It’s not often that a doc about the transformative power of cinema will deliberately use bad clips of the movies it’s talking about, but that’s part of the point of this insightful, sprawling film, corralled by director David Hinton. Though the masterpieces made by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger at the height of their big-screen, Technicolor powers were visually impeccable, their subversive emotional power could still pack a punch through a 16-inch TV screen, even from the most scratched, butchered, and washed-out black-and-white prints.
This is, famously, how the young Martin Scorsese discovered The Archers (as the pairing styled themselves), and in this lengthy discourse he gets to position them both as an influence on his own movies and as unsung heroes in the history of world cinema. Now, there are plenty of people who will immediately say that Powell and Pressburger have actually been sung quite a bit,...
This is, famously, how the young Martin Scorsese discovered The Archers (as the pairing styled themselves), and in this lengthy discourse he gets to position them both as an influence on his own movies and as unsung heroes in the history of world cinema. Now, there are plenty of people who will immediately say that Powell and Pressburger have actually been sung quite a bit,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
It's been a long road, getting from there to here.
One might recall in June of 2023, it was announced that several key executives and programmers at Turner Classic Movies were callously canned by the new management at their parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. For many, this was tantamount to nixing TCM altogether. CEO David Zaslav made this decision at the end of a string of bad decisions that made him look like the film world's most callous villain. After the weird rebranding of HBO Max to merely Max, it was starting to look like Zaslav didn't give a damn about film history.
It certainly looked that way to Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, three lovers of vintage film and advocates for the preservation of classics. The trio famously called Zaslav to appeal for the retaining of TCM and the re-hiring of some of their old staff. A...
One might recall in June of 2023, it was announced that several key executives and programmers at Turner Classic Movies were callously canned by the new management at their parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. For many, this was tantamount to nixing TCM altogether. CEO David Zaslav made this decision at the end of a string of bad decisions that made him look like the film world's most callous villain. After the weird rebranding of HBO Max to merely Max, it was starting to look like Zaslav didn't give a damn about film history.
It certainly looked that way to Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, three lovers of vintage film and advocates for the preservation of classics. The trio famously called Zaslav to appeal for the retaining of TCM and the re-hiring of some of their old staff. A...
- 9/2/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Way back in 2011, long before he was cast in the TV adaptation of Good Omens, actor Michael Sheen (Aziraphale) told MTV that his favourite film was Powell and Pressburger’s 1945 masterpiece A Matter of Life and Death. That was still the case in 2019, as confirmed on social media. For someone currently appearing as an angel, it’s an incredibly appropriate favourite film – and the makers of Good Omens must have been listening, because there are several Easter eggs nodding to the film appearing in the fantasy-comedy’s second season.
An Unusual Origin
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were British film-makers who started a production company called The Archers in 1939, just a few years after Pressburger came to Britain having fled the Nazis. As well as producing, they wrote and directed several very well-known and hugely influential films during the 1940s, including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus,...
An Unusual Origin
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were British film-makers who started a production company called The Archers in 1939, just a few years after Pressburger came to Britain having fled the Nazis. As well as producing, they wrote and directed several very well-known and hugely influential films during the 1940s, including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus,...
- 7/30/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
There is nothing quite like the shades of red in a Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger movie. The color absolutely radiates from the screen in their Technicolor masterpieces, fully immersing us in the passions of the characters. You have the rouge on Kim Hunter's heart-shaped lips in "A Matter of Life and Death," like a premonition of a love so pure and strong it can bring David Niven's dashing airman back from the afterlife. At the other end of the scale, you have the ominous red in the closing scenes of "Black Narcissus," enveloping us in a spurned nun's murderous jealousy.
Then, of course, you have the titular footwear in "The Red Shoes," the film often considered the writer-producer-director duo's greatest work. Along with Jean Renoir's "The River," Powell and Pressburger superfan, Martin Scorsese, considers it to be one of the two most beautiful movies ever shot in color,...
Then, of course, you have the titular footwear in "The Red Shoes," the film often considered the writer-producer-director duo's greatest work. Along with Jean Renoir's "The River," Powell and Pressburger superfan, Martin Scorsese, considers it to be one of the two most beautiful movies ever shot in color,...
- 12/18/2022
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
Welcome to 1968, and a burst of creative direction from one of the greatest film artists of the 20th century, Jack Cardiff. An attempt to make pop star Marianne Faithful into a cinematic sex symbol is an uphill struggle, even with Alain Delon playing opposite. Psychedelic effects are poured over a tale of desire that plays out in tony surroundings and out on the open road. Cardiff had a hand in the script, working for erotic effects. The American release recognized it as exploitation, and slapped on the more direct title ‘Naked Under Leather.’
The Girl on a Motorcycle
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1968 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 91 min. / Naked Under Leather / Street Date December 13, 2022 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Alain Delon, Marianne Faithfull, Roger Mutton, Marius Goring, Jacques Marin.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff, René Guissart Jr.
Art Directors: Jean d’Eaubonne, Russell Hagg
Film Editor: Peter Musgrave
Leather Catsuit designer: John Sutcliffe
Original Music:...
The Girl on a Motorcycle
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1968 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 91 min. / Naked Under Leather / Street Date December 13, 2022 / Available from Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Alain Delon, Marianne Faithfull, Roger Mutton, Marius Goring, Jacques Marin.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff, René Guissart Jr.
Art Directors: Jean d’Eaubonne, Russell Hagg
Film Editor: Peter Musgrave
Leather Catsuit designer: John Sutcliffe
Original Music:...
- 12/13/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Kudos to Powerhouse Indicator for releasing this dramatic propaganda piece based on an actual German churchman imprisoned for refusing to kowtow to the Nazi authorities. It’s a primer on fascist power from early in the war, one of the first features by the Boulting Brothers. Pi’s extras package enlarges our interest ten-fold: the pastor’s objection to the Nazis was grossly misrepresented and the politics of his incarceration were very different. An added bonus are other wartime short subjects by Roy Boulting, from the Imperial War Museum.
Pastor Hall
Region Free Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1940 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 95 min. / Street Date June 27, 2022 / Available from Powerhouse / £15.99
Starring: Wilfrid Lawson, Nova Pilbeam, Seymour Hicks, Marius Goring, Brian Worth, Percy Walsh, Lina Barrie, Eliot Makeham, Hay Petrie, Bernard Miles.
Cinematography: Mutz Greenbaum
Art Director: James Carter
Film Editor: Roy Boulting
Original Music: Charles Brill, Mac Adams
Screen Story and Screenplay by Leslie Arliss,...
Pastor Hall
Region Free Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1940 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 95 min. / Street Date June 27, 2022 / Available from Powerhouse / £15.99
Starring: Wilfrid Lawson, Nova Pilbeam, Seymour Hicks, Marius Goring, Brian Worth, Percy Walsh, Lina Barrie, Eliot Makeham, Hay Petrie, Bernard Miles.
