Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
worked together on twenty-four films between 1939 and 1972, with their main
creative period during the 1940s. Together they are known as The Archers, after
the name of their production company. Powell and Pressburger are usually billed
as co-writers, directors and producers, but Powell usually handled the
directing and Pressburger the writing – and they produced their films together,
often working with executive producer J. Arthur Rank. Between
the two auteurs, they only won one Oscar (Pressburger won Best Story for 49th
Parallel, which while very good is not considered one of their five
masterpieces), but they are now considered among the greatest filmmakers in
cinema history (thanks to the preservation work of Martin
Scorsese, AFI, and BFI, allowing a new generation to find their films).
Early Careers/Collaborations:
In 1925, Powell began his career
in film sweeping the floors of Victorine Studios in Nice, France, where he
father owned a hotel. But, he soon found himself moving up the ladder into
better jobs, even acting. In 1928, he returned to England where he worked with Alfred
Hitchcock as a still photographer on his silent films Champagne
and Blackmail.
The two men remained friends throughout their lives. Powell continued to move
his way up in British cinema, honing his directing on a number of small films.
In 1939, he was hired by Alexander Korda
to begin work on some new projects (like the Thief of Bagdad).
Through Korda, he met Pressburger.
Pressburger made his early films
in Germany and France. As a Hungarian Jew, he decided to leave Germany in 1932
as the Nazi’s came to power. And again in 1935, the threat in Europe for the
Jewish people seemed to be mounting causing him to leave France for England.
There, he worked with fellow Hungarian Korda.
Korda had contracted Powell to
direct a new film called The Spy in Black,
but thought that the script could use some rewrites. So, he introduced Powell
to Pressburger. The two gone on right away and there was a creative spark
between them. There first real collaboration came with their 1940 film Contraband.
Both films performed well as WWII-set anti-Nazi propaganda.
Beautiful Technicolor
– Creating a Series of Masterpieces:
The Archers, however, were truly
born with 1943’s The
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. It is a magnificent Technicolor epic about
a brash military man who is does not change with the times. Powell and
Pressburger formed their production company and created their joint credit:
“Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger” to
notify that they were the creative force behind their work, subject to no
studio or other producers. They also created a manifesto with five points:
“1) We owe allegiance to nobody
except the financial interests which provide our money; and, to them, the sole
responsibility of ensuring them a profit, not a loss. 2) Every single foot in
our films is our own responsibility and nobody else’s. We refuse to be guided
or coerced by any influence but our own judgment. 3) When we start work on a
new idea we must be a year ahead, not only of our competitors, but also of the
times. A real film, from idea to universal release, takes a year. Or more. 4)
No artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no audience does.
We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see the truth, for other
reasons than her nakedness. And 5) At any time, and particularly at the
present, the self-respect of all collaborators, from star to prop-man, is
sustained, or diminished, by the theme and purpose of the film they are working
on.”
Typically, Pressburger would
write the first draft of each new script. They would then pass it back and
forth until it was ready. They did not like to work on the script together at
the same time in the same room. They both worked as producers, but Powell was
very frank and often would ruffle the feathers of financiers and Pressburger
was very good at smoothing things over. Under Rank, however, they had a lot of
freedom. Powell handled most of the directing, but Pressburger was always
on-hand and present on set. When principal photography wrapped, Powell would go
on holiday in Scotland and Pressburger would work with the editor and composer
to craft the final product. Then Powell would return to take over to promote
the film. They also often worked with the same crew and actors on their films,
including: actors Anton
Walbrook, Roger
Livesey, Deborah
Kerr, David
Farrar, Marius
Goring, Kathleen
Byron, and Moira
Shearer (among others), composers Allan Gray and Brian Easdale, production
designers Alfred
Junge and Hein
Heckroth, editors John Seabourne Sr.
and Reginald
Mills, and cinematographers Erwin Hillier, Jack Cardiff,
and Christopher
Challis.
Getting back to The Life and
Death of Colonel Blimp, the film came under heavy attack by the British
Government (and most notably by Winston Churchill) for the use of a sympathetic
German officer (albeit a Jewish, anti-Nazi one – he was an officer during WWI,
and a refugee during WWII) who is seemingly more reasonable and realistic than
the British officers. As a result, the film did not come out in the States
until 1945 (the film being reduced from its original 163 minutes to 150 and
then 90 for TV). The film was later restored in 1983. Today, many consider it
the greatest British film ever made.
Their next foray into Technicolor
came with 1946’s A
Matter of Life and Death, which used both Technicolor and Black & White
photography. It is about a British squadron leader who should have died,
returning from a raid over Germany, but somehow he lived. An angel comes to Earth
to retrieve him, realizing the mistake, but the man has since fallen in love
and believes he deserves to stay on Earth. He must present his case in Heaven.
Interestingly, the film was commissioned by the British government (though they
had no creative involvement) to improve Anglo-American relations between US
soldiers stationed in the UK and the locals. To do this, Powell and Pressbuger
reversed the stereotype. In A Matter of Life and Death, the British soldier
gets the young attractive American girl (instead of the American soldiers
getting all the young British women).
