Blu-ray Review Directors A Few Words About A few words about...™ Made in England -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

What seems like aeons ago, I was sitting at a picnic table at Zoetrope, when an older gentleman sat down directly across from me, and introduced himself as Michael.

It was one of those moments when the hair on the back of one's next rises, as I immediately recognized a filmmaker whose work I'd been watching - and collecting - for decades.

During the next few months we would occasionally dine, during which time I would pepper him with questions about his work. And he kindly answered in detail.

Possibly the first was something I'd always wondered about.

"In the three-strip Technicolor era, what were your dailies? Did you ever see color?"

The answer was "on occasion, we'd see a shot or two, if they wanted to be nice to us. But generally dailies were black and white printed from the magenta negative."

This extraordinary documentary, directed by David Hinton, with aid of numerous cinephiles and lovers of the works of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressbuger, is a two-hour plus love poem to the pair who created some of the most beautiful films ever made, and were seemingly never properly recognized for their efforts until very late in their lives.

Using absolutely majestical footage from their works, Made in England, released here in the Colonies by Kino, is without a doubt one of the finest films ever created about a filmmaker and their work.

No more superlatives.

Just grab a copy.

And for those who may not be attuned to the work of Powell and Pressburger - sit back and be amazed.

If you purchase only one disc this year, this should be the one!

Image

Forensic - 10

NSD - 10

Audio – DTS-HD MA 5.1 - 10

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Worth your attention - 10

Slipcover rating - n/a

Very Highly Recommended

RAH



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[Angelo Colombus]

Have most of their films on disc and will include this one. I wish a box set can be made just like what Criterion did with the Essential Fellini.

 

[Capt D McMars]

I could tell Robert that you have a soft spot for Powell/Pressburger by your page logo. I too grew up with these amazing films, and with this documentary it was like old friends week!!!

 

[Robert Harris]

I could tell Robert that you have a soft spot for Powell/Pressburger by your page logo. I too grew up with these amazing films, and with this documentary it was like old friends week!!!

True!

 

[Glenn__Kenny]

Robert, I remember like it was yesterday, a talk with Jack Cardiff on the occasion of the 1996 publication of his splendid memoir "Magic Hour." During the Q&A you asked if the lavender tinge on all the extant prints of "Black Narcissus" was intentional and Cardiff replied that it certainly was not. That was the single step, I believe, in its restoration journey that yielded the beautiful version we now enjoy. And thank you for!

 

[Robert Harris]

Robert, I remember like it was yesterday, a talk with Jack Cardiff on the occasion of the 1996 publication of his splendid memoir "Magic Hour." During the Q&A you asked if the lavender tinge on all the extant prints of "Black Narcissus" was intentional and Cardiff replied that it certainly was not. That was the single step, I believe, in its restoration journey that yielded the beautiful version we now enjoy. And thank you for!

Glenn,

Welcome to HTF. I’m delighted to find you here. That was a terrific screening. I was sitting with Grover and Jack, after which we went to dinner. Don’t recall anything else.

Apparently, re-prints of Narcissus were problematic.

Was the screening Matter of Life? Or am I misremembering? I believe that was controlled by Columbia, by virtue of an attempted remake by Danny Selznick.

 

[titch]

Robert, I remember like it was yesterday, a talk with Jack Cardiff on the occasion of the 1996 publication of his splendid memoir "Magic Hour." During the Q&A you asked if the lavender tinge on all the extant prints of "Black Narcissus" was intentional and Cardiff replied that it certainly was not. That was the single step, I believe, in its restoration journey that yielded the beautiful version we now enjoy. And thank you for!

Great to see you posting here Glenn - you refer to Robert Harris on your blog

https://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2023/11/inadvertently-black-friday-adjacent-blu-ray4k-ultra-disc-consumer-guide-autumn-2023.html

so I know that you are lurking in the background!

 

[DigniT@DigniT!]

I loved the documentary and have watched it twice now. I wish we could get a reference quality Blu Ray or 4K UHD of THE THIEF OF BAGDHAD. A box set of all fo their films? It's great to have Red Shoes and Peeping Tom in 4K but what about BLACK NARCISSUS, TALES OF HOFFMAN and A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, all among my favorite films. Not unlike the greatest music, repeated exposure reveals more and more to revel in and ponder. Genuine works of sublime artistry

 

[Michel_Hafner]

Loved watching it and really should get the missing UHDs from them. Black Friday is coming...

 

[JoeStemme]

The more accurate title is: The Films of Powell and Pressburger: As Told By Martin Scorsese (the credited Director is David Hinton).
Be that as it may, MADE IN ENGLAND is a fairly thorough overview of filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger who collaborated on a series of films spanning from the late 1930s to the early 1970s (their company was called The Archers). The most famous are THE RED SHOES, BLACK NARCISSUS, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP. There are generous clips from the movies put into context by the ever-present Scorsese. Old filmed interviews as well as personal photos and home movies illustrate their lives and careers – both together and separately. Powell's most known work outside the collaboration were 1940's THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (co-Director) and, most infamously, PEEPING TOM. Many of the excerpts from their films are recently restored, and look smashing.

Scorsese admired their work from afar from an early age, and got to know Powell on a personal level over the Englishman's last twodecades of his life (Scorsese's longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker is Powell's widow). Occasionally, Scorsese stretches the influence of Powell and Pressburger to on his own work with motifs that are cinema staples in general. It's a minor quibble, but it just adds to the impression that this is Martin Scorsese's story as much as it is Powell and Pressburger's.

