Made In England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (12A)

 The screening on Thu 30 May at 7.30pm has descriptive subtitles

Martin Scorsese first encountered the films of Powell and Pressburger when he was a child, sitting in front of the family TV. When their famous logo came up on screen, Scorsese says, “You knew you were in for fantasy, wonder, magic – real film magic.”

Now, in this documentary, he tells the story of his lifelong love affair with their movies, including The Red Shoes, The Life and Death Of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, and The Tales of Hoffmann.

“Certain films you simply run all the time and you live with them,” Scorsese says. “As you grow older they grow deeper. I’m not sure how it happens, but it does. For me, that body of work is a wondrous presence, a constant source of energy, and a reminder of what life and art are all about.”

Drawing on a rich array of archive material, Scorsese explores in full the collaboration between the Englishman Powell and the Hungarian Pressburger – two romantics and idealists, who thrived in the face of adversity during World War II but were eventually brought low by the film industry of the 1950s.

Scorsese celebrates their ability to create “subversive commercial movies” and describes how deeply their films have influenced his own work.

‘This absorbing celebration of the great film-making partnership is elevated by the enthusiasm and authority of narrator Martin Scorsese’ – ★★★★ The Guardian

‘Scorsese is a thrilling guide on two of Britain’s greatest ever filmmakers’ – Evening Standard

‘Martin Scorsese presents a loving, personal tribute to the filmmakers’ legacy’ – BFI

‘Glorious’ – Total Films

‘A testament to mentorship and friendship’ – The Hollywood Reporter

Director: David Hinton

• Information about screenings with descriptive subtitles

  Descriptive subtitles, sometimes referred to as subtitles for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing people or captions, transcribe dialogue and relevant aspects of the soundtrack, including music and sound effects, attempting to give D/deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers an equal experience to those who are able to watch films without descriptive subtitles. Descriptive subtitles would include speech identifiers and descriptive elements such as [door slamming] and [kettle whistling].

• Seating accessibility information

  Cinema

  Seat size

  Seats in the Cinema are 45cm (172/3“) wide and 46cm (18“) deep, are 40cm (152/3“) from the floor, and have 12cm (42/3“) between seats.

  Armrests

  Seats in the Cinema have armrests that do not fold away, and cannot be completely removed.

  Legroom

  Seats in the cinema have 30cm (112/3”) of legroom in front of seats, with additional legroom on row A and seats B1-B4 and B11-B14.

  Further information

  If you have any questions about accessibility our Box Office team are always happy to help and can be contacted on 01642 525199 or by emailing [email protected] - you can also tell us about your access requirements when prompted to do so during the online booking process.

• BBFC rating information (may contain spoilers)

  Violence

  Scenes of moderate violence feature people being shot in undetailed fashion, fighting at the edge of mountains and impactful blows delivered during a boxing match. There is also milder, stylised violence in scenes from period drama and action films. There are references to wartime violence and domestic abuse.

  Threat and horror

  Scenes of moderate threat include two women struggling with each other at the edge of a mountain and in danger of plunging to their death, and intimidation with weapons. In an unsettling scene from a film, a woman backs away in fear and screams, which is seen from the perspective of her attacker through a camera lens. Milder threat features a fighter pilot attempting to bail out from his damaged plane and people in danger as their small boat is tossed around in stormy seas.

  Language

  There is infrequent very mild bad language (‘God’).

  Sex

  A sex worker tells a man what she charges, and is subsequently seen starting to remove her clothing, but no sexual activity is shown. In the context of film analysis, references are made to a male character being presented as a “sex object” and the unusually erotic nature of a film made in a certain historical period.

  Injury detail

  There is infrequent mild injury detail, such as blood on the side of a fighter pilot’s head after his plane is struck by enemy fire and, in a highly stylised, dreamlike ballet sequence, a person’s head and limbs are cut off.

  Suicide

  There are infrequent scenes of suicide, the detail of which occurs off-screen. There are also verbal references to characters in films taking their own lives.

  Alcohol and tobacco

  There are references to alcoholism. Scenes from various films depict smoking, which reflects the historical era in which they were produced.

  Flashing/flickering lights

  This work contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.