Cinematography: Mutz Greenbaum
Art Director: James Carter
Film Editor: Roy Boulting
Original Music: Charles Brill, Mac Adams
Screen Story and Screenplay by Leslie Arliss,...
- 6/18/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The only sales pitch needed is “The Red Shoes has been encoded in 4K.” Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger’s 1947 masterpiece conquered America as had no previous English film. This is one artsy dance show that captivates nearly everybody: audiences can be counted on to ooh and ahh the film’s dazzling hues, striking dance artistry and endless visual creativity. Cameraman Jack Cardiff took first position as the world master of Technicolor, and Moira Shearer’s dancing is recorded forever, celebrated as with no other ballet artist. Criterion’s 4K remaster includes all the extras of their 2010 restored Blu-ray.
The Red Shoes
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 44
1947 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 133 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 14, 2021 / 49.95
Starring: Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Léonide Massine, Ludmilla Tchérina, Robert Helpmann, Albert Basserman.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Production Design and Costumes: Hein Heckroth
Film Editor: Reginald Mills
Original Music: Brian Easdale
Written,...
The Red Shoes
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 44
1947 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 133 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 14, 2021 / 49.95
Starring: Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Léonide Massine, Ludmilla Tchérina, Robert Helpmann, Albert Basserman.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Production Design and Costumes: Hein Heckroth
Film Editor: Reginald Mills
Original Music: Brian Easdale
Written,...
- 12/18/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Don’t forget, a great impression of simplicity can only be achieved by great agony of body and spirit.”
Michael Powell’s The Red Shoes (1948) will be available as part of the The Criterion Collection on 2-Disc 4K and Blu-ray November 9th
The Red Shoes, the singular fantasia from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is cinema’s quintessential backstage drama, as well as one of the most glorious Technicolor feasts ever concocted for the screen. Moira Shearer is a rising star ballerina torn between an idealistic composer and a ruthless impresario intent on perfection. Featuring outstanding performances, blazingly beautiful cinematography by Jack Cardiff, Oscar-winning sets and music, and an unforgettable, hallucinatory central dance sequence, this beloved classic, dazzlingly restored, stands as an enthralling tribute to the life of the artist.
4K Uhd + Blu-ray Special Edition Features
• 4K digital transfer from the 2009 restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• One...
Michael Powell’s The Red Shoes (1948) will be available as part of the The Criterion Collection on 2-Disc 4K and Blu-ray November 9th
The Red Shoes, the singular fantasia from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is cinema’s quintessential backstage drama, as well as one of the most glorious Technicolor feasts ever concocted for the screen. Moira Shearer is a rising star ballerina torn between an idealistic composer and a ruthless impresario intent on perfection. Featuring outstanding performances, blazingly beautiful cinematography by Jack Cardiff, Oscar-winning sets and music, and an unforgettable, hallucinatory central dance sequence, this beloved classic, dazzlingly restored, stands as an enthralling tribute to the life of the artist.
4K Uhd + Blu-ray Special Edition Features
• 4K digital transfer from the 2009 restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• One...
- 9/20/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman", director Albert Lewin's 1951 drama based on the legend of the 'Flying Dutchman', starring Ava Gardner, James Mason, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim, Harold Warrender, Mario Cabré and Marius Goring, will be released theatrically in a new 4K restoration, February 7, 2020:
"...in 1930, fishermen in the small Spanish port of 'Esperanza' make a grim discovery in their nets, the bodies of a man and a woman.
"The resultant ringing of church bells in the village brings the local police and the resident archaeologist, 'Geoffrey Fielding' (Harold Warrender), to the beach.
"Fielding returns to his villa, and, breaking the 'fourth wall', retells the story of these two people to the audience.
"Esperanza's small group of English expatriates revolves around 'Pandora Reynolds' (Ava Gardner), an American nightclub singer and femme fatale.
"All the men love her (or believe that they do), but Pandora is unable to love anyone. She...
"...in 1930, fishermen in the small Spanish port of 'Esperanza' make a grim discovery in their nets, the bodies of a man and a woman.
"The resultant ringing of church bells in the village brings the local police and the resident archaeologist, 'Geoffrey Fielding' (Harold Warrender), to the beach.
"Fielding returns to his villa, and, breaking the 'fourth wall', retells the story of these two people to the audience.
"Esperanza's small group of English expatriates revolves around 'Pandora Reynolds' (Ava Gardner), an American nightclub singer and femme fatale.
"All the men love her (or believe that they do), but Pandora is unable to love anyone. She...
- 2/6/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman", director Albert Lewin's 1951 Brit Technicolor drama based on the legend of the 'Flying Dutchman', starring Ava Gardner, James Mason, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim, Harold Warrender, Mario Cabré and Marius Goring, will be released theatrically as a 4K restored release February 7, 2020:
"...in 1930, fishermen in the small Spanish port of 'Esperanza' make a grim discovery in their nets, the bodies of a man and a woman. The resultant ringing of church bells in the village brings the local police and the resident archaeologist, 'Geoffrey Fielding' (Harold Warrender), to the beach. Fielding returns to his villa, and, breaking the 'fourth wall', retells the story of these two people to the audience.
"Esperanza's small group of English expatriates revolves around 'Pandora Reynolds' (Ava Gardner), an American nightclub singer and femme fatale. All the men love her (or believe that they do), but Pandora is unable to love anyone.
"...in 1930, fishermen in the small Spanish port of 'Esperanza' make a grim discovery in their nets, the bodies of a man and a woman. The resultant ringing of church bells in the village brings the local police and the resident archaeologist, 'Geoffrey Fielding' (Harold Warrender), to the beach. Fielding returns to his villa, and, breaking the 'fourth wall', retells the story of these two people to the audience.
"Esperanza's small group of English expatriates revolves around 'Pandora Reynolds' (Ava Gardner), an American nightclub singer and femme fatale. All the men love her (or believe that they do), but Pandora is unable to love anyone.
- 1/24/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Stars: Anna Neagle, Trevor Howard, Marius Goring, Peter Ustinov, Bernard Lee, Alfred Schieske, Gilles Quéant, Marianne Walla, Fritz Wendhausen | Written by Warren Chetham Strode | Directed by Herbert Wilcox
World Wars are won on many fronts, and not only the ones that include battle. The war that was raged by the intelligence agencies is one that was secret during the war, but after we got to see the bravery normal people put to push the allied forces to success. This included women who worked in enemy territory as spies. One of the famous ones was the story of Odette.
When the call is made for holiday photographs from France to be sent to the intelligence agencies, Odette (Anna Neagle), a French woman living in France provides some. When the Special Operations Executive contact her, she decides to help them by being flown into Occupied France where she fought for the French resistance.
World Wars are won on many fronts, and not only the ones that include battle. The war that was raged by the intelligence agencies is one that was secret during the war, but after we got to see the bravery normal people put to push the allied forces to success. This included women who worked in enemy territory as spies. One of the famous ones was the story of Odette.
