Blu-Ray Review: Cohen Media’s Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger 

Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger is an intimate masterclass with the filmmaker that knew Michael Powell best… Martin Scorsese.  New from Cohen Media.  

The Film 

For years I resisted the urge to want a single Powell & Pressburger film.  I knew of Scorsese’s obsessions with them.  I just didn’t see what all of this “stoggy English Stiff Upper Lip Tweed Suit” nonsense had to do with Scorsese’s Casino or Taxi Driver.  

Was I ever wrong. 

My first Powell & Pressburger was The Red Shoes and I was forever transformed and enlightened to what the Archers’ unique utterly ravishing filmmaking style had in common with Scorsese.  They both shared the creation of films that were purely and utterly cinematic.  Their work transcended their source materials to ascend to something altogether grander. Music, color, editing, set design, camera movement, acting, score, and composition were all used for a single unifying purpose… to tell something wholly and completely original.  

I wish I had Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger as a younger man.  To hear Scorsese eloquently describe what made Powell & Pressburger’s filmography so special.  To see how director David Hinton matches Scorsese’s excitable discussion with the perfect melding of scenes, photos, and other ephemera from those very films.  The film is not just a masterclass on this duo’s truly wonderful filmography but a look into Scorsese’s own craft and how it was molded by these two men.  

The film charts Michael Powell’s burgeoning film career from PA to working filmmaker to meeting and beginning his collaboration with Emeric Pressburger and charting all the way to the end of their filmmaking careers.  The 133-minute run time breezes by as Scorsese recounts not only the duo’s cinematic journey but his own friendship with Powell who at the time was all but forgotten by both British and American cineastes.  

Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger is made with craft, passion, and a singular vision that fans of Powell and Pressburger will no doubt love.  However, it will be the unconvinced that will find a world of films to discover if they give this wonderful documentary a chance.  

The Transfer

Cohen Media has given the film an excellent transfer.  The film and most importantly the scenes they have chosen to pull from the Powell & Pressburger films are absolutely fantastic.  The doc and the films look wonderful on Blu-ray.  They ensured that both were each other’s equals in terms of sharpness, quality, and luster.  Often times with these sorts of documentaries the footage from the films they’re referencing looks terrible.  Here, more than likely because of Scorsese’s involvement everything looks fantastic.  I even went as far as to compare the footage from some of the films that I have that are referenced here and look to be sourced from the same materials.  All in all a truly great image for a delightful film.  

The Extras

They include the following;

• Trailer

Theatrical Trailer (1:31)

The Final Thought 

Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger is the kind of cinematic deep dive into a filmmaking team that is as important as the career of the producer of the film Martin Scorsese.  Highest Recommendations!! 

Cohen Media’s Blu-Ray edition of Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger is out November 5^th