Wee Sonny MacGregor

Steve,

See The Times 5 July 1960 - an article headed "Mr Michael Powell on making horror films" by "our special correspondent". This lengthy article is on page 16 and includes comments by MP on some of the other P & P films.

sonny

Steve Crook

Thanks Sonny, nice article.
It's odd that in the section headed Continental Idea, he is still saying that A Canterbury Tale was Emeric's film and effectively saying that he didn't understand it. 16 years after it was made.

I like the reference in the last paragraph to his next film, "a film in praise of the Brigade of Guards". That was called The Queen's Guards and is a real horror. It's not often screened, for reasons that are obvious to anyone that's seen it. After I saw it I did a review of it

Steve

Wee Sonny MacGregor

Steve,

A couple of points. I was discussing this with a colleague and we thought the comment on CT was very odd. Visually and in lots of other ways it shouts out as an MP film, arguably his most personal film.

Totally agree re The Queen's Guards. It was well publicised when it was released. I saw it when it came out and have had no desire since to see it again. Forgettable. After the furore over Peeping Tom, MP needed a success but didn't get it.

Sonny

Steve Crook

It is obviously an MP film visually. But he apparently (by his own admission) didn't understand what Emeric was trying to do with the story. Not until a long time afterwards.

Because it was filmed in the area where he grew up, Micky was more concerned with trying to capture that area, and some of his childhood memories, on film.

As is usually the case with a P&P film, the pictures are only part of the story, however amazing it may look.

Thelma Schoonmaker says that Micky regarded AMOLAD as his most personal film because it included a lot more of his personal philosophy - and he got to act like a god, controlling both this earth and "the other place". ACT was really more like a way for him to record some of the scenes from his childhood. But that was only a part of the man he became. An important part, he was proud of being a Man of Kent, but only a part.

Similarly, Blimp was Emeric's most personal film. A lot of the things that Theo did (& Clive in the Berlin cafe) were things that Emeric had done.

Steve