When the call is made for holiday photographs from France to be sent to the intelligence agencies, Odette (Anna Neagle), a French woman living in France provides some. When the Special Operations Executive contact her, she decides to help them by being flown into Occupied France where she fought for the French resistance.
- 7/9/2019
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
The wonder movie of 1946 sees the Archers infusing the ‘Film Blanc’ fantasy with amazing images and powerful emotions. Imagination and resourcefulness accomplishes miracles on a Stairway to Heaven, with visual effects never bettered in the pre-cgi era. Michael Powell’s command of the screen overpowers a soon-obsoleted theme about U.S.- British relations.
A Matter of Life and Death
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 939
1946 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 104 min. / Stairway to Heaven / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 26, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough, Bonar Colleano, Joan Maude.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Film Editor: Reginald Mills
Production Design: Alfred Junge
Original Music: Allan Gray
Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger came into their own making wartime movies, most of which steered far clear of the accepted definition of propaganda. After their Anglo-Dutch...
A Matter of Life and Death
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 939
1946 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 104 min. / Stairway to Heaven / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 26, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough, Bonar Colleano, Joan Maude.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Film Editor: Reginald Mills
Production Design: Alfred Junge
Original Music: Allan Gray
Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger came into their own making wartime movies, most of which steered far clear of the accepted definition of propaganda. After their Anglo-Dutch...
- 7/7/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This strange blend of French série noire and English Brit noir was filmed in glowing Technicolor on location in Holland and Paris. Runaway bookkeeper Claude Rains teams up with the highly fatale Märta Torén, evading the law in pursuit of the good life promised by a valise packed with money. Georges Simenon’s crime tale has an undertaste of Poetic Realist rebelliousness.
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1952 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 82 min. / The Paris Express / Street Date May 29, 2018 / 29.99
Starring: Claude Rains, Märta Torén, Marius Goring, Herbert Lom, Anouk Aimée, Felix Aylmer, Ferdy Mayne, MacDonald Parke, Lucie Mannheim, Eric Pohlmann.
Cinematography: Otto Heller
Film Editor: Vera Campbell, Arthur H. Nadel
Original Music: Benjamin Frankel
From the book by Georges Simenon
Produced by Josef Shaftel, Raymond Stross
Written and Directed by Harold French
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By is from a 1938 novel by Georges Simenon, one of...
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1952 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 82 min. / The Paris Express / Street Date May 29, 2018 / 29.99
Starring: Claude Rains, Märta Torén, Marius Goring, Herbert Lom, Anouk Aimée, Felix Aylmer, Ferdy Mayne, MacDonald Parke, Lucie Mannheim, Eric Pohlmann.
Cinematography: Otto Heller
Film Editor: Vera Campbell, Arthur H. Nadel
Original Music: Benjamin Frankel
From the book by Georges Simenon
Produced by Josef Shaftel, Raymond Stross
Written and Directed by Harold French
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By is from a 1938 novel by Georges Simenon, one of...
- 6/12/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A Matter of Life and Death (aka Stairway to Heaven) (4K restoration) movie review: paradise on Earth
MaryAnn’s quick take… One of the most beloved British films ever is now even more lush, more gorgeous, more humanist in a glorious new restored edition. I’m “biast” (pro): loved the movie before it was restored
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
A Matter of Life and Death, from the legendary writing and directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is one of the most beloved British films ever made. And it’s easy to see why: It’s a deliciously preposterous romance between two gorgeous people whom you cannot help but root for as their love is threatened. It’s a profoundly humanist fantasy about our place in the universe and the importance of living a full life. And it’s a dazzling visual spectacle that is deeply viscerally satisfying even as it deals with big ideas and big emotions.
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
A Matter of Life and Death, from the legendary writing and directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is one of the most beloved British films ever made. And it’s easy to see why: It’s a deliciously preposterous romance between two gorgeous people whom you cannot help but root for as their love is threatened. It’s a profoundly humanist fantasy about our place in the universe and the importance of living a full life. And it’s a dazzling visual spectacle that is deeply viscerally satisfying even as it deals with big ideas and big emotions.
- 12/8/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Rachel Meaden Dec 8, 2017
It’s 71 years old and considered one of the best British films ever made. Rachel takes a look at the wonderful A Matter Of Life And Death.
This article contains spoilers for A Matter Of Life And Death
It never made sense to me that they changed the title of A Matter Of Life And Death for American cinemas (it was thought that Us audiences wouldn’t go and see a film with the word ‘death’ in the title); Stairway To Heaven feels wrong for a couple of reasons. Not to be pedantic but technically it’s an escalator, also it’s never explicitly referred to as 'Heaven' in the movie. But mainly, it's far too imposing a title. Part of the film does explore the afterlife (and it doesn't get much more imposing than that...), but what's so brilliant about A Matter Of Life And Death...
It’s 71 years old and considered one of the best British films ever made. Rachel takes a look at the wonderful A Matter Of Life And Death.
This article contains spoilers for A Matter Of Life And Death
It never made sense to me that they changed the title of A Matter Of Life And Death for American cinemas (it was thought that Us audiences wouldn’t go and see a film with the word ‘death’ in the title); Stairway To Heaven feels wrong for a couple of reasons. Not to be pedantic but technically it’s an escalator, also it’s never explicitly referred to as 'Heaven' in the movie. But mainly, it's far too imposing a title. Part of the film does explore the afterlife (and it doesn't get much more imposing than that...), but what's so brilliant about A Matter Of Life And Death...
- 12/7/2017
- Den of Geek
The Barefoot Contessa
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1954 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 130 min. / Street Date December 13, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Marius Goring, Rossano Brazzi, Valentina Cortese, Elizabeth Sellars, Warren Stevens, Enzo Staiola, Mari Aldon, Bessie Love.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Original Music: Mario Nascimbene
Written, Produced and Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
As a teenager, many of my first and strongest movie impressions came not from the movies, but from certain critics. I memorized Robin Wood’s analysis before getting a look at Hitchcock’s Psycho. Raymond Durgnat introduced me to Georges Franju and Luis Buñuel, and I first learned to appreciate a number of great movies including The Barefoot Contessa from Richard Corliss, a terrific critic who championed writers over director-auteurs.
The Barefoot Contessa is a classically structured story, in that it could work as a novel; it’s told from several points of view.
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1954 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 130 min. / Street Date December 13, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Marius Goring, Rossano Brazzi, Valentina Cortese, Elizabeth Sellars, Warren Stevens, Enzo Staiola, Mari Aldon, Bessie Love.
Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Original Music: Mario Nascimbene
Written, Produced and Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
As a teenager, many of my first and strongest movie impressions came not from the movies, but from certain critics. I memorized Robin Wood’s analysis before getting a look at Hitchcock’s Psycho. Raymond Durgnat introduced me to Georges Franju and Luis Buñuel, and I first learned to appreciate a number of great movies including The Barefoot Contessa from Richard Corliss, a terrific critic who championed writers over director-auteurs.
