I thought the recent thread on John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy provoked some interesting discussion and wondered if it was worthwhile trying to repeat the experience.
With all that in mind I thought I'd start a thread on the film making partnereship between Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
They have several notable movies in their collected works. These are just a few: A Canterbury Tale, Battle Of The River Plate, Black Narcissus, 49th Parallel, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, A Matter Of Life And Death and The Red Shoes.
I think my personal favourite is A Matter Of Life And Death.
David Niven stars as a Lancaster pilot returning from a bombing raid over Germany. His plane is on fire and his surviving crew mmbers have bailed out. His radio operator lies dead at his side. He has no parachute and must make the choice to either burn in the plane or jump. He explains this over the radio to a young american woman who tries desperately to find a way to help him but is left distraught as he signs off and jumps from his burning bomber.
Much to his surprise, he awakens on a beach. He has been washed in by the tide and has, miraculously, survived the fall. Even more miraculously, he is on a beach not far from the home of the American girl. They meet and promptly fall in love.
But there has been an accounting error. Somewhere up above, the numbers just don't add up and an envoy is sent to right the wrong. What follows is a tale of neurological disorder in one world but simply a matter of balancing the books in the other. These questions are fought out to a conclusion that will ultimately decide the fate of these two lovers and it all becomes a matter of life and death.
I would describe this movie as a gentle romantic fantasy comedy but there's so much more to it than this. In amongst all that humour lie the age old questions of life, love and existence. The methods of shooting this movie were not unique but are very effective in enhancing the demarcation between worlds. The earthbound shots are in colour whilst Heaven is in black and white. My own logic would argue that perhaps it should be vice versa but what I can't argue with here is that it works very effectively. I think the first time a movie was shot in both colour and black and white was probably 1939's Wizard Of Oz (please somebody correct me if I'm wrong).
The script, I think, is superb but is a product of its time. The men are all very stiff upper lipped and the women are all: hold me and kiss me dahling! but the movie has a very strong supporting cast to help it along(look out very early on for a bit part from a young Richard Attenborough). There are, in fact, a lot of familiar faces here from that movie making time period. One of my particular favourites is the chiseled Raymond Massey as prosecutor Abraham Farlan (the first American to die by a British bullet in the Americam War Of Independence).
Even when the movie moves into its final stages and becomes a battle of philosphy, freedom and the rights of the individual, it still remains gripping, entertaining and touching.
One of my all-time favourite movies. If you've never seen a Powell and Pressburger film, I can think of no better place to start than this.
With all that in mind I thought I'd start a thread on the film making partnereship between Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
They have several notable movies in their collected works. These are just a few: A Canterbury Tale, Battle Of The River Plate, Black Narcissus, 49th Parallel, The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp, A Matter Of Life And Death and The Red Shoes.
I think my personal favourite is A Matter Of Life And Death.
David Niven stars as a Lancaster pilot returning from a bombing raid over Germany. His plane is on fire and his surviving crew mmbers have bailed out. His radio operator lies dead at his side. He has no parachute and must make the choice to either burn in the plane or jump. He explains this over the radio to a young american woman who tries desperately to find a way to help him but is left distraught as he signs off and jumps from his burning bomber.
Much to his surprise, he awakens on a beach. He has been washed in by the tide and has, miraculously, survived the fall. Even more miraculously, he is on a beach not far from the home of the American girl. They meet and promptly fall in love.
But there has been an accounting error. Somewhere up above, the numbers just don't add up and an envoy is sent to right the wrong. What follows is a tale of neurological disorder in one world but simply a matter of balancing the books in the other. These questions are fought out to a conclusion that will ultimately decide the fate of these two lovers and it all becomes a matter of life and death.
I would describe this movie as a gentle romantic fantasy comedy but there's so much more to it than this. In amongst all that humour lie the age old questions of life, love and existence. The methods of shooting this movie were not unique but are very effective in enhancing the demarcation between worlds. The earthbound shots are in colour whilst Heaven is in black and white. My own logic would argue that perhaps it should be vice versa but what I can't argue with here is that it works very effectively. I think the first time a movie was shot in both colour and black and white was probably 1939's Wizard Of Oz (please somebody correct me if I'm wrong).
The script, I think, is superb but is a product of its time. The men are all very stiff upper lipped and the women are all: hold me and kiss me dahling! but the movie has a very strong supporting cast to help it along(look out very early on for a bit part from a young Richard Attenborough). There are, in fact, a lot of familiar faces here from that movie making time period. One of my particular favourites is the chiseled Raymond Massey as prosecutor Abraham Farlan (the first American to die by a British bullet in the Americam War Of Independence).
Even when the movie moves into its final stages and becomes a battle of philosphy, freedom and the rights of the individual, it still remains gripping, entertaining and touching.
One of my all-time favourite movies. If you've never seen a Powell and Pressburger film, I can think of no better place to start than this.