MADE IN ENGLAND is a solid introduction to Powell and Pressberger's work – now, go see their films!

 

[KeithDA]

I know an aim of this site is to promote the purchase of discs to continue the preservation and production of filmed media, but this film was on BBC2 last night and is available on iplayer for the next 11 months....

 

[Robert Harris]

I know an aim of this site is to promote the purchase of discs to continue the preservation and production of filmed media, but this film was on BBC2 last night and is available on iplayer for the next 11 months....

Which means that limited rights were licensed, and funds flow to the filmmakers.

It’s being seen.

Which in turn, means that P & P films will be licensed and hopefully restored.

 

[Keith Cobby]

It's an excellent documentary, a real labour of love. I had forgotten that The Battle of the River Plate was a P & P film. There is a good German blu ray of this fine VistaVision film, but it's surprising it hasn't been put out by an English language distributor. I've only seen Peeping Tom once but will give it another try. I wonder how much the terrible title affected it's reception.

 

[JoeStemme]

I've only seen Peeping Tom once but will give it another try. I wonder how much the terrible title affected it's reception.

It was more the vehement reviews that sunk it for years. One reviewer said it stunk so bad you could flush it down the sewer and the stench would remain!

 

[Tom Fynan]

I watched the documentary Friday night, and thought it was excellent. It led me to watch my DVD of A Canterbury Tale, which I bought in 2006 and never watched. A luminous movie, both in its cinematography and theme. Wish I had seen it sooner! I Know Where I’m Going is next.

 

[David_B_K]

My wife and I watched the Blu-ray over the weekend. My wife loves these kinds of documentaries because she doesn't read up on all these films as I do and it givers her a good look at the breadth of P&P's work. Unless I missed it, I did not hear a mention of One of Our Aircraft is Missing, which I consider a really good WW2 film of theirs made during the war.

I'd like to see Blu-rays of A Canterbury Tale and I Know Where I'm Going. Canterbury is charming and moving, and I know Where I'm Going is the basic template for about 90% of Hallmark movies.

I only saw Peeping Tom once. I thought it a really good film, but it is the disturbing sort of film I am not likely to revisit. People who saw it in 1960 must have freaked out over it.

I'd love to see O, Rosalinde. I've always been a fan of the opera Die Fledermaus and would love to see how P&P handled it. Plus, it has the ravishing Ludmilla Tcherina as Rosalinde! Of course, it could be a dud like The Elusive Pimpernel. I could not even make it through that movie.

 

[cinefan]

My wife and I watched the Blu-ray over the weekend. My wife loves these kinds of documentaries because she doesn't read up on all these films as I do and it givers her a good look at the breadth of P&P's work. Unless I missed it, I did not hear a mention of One of Our Aircraft is Missing, which I consider a really good WW2 film of theirs made during the war.

Thanks to the Watch TCM app and TCM's programming of many P&P films this month, I watched One of Our Aircraft is Missing for the first time last night. I thought it was excellent, and very moving. Impressive model work in the aerial sequences too.

Pamela Brown, from I Know Where I'm Going is in it, as well as a very young (so young to be pretty much unrecognizable to me) Peter Ustinov. Although Ms. Brown makes a positive impression in her film debut, nothing much in the world of movies can match the impression she makes a few years later in I Know Where I'm Going (IMHO).

 

[Capt D McMars]

I remember seeing "The Red Shoes" as a kid, and loving it and seeing it thru older eyes, I see more than I did as a child. Later Buying and searching for other titles like "Black Narcissi", The Life and Times of Colonel Blimp" or "The Tales of Hoffmann" and "A Canterbury Tale". All offering that full spectrum of color and movement, with a bit of humanity, common to us all. This documentary is a nice introduction to their amazing body of works that they were able to accomplish!!

 

[Glenn__Kenny]

Glenn,

Welcome to HTF. I’m delighted to find you here. That was a terrific screening. I was sitting with Grover and Jack, after which we went to dinner. Don’t recall anything else.

Apparently, re-prints of Narcissus were problematic.

Was the screening Matter of Life? Or am I misremembering? I believe that was controlled by Columbia, by virtue of an attempted remake by Danny Selznick.

Well, when I say I remember it like it was yesterday, I’m recalling the exchange. I don’t recollect what was screened, only that it was an event for Jack’s book, which I (and many others) got signed in the aftermath.

Glenn,

Welcome to HTF. I’m delighted to find you here. That was a terrific screening. I was sitting with Grover and Jack, after which we went to dinner. Don’t recall anything else.

Apparently, re-prints of Narcissus were problematic.

Was the screening Matter of Life? Or am I misremembering? I believe that was controlled by Columbia, by virtue of an attempted remake by Danny Selznick.

While I vividly remember the exchange, I don’t recall what, if anything, was screened. Here’s how the great JC signed my copy of his splendid book, which the event was meant to celebrate:

 

[Robert Harris]

Well, when I say I remember it like it was yesterday, I’m recalling the exchange. I don’t recollect what was screened, only that it was an event for Jack’s book, which I (and many others) got signed in the aftermath.

While I vividly remember the exchange, I don’t recall what, if anything, was screened. Here’s how the great JC signed my copy of his splendid book, which the event was meant to celebrate:

A great evening