• 6 months ago
Made In England The Films of Powell & Pressburger Official trailer - Martin Scorsese’s personal and moving look at two of British cinemas greatest filmmakers.

Martin Scorsese first encountered the films of Powell and Pressburger when he was a child, sitting in front of the family TV. When their famous logo came up on screen, Scorsese says, "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." Scorsese says. "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 - two romantics and idealists, who thrived in the face of adversity during World War II but were eventually brought low by the film industry of the 1950's.

Scorsese celebrates their ability to create "subversive commercial movies" and describes how deeply their films have influenced his own work.
Transcript
00:00Some of the very first moving images that I can remember seeing are from Michael Powell
00:08and Emmerich Pressburger.
00:10I have never met a person who not only understood what I was driving at, but guessed already
00:17half of it before I said it.
00:22They were like experimental filmmakers working within the system.
00:26Do we have a go at each other?
00:28Not really.
00:29In a few hours time, he sees that I was right.
00:37They want to go beyond everyday experiences and communicate what is deep and mysterious
00:42in our lives.
00:43I love you, June.
00:44You're life and I'm leaving you.
00:45You say that because you love her.
00:46I don't love anyone.
00:47And it's something that no other art form can do.
00:56It's pure film.
00:57Everybody happy?
00:58They wanted to hang on to their independence and they suffered because of it.
01:03Why do you think it was so important for you to show somebody dying for their art?
01:08I think because I would do it myself.
01:12And I find it extraordinary that I knew Michael Powell.
01:15He was not only a support, but a guide and that always leads back to those films he made
01:21with Emmerich.
01:22And I was just rejoicing that I was going to work with somebody like this.
01:28What they offer is a vision of love, of longing and loss, hope and expectation of wonder.
01:40I've watched these movies so many times, they become part of my life and a reminder of what
01:50life and art are all about.

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