The Barefoot Contessa is a classically structured story, in that it could work as a novel; it’s told from several points of view.
- 1/6/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Robert Mitchum all but snoozes through this promising war-espionage thriller that pits lazy Gestapo agents against clueless partisans in occupied Greece. It's got great locations and a good cast, but director Robert Aldrich seems off his feed -- there's not a lot of excitement to be had. The Angry Hills DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1959 / B&W / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date February 16, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Robert Mitchum, Stanley Baker, Elisabeth Mueller, Gia Scala, Theodore Bikel, Sebastian Cabot, Donald Wolfit, Marius Goring, Jocelyn Lane, Kieron Moore, George Pastell, Marita Constantinou, Alec Mango. Cinematography Stephen Dade Film Editor Peter Tanner Production Design Ken Adam Original Music Richard Rodney Bennett Written by A.I. Bezzerides from the novel by Leon Uris Produced by Raymond Stross Directed by Robert Aldrich
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Director Robert Aldrich had come through with successes for Burt Lancaster's production company (Apache, Vera Cruz...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Director Robert Aldrich had come through with successes for Burt Lancaster's production company (Apache, Vera Cruz...
- 5/31/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"This land is mine, God made this land for me." Those are just song lyrics, while Otto Preminger's politically daring 70mm mega-production is a lot more subtle in its presentation of the 'Palestinian problem' that led to the formation of the State of Israel. It's a bit ponderous, but Dalton Trumbo's screenplay avoids the pitfalls -- 56 years later, the story is still relevant. Exodus Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1960 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 208 min. / Ship Date March 15, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, Sal Mineo, John Derek, David Opatoshu, Jill Haworth, Hugh Griffith, Gregory Ratoff, Felix Aylmer, Marius Goring, Alexandra Stewart, Martin Benson, Paul Stevens, George Maharis, John Crawford, Victor Maddern, Paul Stassino, John Van Eyssen Cinematography Sam Leavitt Art Direction Richard Day Film Editor Louis R. Loeffler Original Music Ernest Gold Written by Dalton Trumbo from...
- 4/9/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"The music seemed extraordinarily fresh and genuine still. It might grow old-fashioned, he told himself, but never old, surely, while there was any youth left in men. It was an expression of youth–that, and no more; with sweetness and foolishness, the lingering accent, the heavy stresses–the delicacy, too–belonging to that time."—"The Professor's House," Willa CatherHis last words, in a hospital four months later, are said to have been 'Mind your own business!' addressed to an enquirer after the state of his bowels. Friends got to the studio just before the wreckers' ball. Pictures, a profusion, piles of them, littered the floor: of 'a world that will never be seen except in pictures'"—"The Pound Era," Hugh Kenner***Heart Of FIREOften when I go to a movie, usually one made before 1960, I think about the opening scene of The Red Shoes, of Marius Goring and his...
- 10/2/2015
- by gina telaroli
- MUBI
"Dance, dance, feel it all around you Dance, dance, dance, Never thought love had a rainbow on it See the girl dance See the girl dance."- Neil Young, "Dance, Dance, Dance"***When I watched Katy Perry’s recent Super Bowl performance I got very excited. There was a lot of shrieking. So much so that my roommate, who had been diligently watching screeners of important art films one floor below, came up to see what was happening. A friend who was over to watch the game, who I often go to repertory movies with, later told another friend he had never seen me so excited. The third friend watching it with us, she’s a writer, was also excited. In her excitement she sent all of her twitter friends a picture. In my own excitement I sent yet a fourth friend a text message. ******My text message may have been sent off haphazardly,...
- 5/11/2015
- by gina telaroli
- MUBI
Criterion repackages Jean Renoir’s 1951 classic The River for Blu-ray, one of the master filmmaker’s several titles in the collection (fans may recall that Renoir’s Grand Illusion was the very first Criterion title). A title significant in many respects, being the first Technicolor film in India and Renoir’s first color feature, it’s simplistic beauty has gone on to influence future generations of filmmakers, including its prominently vocal champion Martin Scorsese. It also served as a launching pad for Satyajit Ray, who worked as an assistant on the film, and who would go on to create his own stunning debut four years later with the first chapter of his Apu trilogy, Pather Panchali (1955).
We experience the childhood of Harriet (Patricia Walters) in retrospect, her off-screen adult voice recounting one particular stretch of time while growing up in India with her mother (Nora Swinburne) and father (Esmond Knight...
We experience the childhood of Harriet (Patricia Walters) in retrospect, her off-screen adult voice recounting one particular stretch of time while growing up in India with her mother (Nora Swinburne) and father (Esmond Knight...
- 4/21/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Best British movies of all time? (Image: a young Michael Caine in 'Get Carter') Ten years ago, Get Carter, starring Michael Caine as a dangerous-looking London gangster (see photo above), was selected as the United Kingdom's very best movie of all time according to 25 British film critics polled by Total Film magazine. To say that Mike Hodges' 1971 thriller was a surprising choice would be an understatement. I mean, not a David Lean epic or an early Alfred Hitchcock thriller? What a difference ten years make. On Total Film's 2014 list, published last May, Get Carter was no. 44 among the magazine's Top 50 best British movies of all time. How could that be? Well, first of all, people would be very naive if they took such lists seriously, whether we're talking Total Film, the British Film Institute, or, to keep things British, Sight & Sound magazine. Second, whereas Total Film's 2004 list was the result of a 25-critic consensus,...
- 10/12/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Maximilian Schell movie director (photo: Maximilian Schell and Maria Schell) (See previous post: “Maximilian Schell Dies: Best Actor Oscar Winner for ‘Judgment at Nuremberg.’”) Maximilian Schell’s first film as a director was the 1970 (dubbed) German-language release First Love / Erste Liebe, adapted from Igor Turgenev’s novella, and starring Englishman John Moulder-Brown, Frenchwoman Dominique Sanda, and Schell in this tale about a doomed love affair in Czarist Russia. Italian Valentina Cortese and British Marius Goring provided support. Directed by a former Best Actor Oscar winner, First Love, a movie that could just as easily have been dubbed into Swedish or Swahili (or English), ended up nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. Three years later, nominated in that same category was Schell’s second feature film as a director, The Pedestrian / Der Fußgänger, in which a car accident forces a German businessman to delve deep into his past.
- 2/2/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Feature Aliya Whiteley 26 Sep 2013 - 07:13
An acting great British of the post-war era, Trevor Howard's the subject of a new movie box set. Aliya looks at its five classic films...
It's difficult to describe Trevor Howard. I could start by saying he was a great leading man of British post-war cinema, but that leaves out his supporting turns in films like The Third Man, and his character performances, such as Captain Bligh in Mutiny On The Bounty (1962), or Sir Henry At Rawlinson End (1980). He could be called an upper-class gentleman, but in Sons And Lovers (1960) he played a Nottinghamshire miner perfectly.
