P&P: A New Convert Testifies

[Dave Rattigan]

A while ago I started a thread about Powell and Pressburger, and how I'd just never been able to get into their films.

I am pleased to be able to say that, about nine months after buying the P&P set from HMV, I have finally seen the light.

In the last month or so I've watched A Matter of Life and Death, A Canterbury Tale, Ill Met by Moonlight and The Red Shoes.

Up until last night, A Canterbury Tale was my favourite, but it's just been pipped to the post by the wonderful The Red Shoes. I was really bowled over by it. Those sets! That music! Anton Walbrook's commanding performance! The heartbreaking final ballet!

There's something about Powell and Pressburger and the world they create. It's a fantasy world, full of magical touches, even when it's firmly set in the "real world".

[stevie boy]

There is a chap on here called Crook or something like that, he is quite keen on these films

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by stevie boy There is a chap on here called Crook or something like that, he is quite keen on these films

Something like that

Steve

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by Dave Rattigan A while ago I started a thread about Powell and Pressburger, and how I'd just never been able to get into their films. I am pleased to be able to say that, about nine months after buying the P&P set from HMV, I have finally seen the light. In the last month or so I've watched A Matter of Life and Death, A Canterbury Tale, Ill Met by Moonlight and The Red Shoes. Up until last night, A Canterbury Tale was my favourite, but it's just been pipped to the post by the wonderful The Red Shoes. I was really bowled over by it. Those sets! That music! Anton Walbrook's commanding performance! The heartbreaking final ballet! There's something about Powell and Pressburger and the world they create. It's a fantasy world, full of magical touches, even when it's firmly set in the "real world".

I'm glad to hear it, another toxophile (lover of things to do with The Archers). There are quite a lot on this board already of course and there are even more, more dedicated ones, in the PaPAS email list.

In a way I'm quite jealous. There's nothing quite like that first discovery. Although you'll find that they do stand repeated viewings more than almost any other films. But now that you've seen them on DVD you will probably want to see them as they were made to be seen, projected onto a big screen. No matter how big your TV screen is it probably isn't as big as a full cinema screen and there's nothing like seeing them when they fill your field of vision so that you can really get absorbed into their wonderful, slightly strange, magical world.

Which DVD boxed set did you get? The original HMV white box of 9 DVDs? Or the later ITV black box (also on sale in HMV) of 11 DVDs? The black box set also includes Black Narcissus which is another marvel of the Technicolor art designed by Alfred Junge and filmed by Jack Cardiff and The Tales of Hoffmann which is a sumptuous filmic opera. Like The Red Shoes isn't just a film of a staged ballet but lets you get into the mind of the dancers and uses tricks and techniques that couldn't be done on stage (like Vicky jumping into the shoes), so ToH is much more than a film of a staged opera. In fact only the third act is close to pure opera.

Steve

[Dave Rattigan]

It's the original white box set I have. Some of the transfers are a bit naff (A Canterbury Tale and A Matter of Life and Death are particularly lacking in some parts), but the picture on The Red Shoes was glorious.

I read about the Canterbury Cathedral showing of A Canterbury Tale with great envy!

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by Dave Rattigan It's the original white box set I have. Some of the transfers are a bit naff (A Canterbury Tale and A Matter of Life and Death are particularly lacking in some parts), but the picture on The Red Shoes was glorious. I read about the Canterbury Cathedral showing of A Canterbury Tale with great envy!

There are better versions of some of those films on DVD if you get them as individual DVDs and quite a few of them have restored prints that are used at screenings.

The screening in the cathedral was very special, a wonderful, magical event. But there are many such events that I've been fortunate enough to be involved in since my fascination with P&P started.

Then there are all the films that weren't part of the boxed set. Not only BN and ToH that are part of the ITV set but not the HMV set but also gems like The Edge of the World, The Spy in Black, Contraband, The Thief of Bagdad, One of Our Aircraft is Missing, The Small Back Room, Gone to Earth, The Elusive Pimpernel, Oh... Rosalinda!!, Peeping Tom and Age of Consent.

