Made In England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger
This Scorsese-guided waltz through the great duo’s work is an absolute delight
Take the sublime filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and give Martin Scorsese – not only one of the great American Directors of his age but also the man who was key in critically rehabilitating the duo – two and a bit hours to explore their work, and you have a match made in heaven.
A common issue with these kinds of career-spanning documentaries is that they can feel un-cinematic; often too BBC4-ready that they might as well stick an advert for the new Lucy Worsley programme alongside the credits. But Made in England is too personal for that, too heartfelt in its love for the films and the people who made them. Scorsese’s insight into their work is both knowledgable and giddy with enthusiasm for their formal brilliance, and he readily admits what he has pinched from them for his own films, elevating the documentary from drab objectivity into something far more valuable: a look at influence in action and a direct nod to true innovators.
It is a thorough work, affording time to forgotten films like 49th Parallel and Gone to Earth. Despite this, Made in England is more sprightly than some of Scorsese’s own documentaries, credit for which should go to director David Hinton who maintains momentum despite the film’s deliberately digressive style. Made in England comes from such an earnest place of appreciation that you can’t help but be charmed by it. You'll come away as awed by Scorsese’s committed cinephilia as you will Powell and Pressburger’s dazzling brilliance.
Released 10 May by Altitude; certificate 12A