I could talk about how he wasn't traditionally handsome, but the look in his eyes when he falls passionately for Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter) contains a male beauty that continues to define cinematic love today. Or maybe I could mention how perfectly he inhabited the role of...
An acting great British of the post-war era, Trevor Howard's the subject of a new movie box set. Aliya looks at its five classic films...
It's difficult to describe Trevor Howard. I could start by saying he was a great leading man of British post-war cinema, but that leaves out his supporting turns in films like The Third Man, and his character performances, such as Captain Bligh in Mutiny On The Bounty (1962), or Sir Henry At Rawlinson End (1980). He could be called an upper-class gentleman, but in Sons And Lovers (1960) he played a Nottinghamshire miner perfectly.
I could talk about how he wasn't traditionally handsome, but the look in his eyes when he falls passionately for Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter) contains a male beauty that continues to define cinematic love today. Or maybe I could mention how perfectly he inhabited the role of...
- 9/25/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Feature Aliya Whiteley 20 Jun 2013 - 10:11
The films of post-war Britain are fascinating; Aliya picks 10 of the best British thrillers from the 1940s
The 1940s was a heck of a decade for the British. We started it at war with Nazi Germany, with the threat of Ira collaboration with the enemy looming large. By the end of it we had seen Independence achieved by India, lived through strikes and rationing, and held the fourteenth Olympic Games in London at a time of great austerity. The welfare state was under formation, and in the space of ten years we had become a very different country.
The British film industry reflected those changes, particularly in the thrillers that were made. The lines between good and evil, safety and danger, were the stuff of entertainment that tapped into the concerns of the public. It was a period of vivid, ambitious, and surprising films.
The films of post-war Britain are fascinating; Aliya picks 10 of the best British thrillers from the 1940s
The 1940s was a heck of a decade for the British. We started it at war with Nazi Germany, with the threat of Ira collaboration with the enemy looming large. By the end of it we had seen Independence achieved by India, lived through strikes and rationing, and held the fourteenth Olympic Games in London at a time of great austerity. The welfare state was under formation, and in the space of ten years we had become a very different country.
The British film industry reflected those changes, particularly in the thrillers that were made. The lines between good and evil, safety and danger, were the stuff of entertainment that tapped into the concerns of the public. It was a period of vivid, ambitious, and surprising films.
- 6/18/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
‘A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway To Heaven)’
Written & Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring David Niven, Kim Hunter, and Roger Livesey
UK, 104 min – 1946.
“A weak mind isn’t strong enough to hurt itself. Stupidity has saved many a man from going mad.”
When A Matter of Life and Death begins, there is seemingly no hope for Raf pilot, Peter Carter (David Niven). His plane has been shot at, while returning from a bombing run in May 1945. His crew safely bails out, but he remains. Peter gets on the radio and speaks to American operator, June (Kim Hunter) revealing that these are his last moments. He talks to her of love and loss and of his readiness to die and then jumps out of his burning plane, sans parachute. This is supposed to be his time of death, but unfortunately Peter’s heavenly Conductor 71 (Marius Goring) misses him in the English fog.
Written & Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring David Niven, Kim Hunter, and Roger Livesey
UK, 104 min – 1946.
“A weak mind isn’t strong enough to hurt itself. Stupidity has saved many a man from going mad.”
When A Matter of Life and Death begins, there is seemingly no hope for Raf pilot, Peter Carter (David Niven). His plane has been shot at, while returning from a bombing run in May 1945. His crew safely bails out, but he remains. Peter gets on the radio and speaks to American operator, June (Kim Hunter) revealing that these are his last moments. He talks to her of love and loss and of his readiness to die and then jumps out of his burning plane, sans parachute. This is supposed to be his time of death, but unfortunately Peter’s heavenly Conductor 71 (Marius Goring) misses him in the English fog.
- 5/28/2013
- by Karen Bacellar
- SoundOnSight
“40 films from the ‘40s” is a movie challenge to watch and write about one film from that era weekly. Why the ‘40s? That decade is fascinating, because of the juxtapositions between films released during WWII and those released after. Half the decade was spent scrambling to keep nations afloat during war and the second half was spent trying to pick up the pieces and move forward.
****
The Red Shoes
Written & Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, and Marius Goring
UK, 133 min. – 1984
Based on Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale, The Red Shoes follows the story of young, aspiring ballet dancer, Victoria Page (Shearer). Vicky dreams of dancing for Boris Lermantov’s (Walbrook) company. She finally gets the chance to do so, in Lermnatov’s newest ballet, “The Red Shoes”, composed by the young, musical genius, Julian Craster (Marius Goring). Vicky lives for dancing and Lermantov...
****
The Red Shoes
Written & Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, and Marius Goring
UK, 133 min. – 1984
Based on Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale, The Red Shoes follows the story of young, aspiring ballet dancer, Victoria Page (Shearer). Vicky dreams of dancing for Boris Lermantov’s (Walbrook) company. She finally gets the chance to do so, in Lermnatov’s newest ballet, “The Red Shoes”, composed by the young, musical genius, Julian Craster (Marius Goring). Vicky lives for dancing and Lermantov...
- 11/4/2012
- by Karen Bacellar
- SoundOnSight
While the future of home entertainment may be rapidly moving towards a digital streaming-led future, we can't be the only movie nerds who still love owning a physical copy of something. Sure, BluRay and DVD might be scratchable, easily lost and adorned by terrible box art, but there's something about the feeling of finding an undiscovered gem in the depths of a store, or getting a rarity in the post, that doesn't quite compare to clicking and watching something on Netflix.
As such, starting with this column, every month we're going to pick out five BluRays or DVDs new to the market that no self-respecting cinephile's shelves could do without. Some are shiny new versions of stone-cold classics, some are obscurities, some might even be brand new releases (although less often: those are covered pretty well elsewhere). Read on for more.
"Chinatown" (1974)
Why You Should Care: Simply put, it's one...
As such, starting with this column, every month we're going to pick out five BluRays or DVDs new to the market that no self-respecting cinephile's shelves could do without. Some are shiny new versions of stone-cold classics, some are obscurities, some might even be brand new releases (although less often: those are covered pretty well elsewhere). Read on for more.
"Chinatown" (1974)
Why You Should Care: Simply put, it's one...
- 4/4/2012
- by Drew Taylor
- The Playlist
Hen’s Tooth Video will release the 1957 British war drama-adventure Ill Met By Moonlight (also known as Night Ambush) on DVD on Aug. 16 for the list price of $19.95, marking the film’s DVD premiere in the U.S.
British officers David Oxley (l.) and Dirk Bogarde are Ill Met By Midnight.
Written, produced and directed by the legendary filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the World War II movie follows two British officers (Despair‘s Dirk Bogarde, David Oxley) who are assigned to kidnap a German General (Marius Goring) from the Nazi occupied island of Crete and deliver him to Allied forces in Cairo. Aided by local patriots, the abduction itself goes smoothly, but the Brits’ subsequent action-filled escape across the rocky Cretan landscape proves to be more problematic.
