoes + intro and Q&A with Adrian Garvey, film historian
Powell and Pressburger’s glorious, emotionally rich and resplendently colourful drama is a paean to the world of dance.
Additional acknowledgments
The restoration of Contraband is supported by Simon and Harley Hessel.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is one of a selection of classic titles presented on brand new 35mm prints, made by the BFI with funding from the National Lottery and the additional support of donors to our Keep Film on Film campaign.
Restored by the Academy Film Archive in association with the BFI, ITV Studios Global Entertainment Ltd., and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by The Material World Charitable Foundation, The Louis B Mayer Foundation, Cinema per Roma Foundation, and The Film Foundation. Supported by Simon and Harley Hessel. Restoration consultants: Martin Scorsese & Thelma Schoonmaker Powell.
The Red Shoes: Beyond the Mirror exhibition has been made possible due to generous support from the BFI Philanthropy Powell & Pressburger Consortium and Old Possum’s Practical Trust.
Additional support has been provided by Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Thriplow Charitable Trust and Idlewild Charitable Trust.
The remastering of Rynox, Hotel Splendide, His Lordship, The Fire Raisers, Red Ensign and The Night of the Party has been supported by Matt Spick and the Charles Skey Charitable Trust.
I Know Where I’m Going! was restored in 2021 by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Additional support provided by Matt Spick.
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