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MICHAEL POWELL: EARLY WORKS
BFI Blu-ray (2-Disc set) release on 23 September 2024
Following on from the huge success of the BFI's major 'Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger' project last year, discover five rare early films by acclaimed British director Michael Powell. Newly remastered by the BFI National Archive and available for the first time on Blu-ray.
Throughout the 1930s, director Michael Powell (The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, Peeping Tom) honed his craft on a succession of modestly budgeted feature films produced under the United Kingdom's screen 'quota' system. Many of these titles remain lost but those rare films which survive, reveal a burgeoning talent that readily established Powell as one of British cinema's leading lights. Of special interest to cinephiles, these films reveal the origins of Powell's irreverent humour, an eye for topical issues, and his growing skill with actors. This new 2-disc collection brings together five early films directed by Powell, newly remastered by the BFI National Archive, including Behind the Mask (the abridged version of Powell's lost 1936 film, The Man Behind the Mask). Discover the formative works of a filmmaking icon with this collection featuring murder mysteries, sensational thrillers and a comedy caper. Remastering for the BFI project has been made possible with the support of Matt Spick and the Charles Skey Charitable Trust.
The Films:
Rynox (1931, 47 mins)
Hotel Splendide (1932, 53 mins)
The Night of the Party (1935, 63 mins)
Her Last Affaire (1935, 68 mins)
Behind the Mask (abridged reissue version of The Man Behind the Mask) (1944, 56 mins)
About the remastering:
The comprehensive digitisation of Powell's existing early works, including examples of the Travelaugh Riviera Revels series, alongside Emeric Pressburger's 16mm home movies featured on this set, was a key aspect of the BFI's celebratory Cinema Unbound project. All available copies of the titles in this set were brought together, examined physically and compared by conservators at the BFI National Archive. The best copies of each title for digitisation, separate for sound and picture, were then repaired, cleaned and scanned. For some films, this was an archival film element. All picture digitisation, including the 16mm home movies, has been carried out at 4K resolution and 16-bit colour depth. In parallel, nitrate sound negatives for the features were digitised at the Conservation Centre. Picture and sound were then draded and equalised.
Until this year, Behind the Mask was the only one of Powell's known to survive early films not to be preserved by the BFI National Archive. The Man Behind the Mask, Powell's final quota film was long considered lost and listed on the BFI's "Most Wanted" list. Fortunately a 16mm print of an abridged 'reduction' print, Behind the Mask, survived within the collections of the George Eastman Museum. The archival teams of both BFI and George Eastman Museum quickly agreed that new work should encompass preservation on film and high-quality digitisation. With the generous support of the film laboratory at the Packard Humanities Institute, which made a 35mm 'blow-up' picture negative, the BFI and GEM collaborated to create in parallel new film prints and a 4K digital master used for this set. As a result of this collaboration the new 4K digital master and film print for Behind The Mask has been acquired and brought into the BFI National Archive collection, filling a key gap in the BFI's holdings of Powell's early films.
Special features
Newly recorded feature commentaries by Marc David Jacobs (Rynox, Behind the Mask), Lawrence Napper and Dom Delargy (Hotel Splendide), Dr Josephine Botting and Vic Pratt (The Night of the Party), and Ian Christie (Her Last Affaire)
Riviera Revels – Travelaugh No.1 and No.10 (1927, 26 mins total): Powell himself appears in these rare short comedy curiosities from the silent era, with optional audio commentary by Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI
Inside the Archive: Riviera Revels (2024, 12 mins): Bryony Dixon explores the origins of Riviera Revels and Michael Powell's work on them
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell (2024, 42 mins): a new documentary on the BFI National Archive's role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell
Visions, Dreams and Magic: The Unmade Films of Michael Powell (2023, 41 mins): a new documentary exploring some of Michael Powell's unrealised films
Interview with Erwin Hillier (1988, 26 mins, audio): in these extracts from an interview recorded by the British Entertainment History Project, cinematographer Erwin Hillier recalls working with Michael Powell
The Archers in Argentina(1954, 21 mins): Michael Powell and an international film-star entourage are captured on camera at an Argentinian film festival in this home movie footage shot by Emeric Pressburger, with optional audio commentary by Marc David Jacobs
Image galleries
***First pressing only*** Illustrated booklet featuring contributions from James Bell, Marc David Jacobs, Lawrence Napper, Pamela Hutchinson, Ian Christie, Bryony Dixon, Dr Josephine Botting and Kieron Webb; notes on the special features and credit
Product details
RRP: £34.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1523/ 12
UK | 1931-1944 | black and white | 286 minutes | English language with optional descriptive subtitles original aspect ratios 1.37:1, 1.33:1 | BD50 x 2: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)
MICHAEL POWELL: EARLY WORKS
BFI Blu-ray (2-Disc set) release on 23 September 2024
Following on from the huge success of the BFI's major 'Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger' project last year, discover five rare early films by acclaimed British director Michael Powell. Newly remastered by the BFI National Archive and available for the first time on Blu-ray.