Based on W. Stanley Moss’s autobiographical account of the operation, Ill Met By Moonlight was the last collaboration between Powell and Pressburger,...
British officers David Oxley (l.) and Dirk Bogarde are Ill Met By Midnight.
Written, produced and directed by the legendary filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the World War II movie follows two British officers (Despair‘s Dirk Bogarde, David Oxley) who are assigned to kidnap a German General (Marius Goring) from the Nazi occupied island of Crete and deliver him to Allied forces in Cairo. Aided by local patriots, the abduction itself goes smoothly, but the Brits’ subsequent action-filled escape across the rocky Cretan landscape proves to be more problematic.
Based on W. Stanley Moss’s autobiographical account of the operation, Ill Met By Moonlight was the last collaboration between Powell and Pressburger,...
- 6/10/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Many unsuspecting cinema-goers who clearly hadn’t read the reviews got quite a shock when they went into Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan expecting a nice movie about ballet. Black Swan is a fully-fledged (pun intended) horror movie full of fantastical elements – or is it? Horror it certainly is – fantasy, it may not be, as it is entirely possible that every uncanny event in the film exists only in the protagonist’s disturbed mind. Black Swan is far from the first film to play with the line between fantasy and reality, and it won’t be the last. What follows is a subjective list of some of my favourite reality-bending fantastical films.*
A Matter of Life and Death (dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1946, known as Stairway to Heaven in the Us)
A Matter of Life and Death uses exactly the same method as Black Swan to bend reality, but to the exact opposite effect.
A Matter of Life and Death (dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1946, known as Stairway to Heaven in the Us)
A Matter of Life and Death uses exactly the same method as Black Swan to bend reality, but to the exact opposite effect.
- 2/25/2011
- by Juliette Harrisson
- SoundOnSight
Filed under: Columns, Cinematical
Welcome to Where Everyone Has Gone Before, the column in which I continue my film education before your very eyes by seeking out and watching all of the movies I should have seen by now. I will first judge the movie before I've watched it, based entirely on its reputation (and my potentially misguided thoughts). Then I will give the movie a fair chance and actually watch it. You will laugh at me, you may condemn me, but you will never say I didn't try!
The Film: 'A Matter of Life and Death' (1946), Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring and Abraham Sofaer.
Why I Haven't Seen It Until Now: Every film buff worth his salt has at least heard of Powell and Pressburger, the brilliant duo behind such films as 'The Red Shoes,' 'Black Narcissus...
Welcome to Where Everyone Has Gone Before, the column in which I continue my film education before your very eyes by seeking out and watching all of the movies I should have seen by now. I will first judge the movie before I've watched it, based entirely on its reputation (and my potentially misguided thoughts). Then I will give the movie a fair chance and actually watch it. You will laugh at me, you may condemn me, but you will never say I didn't try!
The Film: 'A Matter of Life and Death' (1946), Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring and Abraham Sofaer.
Why I Haven't Seen It Until Now: Every film buff worth his salt has at least heard of Powell and Pressburger, the brilliant duo behind such films as 'The Red Shoes,' 'Black Narcissus...
- 11/13/2010
- by Jacob Hall
- Cinematical
Filed under: Columns, Cinematical
Welcome to Where Everyone Has Gone Before, the column in which I continue my film education before your very eyes by seeking out and watching all of the movies I should have seen by now. I will first judge the movie before I've watched it, based entirely on its reputation (and my potentially misguided thoughts). Then I will give the movie a fair chance and actually watch it. You will laugh at me, you may condemn me, but you will never say I didn't try!
The Film: 'A Matter of Life and Death' (1946), Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring and Abraham Sofaer.
Why I Haven't Seen It Until Now: Every film buff worth his salt has at least heard of Powell and Pressburger, the brilliant duo behind such films as 'The Red Shoes,' 'Black Narcissus...
Welcome to Where Everyone Has Gone Before, the column in which I continue my film education before your very eyes by seeking out and watching all of the movies I should have seen by now. I will first judge the movie before I've watched it, based entirely on its reputation (and my potentially misguided thoughts). Then I will give the movie a fair chance and actually watch it. You will laugh at me, you may condemn me, but you will never say I didn't try!
The Film: 'A Matter of Life and Death' (1946), Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring and Abraham Sofaer.
Why I Haven't Seen It Until Now: Every film buff worth his salt has at least heard of Powell and Pressburger, the brilliant duo behind such films as 'The Red Shoes,' 'Black Narcissus...
- 11/13/2010
- by Jacob Hall
- Moviefone
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Red Shoes (1948) is an adult fairy tale with a operatic romanticism that is completely absent from contemporary cinema. It remains a singular work that continues to influence cinema (just look at the recent stills from Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan). Criterion released a fine DVD of the film in 1999. A new Blu-Ray with a restored transfer renders that old standard-def release completely and utterly obsolete.
Victoria Page (Moira Shearer) is a passionate young ballerina who becomes a protégé of a domineering ballet director named Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook). Lermontov molds and shapes Victoria into his image of a perfect dancer. He also takes on Julian Craster (Marius Goring), a cocky musician who is obsessed with becoming a great composer. Boris Lermontov offers these two young artists the chance to make their names in an adaption of Hans Christian Anderson's The Red Shoes,...
Victoria Page (Moira Shearer) is a passionate young ballerina who becomes a protégé of a domineering ballet director named Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook). Lermontov molds and shapes Victoria into his image of a perfect dancer. He also takes on Julian Craster (Marius Goring), a cocky musician who is obsessed with becoming a great composer. Boris Lermontov offers these two young artists the chance to make their names in an adaption of Hans Christian Anderson's The Red Shoes,...
- 8/8/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes
The Films
You have to feel sorry for Britain’s film community. Directors don’t get recognized until they make it to Hollywood, at which point they become absorbed into the American system. Hitchcock and Chaplin were not only English by birth but by nature, predisposed to dry comedy and, certainly in Hitch’s case, dark irony. Yet they’re among the purest examples of Hollywood filmmakers, two of the five most influential directors funded by the American system, and they’re but early examples of America’s way of denying England its own cinematic glory.
As such, the relative obscurity into which Michael Powell and his frequent collaborator, Emeric Pressburger, have fallen is at once tragic and completely foreseeable. In their heyday, the British director and the Hungarian ex-pat screenwriter, operating under the moniker The Archers, could easily have secured work in Hollywood,...
The Films
You have to feel sorry for Britain’s film community. Directors don’t get recognized until they make it to Hollywood, at which point they become absorbed into the American system. Hitchcock and Chaplin were not only English by birth but by nature, predisposed to dry comedy and, certainly in Hitch’s case, dark irony. Yet they’re among the purest examples of Hollywood filmmakers, two of the five most influential directors funded by the American system, and they’re but early examples of America’s way of denying England its own cinematic glory.
