Join us in this holiday season for a curated retrospective of essential 1940s masterworks from beloved British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. From bittersweet wartime romances to lushly textured dramas and dazzling Technicolor musicals, these captivating and profoundly cinematic classics deserve to be seen on the big screen.
Mark Duguid, senior curator at the BFI National Archive, notes that “the partnership of English director Michael Powell (1905-1990) and Hungarian-born writer Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988) was one of the most inspired in the history of British cinema, producing a body of films notable for their passion and fantasy and quite unlike anything produced in a national cinema traditionally dominated by ‘realism.'”
The retrospective concludes with a lively documentary tribute to the influential filmmaking duo, presented and narrated by Martin Scorsese, one of their most passionate and vocal fans. Strikingly ahead of their time, Powell and Pressburger’s imaginative approach to storytelling and unmatched visual artistry has influenced and been referenced by, among others, Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Wes Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, George A. Romero and Brian De Palma.
This original series is made possible by the generous support of The Honorable Jerome A. Holmes.
OKCMOA Film Society Members (including Fellow, Friend, and Sustainer members) receive $5 tickets to every film in the Powell & Pressburger film series and all other Museum Films screenings. To learn more about joining the Film Society, visit: https://www.okcmoa.com/filmsociety
Visit the bar inside OKCMOA’s Museum Store x Ganache for a variety of beverages to enjoy during the show!
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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP | Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger | 1943 | In English | 164 minutes | NR | Sat., Dec. 7 @ 2 pm
Unfolding between the Boer War and WWII, Powell and Pressburger’s sweeping Technicolor masterpiece follows career soldier and consummate Englishman Clive Candy (Roger Livesey) as his life is shaped by three different women (all played by Deborah Kerr) and a lasting friendship with a German soldier (Anton Walbrook).
I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! | Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger | 1945 | In English | 92 minutes | NR | Sat., Dec. 14 @ 2 pm
Set against the windswept Scottish Hebrides, Powell and Pressburger’s sublime romance follows a willful young woman (Wendy Hiller) whose plan to marry for money is upended by a chance at true happiness. New 4K Restoration!
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
| Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger | 1946 | In English | 104 minutes | PG (for thematic elements) | Sat., Dec. 21 @ 2 pm
In this stunning and singular blend of bittersweet romance, medical mystery, and dazzling supernatural fantasy, a British wartime aviator (David Niven) who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American radio operator (Kim Hunter). New 4K Restoration!
BLACK NARCISSUS
| Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger | 1947 | In English | 102 minutes | NR | Sat., Dec. 28 @ 2 pm
Winner of two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Production Design, Powell and Pressburger’s ravishing Technicolor adaptation of Rumer Godden’s 1939 novel follows a group of British nuns struggling with isolation and repressed desire as they attempt to establish a convent in the remote Himalayas.
THE RED SHOES | Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger | 1948 | In English | 135 minutes | NR | Sat., Jan. 4 @ 2 pm
Voted one of the greatest films of all time in the most recent Sight and Sound poll, Powell and Pressburger’s breathtakingly cinematic backstage drama tells the story of a young ballerina torn between artistic passion and romantic love.
MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER | David Hinton | 2024 | In English | 131 minutes | NR | Sat., Jan. 11 @ 2 pm
In this captivating documentary, legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese takes us on a personal journey through the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the visionary British duo behind classics such as The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus.