Throughout the 1930s, director Michael Powell (The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, Peeping Tom) honed his craft on a succession of modestly budgeted feature films produced under the United Kingdom's screen 'quota' system. Many of these titles remain lost but those rare films which survive, reveal a burgeoning talent that readily established Powell as one of British cinema's leading lights. Of special interest to cinephiles, these films reveal the origins of Powell's irreverent humour, an eye for topical issues, and his growing skill with actors. This new 2-disc collection brings together five early films directed by Powell, newly remastered by the BFI National Archive, including Behind the Mask (the abridged version of Powell's lost 1936 film, The Man Behind the Mask). Discover the formative works of a filmmaking icon with this collection featuring murder mysteries, sensational thrillers and a comedy caper. Remastering for the BFI project has been made possible with the support of Matt Spick and the Charles Skey Charitable Trust.
The Films:
Rynox (1931, 47 mins)
Hotel Splendide (1932, 53 mins)
The Night of the Party (1935, 63 mins)
Her Last Affaire (1935, 68 mins)
Behind the Mask (abridged reissue version of The Man Behind the Mask) (1944, 56 mins)
About the remastering:
The comprehensive digitisation of Powell's existing early works, including examples of the Travelaugh Riviera Revels series, alongside Emeric Pressburger's 16mm home movies featured on this set, was a key aspect of the BFI's celebratory Cinema Unbound project. All available copies of the titles in this set were brought together, examined physically and compared by conservators at the BFI National Archive. The best copies of each title for digitisation, separate for sound and picture, were then repaired, cleaned and scanned. For some films, this was an archival film element. All picture digitisation, including the 16mm home movies, has been carried out at 4K resolution and 16-bit colour depth. In parallel, nitrate sound negatives for the features were digitised at the Conservation Centre. Picture and sound were then draded and equalised.
Until this year, Behind the Mask was the only one of Powell's known to survive early films not to be preserved by the BFI National Archive. The Man Behind the Mask, Powell's final quota film was long considered lost and listed on the BFI's "Most Wanted" list. Fortunately a 16mm print of an abridged 'reduction' print, Behind the Mask, survived within the collections of the George Eastman Museum. The archival teams of both BFI and George Eastman Museum quickly agreed that new work should encompass preservation on film and high-quality digitisation. With the generous support of the film laboratory at the Packard Humanities Institute, which made a 35mm 'blow-up' picture negative, the BFI and GEM collaborated to create in parallel new film prints and a 4K digital master used for this set. As a result of this collaboration the new 4K digital master and film print for Behind The Mask has been acquired and brought into the BFI National Archive collection, filling a key gap in the BFI's holdings of Powell's early films.
Special features
Newly recorded feature commentaries by Marc David Jacobs (Rynox, Behind the Mask), Lawrence Napper and Dom Delargy (Hotel Splendide), Dr Josephine Botting and Vic Pratt (The Night of the Party), and Ian Christie (Her Last Affaire)
Riviera Revels – Travelaugh No.1 and No.10 (1927, 26 mins total): Powell himself appears in these rare short comedy curiosities from the silent era, with optional audio commentary by Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI
Inside the Archive: Riviera Revels (2024, 12 mins): Bryony Dixon explores the origins of Riviera Revels and Michael Powell's work on them
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell (2024, 42 mins): a new documentary on the BFI National Archive's role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell
Visions, Dreams and Magic: The Unmade Films of Michael Powell (2023, 41 mins): a new documentary exploring some of Michael Powell's unrealised films
Interview with Erwin Hillier (1988, 26 mins, audio): in these extracts from an interview recorded by the British Entertainment History Project, cinematographer Erwin Hillier recalls working with Michael Powell
The Archers in Argentina(1954, 21 mins): Michael Powell and an international film-star entourage are captured on camera at an Argentinian film festival in this home movie footage shot by Emeric Pressburger, with optional audio commentary by Marc David Jacobs
Image galleries
***First pressing only*** Illustrated booklet featuring contributions from James Bell, Marc David Jacobs, Lawrence Napper, Pamela Hutchinson, Ian Christie, Bryony Dixon, Dr Josephine Botting and Kieron Webb; notes on the special features and credit
Product details
RRP: £34.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1523/ 12
UK | 1931-1944 | black and white | 286 minutes | English language with optional descriptive subtitles original aspect ratios 1.37:1, 1.33:1 | BD50 x 2: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)