The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp: Criterion Collection

Considered by many to be one of the best British films ever made, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) is undeniably Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterpiece – a sprawling epic that spans four decades, from the Boer War through World... 

Black Narcissus: Criterion Collection

Black Narcissus (1947) was based on Rumer Godden’s 1934 novel of the same name about her experiences in India. It was made into an uncharacteristically sensual film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and featured an impressive Technicolor look... 

The Red Shoes: Criterion Collection

The Red Shoes (1948) is steeped in the rich tradition of backstage musicals but instead of making a comedy – the norm for many musicals – filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger opted for a drama. The project actually began in 1934 when producer... 

A Canterbury Tale

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger updated Chaucer’s A Canterbury Tale by setting it during World War II (the film actually came out in 1944) – August 1943 to be exact, when U.S. soldiers were arriving in England in preparation for D-Day. Right... 

The Tales of Hoffmann

Leading British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham conducted the ballet sequence in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Red Shoes (1948). He proposed filming one of his favourite operas (which he first conducted in 1910), Jacques Offenbach’s Les...