Powell and Pressburger

Video Essay: Art Goes On Forever - A Tribute to Powell and Pressburger

(Source: quixotando.wordpress.com)

My favorite film of all time is ‘A Matter of Life and Death,’ directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring David Niven. In the U.S. it was called ‘Stairway to Heaven.

For me, it is beautifully shot. It is fantastically acted. It has a quality of strangeness that I always love in the best works of art. It is about two forms of reality, the real world that David Niven inhabits and this fantastical world of Heaven with angels and all that stuff. And you never get asked to choose which one is the real one or not.

I think that — as with all of Powell and Pressburger’s films — it is incredibly progressive for its time and also very challenging, but in the form of being very accessible entertainment. And I love that.

— Michael Sheen

Early in November 1944, we finished all the exteriors, packed up and moved south back to Denham. We had brought back with us the actual open motorboat we used in the film. The actors were able to work in a real boat, surrounded by wind and water machines, and working close up against a back projection screen, so close that they could almost feel the whirling waters of Corryvreckan. One day, when wind and water were at full blast, the boat was pitching and tossing, Roger was roaring at Wendy, Wendy was screaming at Roger, and receiving buckets of water in the face from zealous prop-men, I looked up and saw a mildly surprised face, only a few feet away from mine, watching our eccentric activities with great interest. It was David Niven.
When the whole thing came to a gradual stop, and we dried off, he ventured a remark:
‘Is this a private fight, or can anybody get in on it?’
It was at that very instant that I cast him as Peter, the hero of ‘A Matter of Life and Death’.

— Michael Powell, A Life in Movies (via joan-webster)

dreampalace:

(Source: joan-webster)

byronic:

Ten Reasons Why A Matter of Life and Death is the Greatest British Film Ever Made | Quixotando

dreampalace:

Because the finer points of film archiving are still a mystery to me (I am never going to remember all the different gauges, film stocks, colour processes etc…) I have been doing some volunteering at the archive affiliated with my University. Last week I noticed an entry in the database under the heading of ‘David Niven’. There was no other information beyond that it was a piece of 16mm footage. The archive also holds a few reels of ‘The World of David Niven’, a tv programme Niven fronted during the 1970s (I think), so I assumed it was just another reel of that. 

Well I got it out of the vaults today to have a look at it, and found this - 

Hmm, says I to myself, that looks a bit familiar. Beckoned one of my course-mates who is also a Powell and Pressburger fan (by gestures, too excited to form words) to check I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.

Cue unbounded glee. In my hands (ok, I was wearing gloves, but whatever) is a copy of A Matter of Life and Death - my favourite film! On actual film.

It’s 16mm rather than 35mm so we assumed it was one reel of a library print or something. I was told not to bother winding through the entire thing, but I decided I wanted a picture of Marius Goring, because he is so excellent in this film. So, I wound through a bit further, to just before Conductor 71 reappears when - woe!

The rest of the reel seems to be clips from various other films - no more Niven though. I’ll post some more of the pictures I took because the films look really interesting. If anyone can identify any of them, that would be brilliant. I have no idea why all these pieces were joined together, seems to be a strange mix.

(Source: joan-webster)

Roger Livesey in A Matter of Life and Death

(Source: joan-webster)

A Matter of Life and Death, 16mm

(Source: joan-webster)

classicsfan:

Feb. 13, 2011

37. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

Starring David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter

Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

Plot: “A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court.” (from IMDb)

This is impressively conceived, but it’s just too odd for me to like. It does have a lot going for it: well-done special effects, captivating use of color and scenery, good performances, and an original plot. I liked many of the actors—David Niven was ideal for the lead role; Kim Hunter was believable as the all-American girl (though her character could’ve perhaps used more dimension); and Roger Livesey interjected just the right amount of honest sentiment and humor to his part. Yet the film as a whole still wasn’t my favorite. To be fair, I rarely like any sort of science fiction or fantasy films. Even ones that everyone else loves.

I wrote a bit more about my thoughts on this film here: 

[About A Matter of Life and Death] and then David Niven strolled on the set and strolled off with the part. - Michael Powell, A Life in Movies

(Source: joan-webster)

ridiculii:

A Matter of Life and Death (1946, dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger).

(Source: philopompy)