Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were two of the UK’s most influential filmmakers. Their creative partnership in the 40s produced some of the most stylistically ambitious, subversive and thematically rich films ever made. These films have inspired generations of filmmakers from Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Dario Argento and Spike Lee, to name a few. This season, as curated by the BFI in conjunction with the Film Audience Network, aims to introduce, or reintroduce, viewers to the creative powerhouses that helped transform British cinema.
The films include David Niven in A Matter of Life and Death, Deborah Kerr in Black Narcissus, and the masterpiece The Red Shoes. We are delighted to welcome Sight and Sound’s Pamela Hutchinson to this screening, author of the BFI Classic book on The Red Shoes, to offer insight into the film.
As an additional treat we are also screening Michael Powells Peeping Tom, made after the Pressburger partnership in 1963. This classic thriller is celebrating it’s 60th Anniversary with a 4K reissue.
The Films
Sunday 19th November | 2:45pm
A young photographer and obsessive amateur filmmaker prowls Fitzrovia with his 16mm camera, in search of women to film. A frank exploration of voyeurism and violence, Michael Powell’s extraordinary film is the story of a psychopathic
cameraman – his childhood traumas, sexual crises, and murderous revenge as an adult. By forcing the audience to share Mark’s murderous point of view, Powell makes viewers complicit in the unsettling acts.
Sunday 3rd December | 12.30pm
David Niven and Kim Hunter star in this visually splendid romantic fantasy. Returning to England from a bombing run in May 1945, a British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.
Sunday 10th December | 3pm
Stunning photography in this drama starring Deborah Kerr. A group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
Sunday 17th December | 2pm
Under the authoritarian rule of charismatic ballet impressario Boris Lermontov, his proteges realise the full promise of their talents, but at a price – utter devotion to their art and complete loyalty to Lermontov
himself. Young ballerina Victoria Page is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a top dancer.
Sight and Sound’s Pamela Hutchinson will be participating in a Q&A after the screening to offer insight into the film and discuss it’s impact on filmmaking. Pamela is the author of the BFI Classic book on The Red Shoes.