Michael Powell

[nicolas]

The Small Back Room on UHD, plus Oh... Rosalinda!!, both from Studio Canal in 2024:
http://www.cineoutsider.com/news/storie ... 40103.html

Incredible news, thanks for unearthing this article! More Powell / Pressburger on UHD is always welcome. I guess SC’s decision to issue The Small Back Room in 4K means their other P&P discs sold well. Hopefully this inspires other labels to put out the rest of their catalogue in better quality as well, Criterion should have done much better in that regard.

[Matt]

I wonder what’s happened with I Know Where I’m Going. The Film Foundation restoration showed at Cannes in 2021.

[jazzo]

It’s probably because I haven’t bought the old DVD yet. I’ll get right on that do they can announce the rerelease in a week.

[jazzo]

Just kidding. Of course I own the DVD I can’t wait to replace

[sabbath]

I wonder what’s happened with I Know Where I’m Going. The Film Foundation restoration showed at Cannes in 2021.

BFI premiered the restoration just about three months ago. I guess it will come out this year.

[Stefan Andersson]

Neil Sinyard on The Phantom Light:
http://neilsinyard.britishtelevisiondrama.org.uk/?p=790

[lazarus]

The Elusive Pimpernel is rarely mentioned, so I was surprised to see it in the Creative Worlds of P&P program that was at BFI last year, now passing through New York this month at MOMA, and in August in a scaled-down list of titles at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. This seems to be the red-headed stepchild of the Archers, and I'm wondering if the lack of a restoration is due to it being low priority, regarded as one of their weaker titles, or because the surviving materials aren't good enough to mount a legitimate attempt (maybe the Korda/Goldwyn dispute affected this in some way). Sure wish that we could get an official statement from Thelma Schoonmaker or Scorsese at some point what its status is.

This is from the MOMA website:

Please note, the archival 35mm print has occasional issues with picture and sound.

This must be the same print I caught back in 2012 at Arsenal Kino in Berlin. I remember the quality not being optimum, but I thought the film was a lot of fun, and with Christopher Challis behind the camera this should be regarded as essential viewing.

[starmanof51]

but I thought the film was a lot of fun, and with Christopher Challis behind the camera this should be regarded as essential viewing.

The Mont St Michel ending is played out with real Archers elan

[Stefan Andersson]

On the unmade The Loving Eye project, to star Paul Scofield and Moira Shearer:
https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/polaroi ... on-romance

[Matt]

I'm watching the new documentary on The Archers, Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger on TCM. It's executive produced and narrated by Scorsese. It's similar to his documentaries on American and Italian cinema, more an exercise in enthusiasm than information, but, of course, marvelous. Sadly, the clips of The Elusive Pimpernel look to be taken from an old video master, in stark contrast to the clips of all the other films which have been restored.

[domino harvey]

Cohen just put it out on Blu too, btw

[Never Cursed]

Gone To Earth restoration, purportedly undoing dramatic changes that Selznick made to the film’s negative and all released version, will premiere at NYFF. Though if anyone has a version history of this, I’d like to see it. Didn’t much like the movie when I saw the UK cut a few years ago, but I wouldn’t be surprised if its problems had come from being butchered

[domino harvey]

The Kino Blu had both versions, there were enough differences that they really are two distinct films (this is another example of LB/TMDB being idiots by combining them). I don’t love the “real” version either but I guarantee you will love it more as a reflex to how bad the Selznick cut is. I still think about Jones’ stupid bit in the Wild Heart about calling the owl “Winky” like she’s a Disney princess

Kind of funny that this was not even the only film directed by an international auteur and starring Jennifer Jones to receive drastically different cuts!

[Never Cursed]

Oh, I saw the Selznick cut the same day because it was so short. It’s hilarious. DANGER: MINE!!!