Of course not all of those quite manage to hit the heights managed by TRS but they are all well worth seeing. By anyone else they'd probably be considered as masterpieces (yes, even The Elusive Pimpernel) but P&P set the bar so high with films like Blimp, AMOLAD & TRS that even they found it hard to reach that standard with every film they made.

Steve

[Fellwanderer]

Originally Posted by Dave Rattigan A while ago I started a thread about Powell and Pressburger, and how I'd just never been able to get into their films. I am pleased to be able to say that, about nine months after buying the P&P set from HMV, I have finally seen the light. In the last month or so I've watched A Matter of Life and Death, A Canterbury Tale, Ill Met by Moonlight and The Red Shoes. Up until last night, A Canterbury Tale was my favourite, but it's just been pipped to the post by the wonderful The Red Shoes. I was really bowled over by it. Those sets! That music! Anton Walbrook's commanding performance! The heartbreaking final ballet! There's something about Powell and Pressburger and the world they create. It's a fantasy world, full of magical touches, even when it's firmly set in the "real world".

Glad you were converted.

I was, too, after first coming to this site. My preference had been for the Ealing output but I'm hooked on P&P.

No doubt as to my favourite - A Canterbury Tale

[stevie boy]

Originally Posted by Fellwanderer Glad you were converted. I was, too, after first coming to this site. My preference had been for the Ealing output but I'm hooked on P&P. No doubt as to my favourite - A Canterbury Tale

What I find amazing about their body of work, is the sum total of quality. Locations,acting,dialogue,Camera Work,Lighting. Every time I see one of their films I discover something else.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by stevie boy What I find amazing about their body of work, is the sum total of quality. Locations,acting,dialogue,Camera Work,Lighting. Every time I see one of their films I discover something else.

And what a body of work. About 20 films together in as many years and those 10 or so films they made at their peak which are all world class.

And it was the whole team, not just Powell & Pressburger themselves. They had a stable of regular actors but they also tended to work with the same crew members again and again. And those crew members were all the very best available.

It was a real team, although Powell (and Pressburger of course) had the ultimate say in how the final film was made, if anyone had a suggestion they were usually listened to. It might be an idea for an extra scene or a change to an existing scene then these were often incorporated. And if something wasn't working as well as they hoped then they were quite willing to change it or even drop it. The final film is often quite different even from the "final shooting script" in the BFI archives.

Because Emeric was involved all the way through, and was often on the studio floor as they filmed it or just a phone call away, he could make sure that any late changes were fitted into the story seamlessly.

And of course Emeric was so much more than "just" a screenwriter. Most of those 10 or so films they made at their peak were his original stories. He acted as a producer, mainly to sooth feathers ruffled by Powell's sometimes abrasive nature. And Emeric was usually involved in the editing as well. Especially of the music because he was a musician himself.

Most screenwriters just have to write their script and hand it over. Then the director changes some of it, so do the producers and the actors and the writer is lucky if 30% of what finishes up on screen is like their original screenplay. Because Emeric was so involved all the way through the process he said that it was more like 70% of his original work that finished up on screen.

Steve

[stevie boy]

Thanks for that Steve, I think the key word there is team. It must have been an absolute joy to work on these films and everything seemed to gell so well. What was your start point as a fan of P&P. For me it was The Small Back Room that got me into these guys. Funnily enough though it was only last year that I sat down and watched A Canterbury Tale and that currently is my favourite P&P film.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by stevie boy Thanks for that Steve, I think the key word there is team. It must have been an absolute joy to work on these films and everything seemed to gell so well. What was your start point as a fan of P&P. For me it was The Small Back Room that got me into these guys. Funnily enough though it was only last year that I sat down and watched A Canterbury Tale and that currently is my favourite P&P film.

