Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		5.0

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 6, 2024

A famous person with the initials M.S. made "it's a good thing" a catchphrase, and many film lovers would probably agree that it's a very good thing that another famous person with the initials M.S. has made championing the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger something of a personal mission. For the uninitiated (and/or uninitialed), that first person was of course Martha Stewart, and the second is the producer and narrator of this fabulous documentary, Martin Scorsese. Scorsese once again recounts his by now well known (at least to Scorsese fans) anecdote about having an asthmatic childhood, relegated to his family's living room to watch television a lot of the time, where he more or less stumbled on old Powell-Pressburger films which were being broadcast as part of a local afternoon movie series (which kind of fascinatingly ran the same film every day for a week, with multiple "showings" on weekends). It was here that in good, old fashioned black and white and on what Scorsese mentions was a "tiny 16 inch screen", the future icon was whisked away by everything from The Thief of Bagdad (not strictly a Powell-Pressburger film, but one nonetheless still appallingly absent on Region A Blu-ray) to The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

That maybe slightly wonderful "superfan" aspect on the part of Scorsese gives this documentary a personal feel that is not always part and parcel of many such overviews. That said, this may frankly not be an "information fest" for anyone who knows much about Powell, Pressburger and The Archers (their production entity), but it is simply a heady reminder of how much this team contributed to film, and not just British film. Scorsese does a good job as "tour guide", leading the audience through the great Archers filmography that includes not just the films linked to above, but 49th Parallel, A Canterbury Tale, I Know Where I'm Going! , A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, and The Red Shoes, as well as the film that pretty much put an end to Powell's career, Peeping Tom.

There's also good if interstitial biographical data imparted, at least insofar as how the partnership between Powell and Pressburger worked (there are some charming archival interviews with the pair as elders), as well as how Scorsese himself helped to at least partially resurrect Powell's reputation, if not his actual career, rather late in Powell's life. It's notable, if perhaps disappointing, that several of the above linked films are, like The Thief of Bagdad, still unavailable on Blu-ray in Region A (and in some cases, any region).

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in a variety of aspect ratios, but basically in 1.78:1. Some videophiles may be a bit shocked that Scorsese or whoever aggregated the clips offers a quick opening montage with Academy Ratio outings reframed to 1.78:1, but the good news is the rest of the film clips are in their original aspect ratios. As with most documentaries cobbled together from so many different sources, there is an unavoidably heterogeneous look to much of the footage, though the contemporary Scorsese talking head segments look sharp and well detailed. Even many of the film clips are at least reasonable looking, with some of the archival video of Powell or Powell and Pressburger can look pretty shoddy at times. Stills tend to be sharp as a tack for the most part.

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger features either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. This is another documentary where the need for a surround track may be questionable, and in fact there's really not a whale of a lot of difference between these two options, especially since the films in particular originally had mono soundtracks. All of this said, both tracks provide a worry free listening experience, with all spoken material delivered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:31)

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger is, to once again utilize a famous catchphrase, a "good thing" and then some. There's frankly nothing here that is going to amaze anyone who has even general knowledge about this famous pair, but there's still such a heartfelt ambience to the proceedings that even well worn material has new interest. Technical merits are fine, and even without any substantial supplements, Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger easily comes Highly recommended.