As such, the relative obscurity into which Michael Powell and his frequent collaborator, Emeric Pressburger, have fallen is at once tragic and completely foreseeable. In their heyday, the British director and the Hungarian ex-pat screenwriter, operating under the moniker The Archers, could easily have secured work in Hollywood,...
- 7/31/2010
- by Aaron
Chicago – Can an old movie look too good on Blu-ray? This has been the subject of much debate, most notably in the over-removal of natural film grain by some production studios and the purists who think sometimes HD damages the original look of the film by coating it with too much polish. Watching the six-decades-old “The Red Shoes” from the incredibly influential Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I was reminded once again of this controversy by a video transfer that’s simply jaw-dropping in its crystal clear quality.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Part of the reason “The Red Shoes” makes such a striking statement on Blu-ray is that the film’s bright, vibrant Technicolor has always been an essential ingredient in the dramatic proceedings. The film was released in an era where color filmmaking was still new enough that seeing these bright reds, yellows, and blues was as revolutionary as “Avatar” is today.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Part of the reason “The Red Shoes” makes such a striking statement on Blu-ray is that the film’s bright, vibrant Technicolor has always been an essential ingredient in the dramatic proceedings. The film was released in an era where color filmmaking was still new enough that seeing these bright reds, yellows, and blues was as revolutionary as “Avatar” is today.
- 7/21/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Cop Out
I missed Kevin Smith's homage to the buddy cop genre and can't wait to pick this up. His movies always have great extras as well.
Extras include:
"Maximum Comedy Mode" - Picture-in-Picture walk-ons, stretches of audio and video commentary, more than an hour of deleted scenes and outtakes, additional behind-the-scenes footage, wisdom from the Shit Bandit, pop-up production factoids, storyboards, etc.Focus Point featurettes:a Couple of DicksThe New Buddy Cop DuoKevin Pollak - Man of a Thousand Voices and InterestsImprovising - Now That's FunnyPoh Boy's Diamond VaultStunts-Brooklyn StyleTracy Morgan Speaks SpanglishDave's Calling CarKevin Smith DirectsThe individual Shit Bandit wisdom shorts
The Losers
Got mixed reviews but as a fan of the comic I wanna check it out.
Extras include:
Zoe and The LosersBand of Buddies: Ops TrainingAction-Style StorytellingAlternate EndingFirst Look - Batman: Under the Red Hood
The Runaways
Have heard good things about this Joan Jett biopic.
I missed Kevin Smith's homage to the buddy cop genre and can't wait to pick this up. His movies always have great extras as well.
Extras include:
"Maximum Comedy Mode" - Picture-in-Picture walk-ons, stretches of audio and video commentary, more than an hour of deleted scenes and outtakes, additional behind-the-scenes footage, wisdom from the Shit Bandit, pop-up production factoids, storyboards, etc.Focus Point featurettes:a Couple of DicksThe New Buddy Cop DuoKevin Pollak - Man of a Thousand Voices and InterestsImprovising - Now That's FunnyPoh Boy's Diamond VaultStunts-Brooklyn StyleTracy Morgan Speaks SpanglishDave's Calling CarKevin Smith DirectsThe individual Shit Bandit wisdom shorts
The Losers
Got mixed reviews but as a fan of the comic I wanna check it out.
Extras include:
Zoe and The LosersBand of Buddies: Ops TrainingAction-Style StorytellingAlternate EndingFirst Look - Batman: Under the Red Hood
The Runaways
Have heard good things about this Joan Jett biopic.
- 7/21/2010
- by josh@reelartsy.com (Joshua dos Santos)
- Reelartsy
Following last weekend’s general release of Christopher Nolan’s Inception, those of us who’ve seen it (and perhaps many who haven’t yet) are contemplating cinema’s ability to capture and partially emulate the dream state, as well as that film’s commentary on the structures of consciousness and our inherently subjective experience of reality. This week’s new Criterion releases may not be the first films that come to mind when we think of works that influenced or remind us of Inception, but they both have plenty to say about disoriented psyches functioning as best they can under mind-bending pressure, using vivid color and evocative compositional schemes to masterful effect in the process.
Yes, I’m talking about Powell & Pressburger’s signature works from the late 1940s, The Red Shoes (read James’ review of the Blu-ray) and Black Narcissus. Both films have been available on Criterion Laserdisc...
Yes, I’m talking about Powell & Pressburger’s signature works from the late 1940s, The Red Shoes (read James’ review of the Blu-ray) and Black Narcissus. Both films have been available on Criterion Laserdisc...
- 7/20/2010
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Photo: Criterion Collection Just how good is the color in Black Narcissus? I was showing an online clip of it to a friend and without me saying a word about the film they said, "Well they've obviously done something to it." I didn't know what they were talking about. "This was released in 1947?" they asked. I said, "Yes," and they said, "Well they didn't have color like that in 1947!" I couldn't think of a more appropriate endorsement of cinematographer Jack Cardiff's work on this film and the colors directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were able to present with films such as Black Narcissus in '47 and The Red Shoes in '48. Best of all, this was a statement made based on watching a compressed online Flash-based video. Now imagine what the reaction would be to Criterion's newly released Blu-ray editions.
The Red Shoes was first released on Criterion...
The Red Shoes was first released on Criterion...
- 7/20/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
“Sorrow will pass, believe me.
Life is so unimportant.
And from now onwards, you will dance like nobody ever before.”
When sitting down to watch a film that you not only love to death but call one of your top 10 films of all time is a hard one to review. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1948 film ‘The Red Shoes‘ is a much beloved film by countless critics and filmmakers, the most prominent one being Martin Scorsese, who helped with the restoration process for this film. So how does one give this film the credit it so rightly deserves?
[Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Red Shoes.]
The film is loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name and follows the rise of dancer Vicky Page (Moira Shearer) who just wants to dance and be the best in the world. She meets Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), who is the charismatic and ruthless Svengali-esque head of the Ballet Lermontov,...
Life is so unimportant.
And from now onwards, you will dance like nobody ever before.”
When sitting down to watch a film that you not only love to death but call one of your top 10 films of all time is a hard one to review. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1948 film ‘The Red Shoes‘ is a much beloved film by countless critics and filmmakers, the most prominent one being Martin Scorsese, who helped with the restoration process for this film. So how does one give this film the credit it so rightly deserves?
[Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Red Shoes.]
The film is loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name and follows the rise of dancer Vicky Page (Moira Shearer) who just wants to dance and be the best in the world. She meets Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), who is the charismatic and ruthless Svengali-esque head of the Ballet Lermontov,...
- 7/13/2010
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
The Red Shoes
On July 20th, the studio will release Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's classic The Red Shoes (1948) on DVD/Blu-ray with a new, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition).