Well AMOLAD has always been my favourite film. From the first time I saw it, it just blew me away. It's beautifully made, has wonderful special effects and contains just about everything I love in a good film. Philosophy, art, poetry, religion, comedy, science, drama, history, romance, and most of all, intelligence.

Over the years I've seen it countless times and it never fails to move me to tears. Not because it's sad by any means, they are tears of joy from the upwelling of emotion because it's all so beautiful and so wonderful.

But for their work as a whole, it was a gradual dawning. I had always liked British films of the 1940s and 50s and it took a while for me to realise that a lot of my favourite films all started with that same arrow in the target. Apart from that, they were so different in subject and style I never realised that they were all made by the same people.

It must have been amazing to work with and for them. They really were masters of all they surveyed. For 49th Parallel they had a whole country including its government at their beck and call. For Blimp they defied the most powerful person in the land - and got away with it. For A Canterbury Tale they rebuilt Canterbury cathedral in the studio. For Black Narcissus they rebuilt the Himalayas in the studio. For The Red Shoes they created their own ballet company. For The Battle of the River Plate they had the whole Mediterranean fleet to play with. They really didn't know the meaning of the word "restraint"

But they were helped hugely by being the right people in the right place at the right time. At no other time in the history of film-making have people been given so much freedom to do whatever they wanted with the money and facilities that they had. Scorsese (their number 1 fan) once described them as "experimental film-makers working inside a totally commercial system"

Steve

[stevie boy]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook Well AMOLAD has always been my favourite film. From the first time I saw it, it just blew me away. It's beautifully made, has wonderful special effects and contains just about everything I love in a good film. Philosophy, art, poetry, religion, comedy, science, drama, history, romance, and most of all, intelligence. Over the years I've seen it countless times and it never fails to move me to tears. Not because it's sad by any means, they are tears of joy from the upwelling of emotion because it's all so beautiful and so wonderful. But for their work as a whole, it was a gradual dawning. I had always liked British films of the 1940s and 50s and it took a while for me to realise that a lot of my favourite films all started with that same arrow in the target. Apart from that, they were so different in subject and style I never realised that they were all made by the same people. It must have been amazing to work with and for them. They really were masters of all they surveyed. For 49th Parallel they had a whole country including its government at their beck and call. For Blimp they defied the most powerful person in the land - and got away with it. For A Canterbury Tale they rebuilt Canterbury cathedral in the studio. For Black Narcissus they rebuilt the Himalayas in the studio. For The Red Shoes they created their own ballet company. For The Battle of the River Plate they had the whole Mediterranean fleet to play with. They really didn't know the meaning of the word "restraint" But they were helped hugely by being the right people in the right place at the right time. At no other time in the history of film-making have people been given so much freedom to do whatever they wanted with the money and facilities that they had. Scorsese (their number 1 fan) once described them as "experimental film-makers working inside a totally commercial system" Steve

Steve, Scorsese may be a big fan, but you are number 1, no question.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by stevie boy Steve, Scorsese may be a big fan, but you are number 1, no question.

Oh no, I bow to him, for that and all the usual reasons. You might think I'm obsessed but I still run a close second to him. I do what I can but he can and does do a lot more.

Some time ago, actually back in 2003, our email group held a "not the Oscars" vote for the best in various categories to do with P&P films. We called them the Golden Arrow Awards

There were some great categories suggested like "Best Villain or Villainess", "Best Chemistry" etc.

One of the categories was for an "Honorary award for distinguished service to The Archers". The nominees were myself, Ian Christie, Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese & Paul Tritton. After 54 votes, Marty beat me by 1 vote and I graciously acknowledged his deserved victory. He was delighted when we told him

Steve

[Fellwanderer]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook Oh no, I bow to him, for that and all the usual reasons. You might think I'm obsessed but I still run a close second to him. I do what I can but he can and does do a lot more. Steve

Nah - you're not obsessed!

On the other hand, I am

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by Fellwanderer Nah - you're not obsessed! On the other hand, I am

I often tell people that as obsessions go, at least it's fairly harmless - except to the pocket

Steve