Film series: Powell & Pressburger: Titans of Technicolor
Arguably the most innovative and influential filmmaking duo of all time, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger produced a remarkable catalogue of 24 films together between 1939 and 1972. Their films — many of which were shot in luminous Technicolor — injected a much-needed sense of imagination and creativity into the British film industry. Though sometimes overlooked by their contemporaries, their visionary work has received renewed attention in recent years, thanks to new digital restorations and the advocacy of director Martin Scorsese, who is a great admirer of their work.
Though Pressburger primarily worked as writer and Powell took on the role of director, their partnership was truly collaborative: their films, produced under the banner of their production company “The Archers”, were almost always credited as “Written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.” Originally from Hungary, Pressburger worked in the film industry in Berlin before he was forced to flee by the rise of the Nazi regime. Powell, on the other hand, got his start producing films for Britain’s “quickie quota”, which required a certain number of films in British cinemas to be of British origin. Whether producing wartime propaganda, epic period romances, or psychological dramas, Powell and Pressburger were restless in their exploration the the expressive potential of the medium.
Our spring series will feature five of their newly-restored Technicolor films. A Matter of Life and Death (1946) is a war drama about a fighter pilot who falls in love with a radio operator just before his plane is shot down but survives due to a clerical error in heaven. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) satirically traces forty years of British military history through the unforgettable character General Clive Candy. Black Narcissus (1947) is a psychological drama about the tribulations of a group of nuns sent to establish a school and hospital in a remote former harem in the Himalayas. The Red Shoes (1948) centers on a star ballerina who becomes torn between her obsession with dancing and her affection for a charming young composer. Finally, Peeping Tom (1960), which was solo directed by Michael Powell, is a chilling and controversial film about a reclusive photographer secretly making a “documentary” of women’s dying expressions.
Our Cornell Cinema series offers only a glimpse, but we can assure you will be swept away into the vast creative worlds imagined by this unforgettable filmmaker duo.
Featuring:
A Matter of Life and Death
(1946, dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)
Friday, January 24, 2025 at 6pm
Friday, January 31, 2025 at 6pm
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
(1943, dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)
Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 5pm
Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 7pm
Black Narcissus
(1947, dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)
Friday, February 28, 2025 at 8:30pm
Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 5pm
The Red Shoes
(1948, dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)
Saturday, March 1, 2025 at 8pm
Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 8pm
Peeping Tom
(1960, dir. Michael Powell)
Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 7pm
Friday, March 21, 2025 at 6pm
