English director and writer Michael Powell blended a unique and powerful visual imagination with a mystical sense of life and death and a deft touch of humor, creating some of the most emotionally expressive and stunningly beautiful films yet made. This centennial celebration brings together in discussion a group of artists who knew Powell well, and includes the U.S. premiere of several new restorations of Powell’s finest work.
Black Narcissus, made in collaboration with longtime Powell creative partner Emeric Pressburger, tells the tale of nuns struggling to establish a mission in a remote region of the Himalayan Mountains while confronting the strange emotional impact of their surroundings. The film won Oscars® for its breathtaking and sumptuous production design and cinematography.
Cast: Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Sabu, Flora Robson, Esmond Knight, Jean Simmons, Jenny Laird, Judith Furse, May Hallatt, Shaun Noble, Eddie Whaley Jr., Nancy Roberts, Ley On.
Written, produced, and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; Screenplay based on the novel by Rumer Godden; Director of Photography Jack Cardiff; A Production of The Archers, for Independent Producers Ltd.; Universal, 1947. Technicolor; 35mm. Running Time: 100 mins. Digital projection courtesy of the British Film Institute. Permission courtesy of Sony Pictures Repertory.
Academy Award® Winner for: Art Direction (Color) (Alfred Junge), Color Cinematography (Cardiff).
Presented with the support of UK Film Council U.S., Granada International and Technicolor
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The Edge of the World (1937) |
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The Spy in Black (U-Boat 29) (1939) |
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A Matter of Life and Death
(Stairway to Heaven) (1946) |
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Friday, December 2, 7:30pm
The Edge of the World (1937)
This dramatic and emotional film portrays the demise of a community living on an isolated Shetland Island, as it struggles to survive against the fearsome power of nature. With John Laurie, Belle Chrystall, Finlay Currie, Niall MacGinnis, Eric Berry, Kitty Kirwan. 81 mins. Featuring a new digital restoration by the British Film Institute.
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
A charming and witty story of love diverted; an engaged Wendy Hiller finds herself stranded in a seacoast town where her marriage plans become derailed. With Roger Livesey, Hiller, Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie, Ian Sadler. 91 mins.
Featuring a new digital restoration by the British Film Institute.
Saturday, December 3, 7:30pm
The Spy in Black (U-Boat 29) (1939)
German submarine commander Conrad Veidt is sent to sink British warships off the coast of Scotland during WWI, but British intelligence has gotten there first in this gripping tale of intrigue and danger. With Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Sebastian Shaw, Marius Goring, Hay Petrie, Cyril Raymond. 82 mins. 35mm print newly restoration by the British Film Institute.
A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven) (1946)
A truly original film in which British pilot David Niven goes missing in the fog above the English channel and arrives in ‘the Other World,’ where he must go on trial to reclaim his life and return to the woman he loves. With Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough. 104 mins. 35mm print restoration by the Academy Film Archive and Sony Pictures Entertainment, in collaboration with the British Film Institute.
Film permissions for this series courtesy of Sony Pictures Repertory.
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