Review by John Larkin
Scorsese's passionate love letter to two of Britain's greatest filmmakers.
As someone who has been well acquainted with Martin Scorsese's deep affection for the films of revered British writer/directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I was curious what new factoids I would learn in this new documentary from David Hinton, not only about Powell and Pressburger but about Scorsese's personal connection to the material. To my delight, there were many. Chief among them being that Scorsese first discovered their famously colorful films on his small black and white TV as a child growing up in his New York apartment. It wasn't until years later when Scorsese happened upon a hole in the wall 16mm screening room that he finally witnessed the original color versions, though unfortunately the color prints tended to be trimmed down and missing significant chunks of their third acts.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were a tour-de force British filmmaking duo from the 40's and 50's who churned out lavish technicolor spectacles that were not only gorgeous to look at, but psychologically complex and possessed a surreal quality truly unique in world cinema at the time. Their collaboration is the heart of what this film is really about, and featured in the doc are a slew of never-before-seen interview and home videos clips of both men discussing their working relationship.
Powell and Pressburger had a falling out related to disagreements over the making of the film GONE TO EARTH (1950) which was recut and released in the U.S. as THE WILD HEART. From there, both men went their separate ways. It was Scorsese himself who tracked down a somewhat recluse Michael Powell in the late 1970's and brought him back to the modern New York/Los Angeles filmmaking scene and into relevancy again. Powell would end up marrying Scorsese's longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker and became a prominent aspect of Scorsese's social circle until this death in 1990.
The real treasure of this documentary is hearing Scorsese reminisce on each of the filmmaking duo's films (with the occasional solo effort by Powell) and then reveal a direct connection from one of their films to his own, and how it shaped his filmmaking sensibility. In RAGING BULL, for example, Scorsese staged the Jake LaMotta boxing sequences like a dance, similar to the ballet scenes from THE RED SHOES or the sword fight from TALES OF HOFFMAN. In THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP there features a long comical sequence that is a precursor to a sword duel, but when the duel finally starts the camera pulls away. "It's not the actual duel that matters..." Scorsese expounds, "It's the emotions behind it and leading up to it". It then cuts to the long tracking shot from RAGING BULL of Jake LaMotta jogging his way to the boxing ring while the crowd goes wild with anticipation. That sequence, like the duel in BLIMP, also cuts before the actual match.
I was very fortunate to watch the doc at a special screening event at The Jacob Burns Film Center, featuring a post film discussion with the master himself, moderated by his longtime friend and former NY times film critic Janet Maslin. Scorsese's tireless enthusiasm for the medium is unmatched and his passion emanated from the stage onto a sold out crowd buzzing with excitement at being in the presence of one of the great artists of our time. Scorsese is as masterful an orator as he is a filmmaker and very comfortable doing so. In fact, Scorsese didn't want the discussion to end, jokingly protesting when being signaled that it was time to take off.
At one point Janet Maslin brought up the irony that Scorsese, famously Italian American, is so deeply connected to Michael Powell, a brit who loved to hike the Scottish countryside. Scorsese than shared an interesting tidbit; Thelma Schoonmaker gifted Scorsese a DNA test a few years ago and it turns out he has some Scottish ancestry on his fathers side. In fact, the name Scorsese is very close to Scozzese, which in Italian, is the word for "Scottish". Scorsese then cracked some jokes relating to his sliver of non-Italian heritage.
It speaks to the power of Powell and Pressburger's artistry and passion that despite only transmitting through that small black and white box, their films forever shaped the course of a young boy's life, a boy who would grow up to become one of the most revered filmmakers in the history of the medium. It's a story in itself that's both inspiring and a well needed tonic for an industry whose future is full of uncertainty and doubt.
Janet Maslin closed out the nights discussion with a plea to Scorsese; to continue putting himself front and center of the film history conversation, and bringing with him his contagious passion for the medium as a whole. We can only hope he continues to do just that.
Below are excerpts from the excellent post film discussion hosted by Janet Maslin at the Jacob Burns Film Center.
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