Black
Narcissus was The Archers’ next film, debuting in 1947. It features some of
the cinema’s most beautiful photography and production design, as well as being
brilliant in every other way. The film is about a group of nuns who try to set
up a new monastery in the Himalayas, but the beauty and wonder of the location
gets to them and they soon leave. In the context of history, the film can be
read as the British acknowledging the end of their empire (which mostly
crumbled during WWII), as the film was released a few months before India
achieved its independence. It was a critical success upon release, thanks to
its vibrant colors and themes. Though shot entirely in an English studio, many
believed that it was shot on location in India. It is artistically way ahead of
its time, feeling very much like the films of the late 1960s/early 1970s when Hollywood
auteurs reveled in the freedom of a cinema world without the Production Code.
The
Red Shoes, The Archers’ next film, however, might be their best and most
aesthetically proficient and magnificent (and is at present, my favorite film).
It is about a ballet company who puts on a production of the Hans Christian
Andersen story. Within the company, there is a struggle for the affection of a
young ballerina. The film is utterly beautiful in every way. Even without
strong promotion, due to Rank’s financial problems, it was a big success at the
British box office, and even bigger in the States. It is probably the most
famous and best known of The Archers’ films, and yet it too was mostly
forgotten in time. It was not until 2002 that the film was saved and underwent
restoration, taking seven years to complete. It is a film that every film fan
must see, along with the other Powell and Pressbuger classics.
For their next Technicolor film,
The Archers worked with America’s biggest producer David O. Selznick,
making Gone
to Earth. The film is not easily available, and thus I have never seen it.
I am waiting for and hoping that the Criterion Collection releases it at some
point (as well as A Matter of Life and Death). It is about Hazel, a girl who
feels more comfortable among nature than with humans, often turning to a book
of spells when she has problems, a remnant of her gypsy mother. Hazel becomes
the object of affection of two men, and she finds herself in the middle of
their struggle to possess her. The film is thought of as one of the most
beautiful every made with wonderful cinematography of the English countryside.
O. Selznick, however, did not like the finished film and greatly altered it for
its American release (known as The Wild Heart). It was restored in 1985, but it
is a shame that it is not readily available.
The Archers’ troubles continued
with their next film The Elusive
Pimpernel (which I have also not seen). Neither Michael Powell or star David Niven wanted
to make the film, but were threatened by Alexander Korda that if they did not
make it their contracts would be suspended (greatly hurting their careers). The
film is an action/adventure narrative, but it did not turn out well, likely due
to the lack of interest by all involved. It was not a critical or commercial
success, which contributed greatly to the decline of The Archers (who made the
best British films of the 1940s).
The Tales of
Hoffmann saw The Archers return to ballet. The film is split into three
sections, each telling a different story through visuals, music, and dance
without dialogue (much like a ballet). Basically, it is like a full feature
version of The Red Shoes’s ballet sequence.
Powell and Pressburger made three
more films together (Oh… Rosalinda!,
The Battle of
the River Plate, and Ill Met by
Moonlight) between 1955-1956 before dissolving their partnership to pursue
solo careers. They remained lifelong devoted friends.
Smaller Black &
White Films:
Like 49th Parallel, One of Our
Aircraft Is Missing was a propaganda film, made to forward the moral of the
British people. The film exhibits a striking naturalism, heightened by the lack
of scored music. It garnered Powell’s only Oscar nomination of his career (for
original screenplay, which he shared with Pressbuger).
Their follow up to The Life and
Death of Colonel Blimp, saw The Archers return to black & white photography
and a much smaller scale. A
Canterbury Tale is a very light film, and yet it is transformative. It is
about three people on their way to Canterbury who get stuck in a small town. In
the town they get wrapped up in the mystery of the Glue-Man, who puts glue in
the hair of young attractive women. The three, a land girl, a British soldier,
and an American soldier (played by actual American GI Sgt. John Sweet), take
it upon themselves to discover the identity of the Glue-Man. The film was a
failure upon release and Powell and Pressburger had to greatly rework it for
its American release after the war. It was restored in the late 1970s and is
now considered a masterwork (much like most of their work).
For their next film, Powell and
Pressbuger decided to make a romance film; while contemporary, it feels very
far away from the war. I
Know Where I’m Going! is about a strong willed woman who knows what she
wants and is going to go out there and get it. Only, she meets a man on her way
to her own wedding that throws her for a loop. It was critically acclaimed upon
its release, many praising its naturalistic style and beauty.
The Archers would then go on to
make many of their great Technicolor masterworks; however, they returned to a
smaller black & white narrative in 1949 with the thriller The Small Black
Room. It is about a British military scientist named Rice who is working on
an efficient and safe way to dispose of bombs and mines employed by the Nazis
across England. The Nazis have a new explosive that is tricky, having killed
four people so far who tried to disarm them. Rice turns his attention to this
new device. He also struggles with depression and alcoholism. It is a much
darker film than any of the others by The Archers. Rank, who The Archers had
worked with for a few years, was now in financial crisis, leading Powell and
Pressburger to return to working with Alexander Korda – a move that marked the
end of their best period of filmmaking, as the 1950s saw their decline. The
Small Black Room was a success upon its release, winning a nomination for Best
British Film at the 1950 BAFTA Awards.
Late Careers:
Powell and Pressburger did not
really do much significant solo work – the highlight being Powell’s Peeping Tom.
The two did, however, reteam for two more films in the late 1960s/early 1970s: They’re a Weird
Mob and The
Boy Who Turned Yellow. Neither is anywhere close to as good as their
previous work together. The Boy Who Turned Yellow is also the last feature film
either worked on.
Career Highlights:
2)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)* –
writers, directors, producers (Blu-ray,
Video
On-Demand, Trailer)
*Editor’s picks
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