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Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger

Berlinale Special 2024
© 2024 P & P Film Limited & British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Martin Scorsese first encountered the films of Powell and Pressburger as a child, sitting in front of the family TV. When The Archers’ famous logo appeared on screen, Scorsese recalls: “You knew you were in for fantasy, wonder, magic – real film magic.” Now, in this documentary, he tells the story of his lifelong love affair with their movies, including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffmann. “Certain films you simply run all the time and you live with them,” says Scorsese. “As you grow older they grow deeper. I’m not sure how it happens, but it does. For me, that body of work is a wondrous presence, a constant source of energy, and a reminder of what life and art are all about.” Drawing on a rich array of archive material, Scorsese explores in full the collaboration between the Englishman Powell and the Hungarian Pressburger who thrived in the face of adversity during World War II but were eventually brought low by the film industry of the 1950s. Scorsese celebrates the duo’s ability to create “subversive commercial movies” and describes how deeply their films have influenced his own work.
by David Hinton
with Martin Scorsese United Kingdom 2024 English 131’ Colour & Black/White World premiere | Documentary form

With

  • Martin Scorsese (Narrator)

Crew

Director David Hinton
Cinematography Ronan Killeen
Editing Margarida Cartaxo
Music Adrian Johnston
Sound Damian Rodriguez, Todd Maitland
Producers Nick Varley, Matthew Wells
Associate Producer Jamie Muir
Archive Sam Dwyer
Executive Producers Olivia Harrison, Thelma Schoonmaker, Will Clarke, Thomas Hoegh, Martin Scorsese, Claudia Yusef, Eva Yates, Mark Thomas, Charles Cohen

World sales

Altitude Film Sales

http://www.altitudefilmsales.com http://www.altitudefilmsales.com

Produced by

Ten Thousand 86

https://www.tenthousand86.com https://www.tenthousand86.com

Ice Cream Films

http://icecreamfilms.co.uk http://icecreamfilms.co.uk

Photos

David Hinton

© Jamie Muir

The award-winning director spent ten years working on “The South Bank Show” making film profiles of a wide range of artists including Michael Powell, which led to the two becoming friends. A winner of two BAFTA awards for his documentaries, he has also made a diverse array of experimental films and adapted stage plays for the television. He received an Emmy for his dance film Great Performances: Two by Dove while Strange Fish won a Prix Italia. He has also set up a master’s degree course in screendance at the London Contemporary Dance School and has taught dance film workshops around the world.

Filmography (selection)

1986 The South Bank Show: Michael Powell 1988 The South Bank Show: Bertolucci and The Last Emperor 1989 The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind 1993 Strange Fish 1994 Great Performances: Two by Dove · Late Flowering Lust 1995 Dance for the Camera: Touched; short film · Children of the Revolution 2001 Dance for the Camera: Birds; short film 2003 Body of Water: Snow; short film 2006 Art from the Arctic 2008 Nora; short film, co-director: Alla Kovgan 2012 All This Can Happen; co-director: Siobhan Davis 2015 The Running Tongue; collaborative video artwork 2024 Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger; documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2024