Extras include:
Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and filmmaker Martin ScorseseIntroductory restoration demonstration with ScorseseProfile of 'The Red Shoes' (2000), a 25-minute documentaryVideo interview with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Michael Powell's widowGallery from Scorsese's collection of The Red Shoes memorabiliaThe 'Red Shoes' Sketches, an animated film made from Hein Heckroth's painted storyboardsReadings by actor Jeremy Irons of excerpts from Powell and Pressburger's novelization of The Red Shoes and the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy taleTheatrical trailerA booklet featuring an essay by Ian Christie
Black Narcissus
On July 20th, they will also release...
On July 20th, the studio will release Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's classic The Red Shoes (1948) on DVD/Blu-ray with a new, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition).
Extras include:
Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and filmmaker Martin ScorseseIntroductory restoration demonstration with ScorseseProfile of 'The Red Shoes' (2000), a 25-minute documentaryVideo interview with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Michael Powell's widowGallery from Scorsese's collection of The Red Shoes memorabiliaThe 'Red Shoes' Sketches, an animated film made from Hein Heckroth's painted storyboardsReadings by actor Jeremy Irons of excerpts from Powell and Pressburger's novelization of The Red Shoes and the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy taleTheatrical trailerA booklet featuring an essay by Ian Christie
Black Narcissus
On July 20th, they will also release...
- 4/17/2010
- by josh@reelartsy.com (Joshua dos Santos)
- Reelartsy
Well all you lucky tax-payers, you have all new Criterion Collection releases to spend that hard earned tax return on. It feels like only yesterday we were posting the June 2010 new releases from Criterion, and here we are with July’s!
First up, we’re getting two Powell and Pressburger films that have been long rumored: The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. The Red Shoes restored print that has been making it’s way around the country has been of much talk on our podcast over the last several months, and has even found it’s way onto Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature. Soon to be available on DVD and Blu-ray, these are two titles that are clearly worth a revisiting. The restored print of The Red Shoes screened last December in Austin at Butt-Numb-a-Thon, and our own James McCormick joined us on this early bonus episode, to discuss his thoughts on the screening.
First up, we’re getting two Powell and Pressburger films that have been long rumored: The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. The Red Shoes restored print that has been making it’s way around the country has been of much talk on our podcast over the last several months, and has even found it’s way onto Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature. Soon to be available on DVD and Blu-ray, these are two titles that are clearly worth a revisiting. The restored print of The Red Shoes screened last December in Austin at Butt-Numb-a-Thon, and our own James McCormick joined us on this early bonus episode, to discuss his thoughts on the screening.
- 4/15/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Rereleased, the 1948 ballet classic stands the test of time. By Peter Bradshaw
The Red Shoes, the 1948 classic by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, has now been vividly restored for a cinema rerelease and it just blazes out of the screen: profoundly serious, sublimely innocent, yet deeply and mysteriously erotic. This is the compelling parable of the destructive demands made by art upon the artist, and upon performing artists expected to sublimate their emotions into a quasi-sexual submission to their director – a parable that seems to change into a portrait of psychotic disorder or actual demonic possession. It is also, incidentally, a portrait of an age in which the marriage contract instantly nullified a woman's professional identity. Moira Shearer is the beautiful English ingenue Vicky Page, who, on the premature retirement of her ballet company's leading lady, is catapulted to the position of prima ballerina. She has been promoted by Boris Lermontov,...
The Red Shoes, the 1948 classic by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, has now been vividly restored for a cinema rerelease and it just blazes out of the screen: profoundly serious, sublimely innocent, yet deeply and mysteriously erotic. This is the compelling parable of the destructive demands made by art upon the artist, and upon performing artists expected to sublimate their emotions into a quasi-sexual submission to their director – a parable that seems to change into a portrait of psychotic disorder or actual demonic possession. It is also, incidentally, a portrait of an age in which the marriage contract instantly nullified a woman's professional identity. Moira Shearer is the beautiful English ingenue Vicky Page, who, on the premature retirement of her ballet company's leading lady, is catapulted to the position of prima ballerina. She has been promoted by Boris Lermontov,...
- 12/10/2009
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
BFI Southbank to exhibit paintings and sketches of 'Freudian ballet' created for the film by Hein Heckroth
The Red Shoes, Powell and Pressburger's 1948 masterpiece, is one of the most visually spectacular movies in British history, and an abiding inspiration for artists such as Martin Scorsese, who counts it among his favourite films.
Now, ahead of its re-release in a newly restored version, its colours returned to their original Technicolor vividness, visitors to BFI Southbank in London will have the chance to see some of the original artwork for the film, created by surrealist painter Hein Heckroth.
The Red Shoes, the story of a dancer's struggle to achieve greatness against the demands of "normal" life, has entranced balletomanes and cineastes in the 61 years since it was made.
The most ambitious aspect of the film is the extended ballet sequence at the heart of the story, in which The Red Shoes...
The Red Shoes, Powell and Pressburger's 1948 masterpiece, is one of the most visually spectacular movies in British history, and an abiding inspiration for artists such as Martin Scorsese, who counts it among his favourite films.
Now, ahead of its re-release in a newly restored version, its colours returned to their original Technicolor vividness, visitors to BFI Southbank in London will have the chance to see some of the original artwork for the film, created by surrealist painter Hein Heckroth.
The Red Shoes, the story of a dancer's struggle to achieve greatness against the demands of "normal" life, has entranced balletomanes and cineastes in the 61 years since it was made.
The most ambitious aspect of the film is the extended ballet sequence at the heart of the story, in which The Red Shoes...
- 11/20/2009
- by Charlotte Higgins
- The Guardian - Film News
Even in this age of Blu-ray and appreciation for all things high-def, many take for granted how complicated but vital a great film restoration can be. Buzzed about at this year's Cannes Film Festival as one of the most miraculous to date is the UCLA Film & Television Archive's restoration of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1948 masterpiece The Red Shoes, starring Moira Shearer as a gifted young ballerina forced to choose between her love for composer Marius Goring and a career as lead dancer and muse to ballet company impresario Anton Walbrook. In association with the BFI, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films, the restored 35mm print—which Film Foundation founder Martin Scorsese has praised as one of his all-time faves and the most extraordinary use of the three-strip Technicolor process—dazzled a packed house at the DGA Theater last night. (The Red Shoes screens at...
- 11/5/2009
- GreenCine Daily
Besides being a legendary Led Zeppelin recording, "Stairway to Heaven" is the more upbeat Us release title of a 1946 romantic fantasy known in Britain as "A Matter of Life and Death."
The singular writing-directing-producing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger - who called themselves The Archers and are best known for "The Red Shoes" (1948) - cast David Niven as an Raf squadron leader who bails out of his burning plane without a functioning parachute.
Miraculously, the...
The singular writing-directing-producing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger - who called themselves The Archers and are best known for "The Red Shoes" (1948) - cast David Niven as an Raf squadron leader who bails out of his burning plane without a functioning parachute.
Miraculously, the...
- 1/6/2009
- by By LOU LUMENICK
- NYPost.com
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