Enchanted Evenings: The Boundless Cinema of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Sep 18-Nov 20, 2024
The wellsprings of myth, magic and Neo-Romantic modernism surge through the spellbinding films of Powell and Pressburger. The legendary writing-directing team, known as the Archers, set a dazzling high standard for breathtaking beauty and thematic daring, in films that reveal the mystical power of nature and stir our hearts, minds and souls. The Archers champion the liberated freedom of thought, artistic expression and choices in love, often centering on spirited female characters.
Series Pass: $125 | $85 Members
Pass provides access to all in-person Enchanted Evenings screenings, September 18-November 20 at SIFF Cinema Egyptian.
The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Tales of Hoffmann, Peeping Tom, and the entire Archers canon have charmed and inspired film artists like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Greta Gerwing, and Tilda Swinton. In addition to the Archers’ artistic genius, Scorsese feels their passion. The way their films can seem thrillingly out of control, “not the emotions of the characters, but the emotions of the people who made the films. Their passion is out of control.”
The British Film Institute, SIFF, and Greg Olson Productions will present ten restored Powell and Pressburger films weekly on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, September 18-November 20, at SIFF Cinema Egyptian.
Series curated and written by Greg Olson.
Free Opening Night doughnuts generously provided by Mark Klebeck of Top Pot Doughnuts on September 18.
Tova Gannana, poet, film curator and teacher, will provide essays on all the films.
Enchanted Evenings: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
United Kingdom | 1943 | 164 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
September 18, 2024
On the British World War II home front an aging gentleman soldier (Roger Livesey), and a brash young one (James McKechnie), learn how to most effectively fight battles of love and war. Mysteriously, a woman Livesey encounters at various stages of his life seems to be the same woman (Deborah Kerr). This is Thelma Schoonmaker Powell’s (Powell’s widow, Scorsese’s triple-Oscar editor) favorite film, not least for its ingenious flashback structure. With Anton Walbrook.
Enchanted Evenings: A Canterbury Tale
United Kingdom | 1944 | 125 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
September 25, 2024
Like modern-day Chaucer’s seekers on the Pilgrims Way to the Canterbury Cathedral, two young soldiers (Sgt. John Sweet, Dennis Price) meet a woman (Sheila Sim) in the dark, and later confront a perhaps dangerous magus-like landsman who might help enact their spiritual destinies.
Enchanted Evenings: I Know Where I’m Going!
United Kingdom | 1945 | 92 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
October 2, 2024
A brash status-obsessed woman (Wendy Hiller) heads north to marry into corporate wealth. But stormy weather strands her on a tiny Hebridean isle, where the landscape, and the alluringly simple life of the locals, seem magical. Are she and the local laird (Roger Livesey) part of an ancient legend? Where is she going?
Enchanted Evenings: Stairway to Heaven (A Matter of Life and Death)
United Kingdom | 1946 | 104 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
October 9, 2024
Michael Powell’s favorite film makes reality fantastical, as a pilot (David Niven) bails out without a parachute, having fallen in love with radio operator Kim Hunter’s voice. He survives, they’re in love, but Heaven is short one soul, so Niven must go on trial in a vast celestial amphitheater in order to stay alive. Can the universe’s love manifest as a teardrop? With Roger Livesey.
Enchanted Evenings: Black Narcissus
United Kingdom | 1947 | 100 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
October 16, 2024
In the high Himalayas Anglican nuns (Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron and company) try to establish a convent school, but the natives’ earthy ways, and the erotic fires of human nature, are seductive. Can “civilization” tame timeless forces? Red lipstick as rebellious liberation.
Enchanted Evenings: The Red Shoes
United Kingdom | 1948 | 133 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
October 23, 2024
The Archers’ most famous film feverishly accompanies a young ballerina’s (Moira Shearer) rise to fame. Dedicated to Art, she’s tempted by earthbound love (composer Marius Goring), but her red shoes dance her on and on. The film that launched ballet dancers of all genders.
Enchanted Evenings: The Small Black Room
United Kingdom | 1949 | 106 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
October 30, 2024
Brilliant but tormented bomb expert Sammy Rice is drafted into a secret project during World War II concerning a new land mine that German planes have been dropping over England's beaches. But despite the ministrations of his faithful assistant and girlfriend, Susan, Rice's increasingly problematic alcoholism and a recent injury threaten his ability to work.
Enchanted Evenings: Gone to Earth (35mm)
1950 | 111 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
November 6, 2024
A nature girl (Jennifer Jones) of the Welsh hills is courted by a pious vicar (Cyril Cusack) and tempted by a roguish squire (DavidFarrar). Amidst an evocatively rendered sense of place, sacred and profane love entwine in the Celtic twilight. Presented on 35mm.
Enchanted Evenings: Tales of Hoffmann
United Kingdom | 1951 | 138 min. | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
November 13, 2024
Set to Jacques Offenbach’s enchanting music, an archetypal Poet (Robert Rounseville) courts women (Moira Shearer, Ludmilla Tcherina) in various locale and times, ever-pursued by his wicked nemesis (Robert Helpmann).
Enchanted Evenings: Peeping Tom
United Kingdom | 1960 | 101 min. | Michael Powell
November 20, 2024
A psychologist experiments on his young son, who grows into a gentle, photography-obsessed man (Carl Boehm) who lives to see fear on others’ faces. Can we sympathize with a murderer? Powell calls this a “tender film,” full of empathy for a twisted soul. With Moira Shearer.