The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger

Reviews / Votes

This book is a pleasure to read, full of generous appreciations of Powell and Pressburger's work from a multitude of personal angles. -- Philip Kemp * Sight & Sound * A lavish volume. -- Robin Ashenden * The Spectator * A richly illustrated book ... Alongside the films themselves, this splendid book is testament to a unique creative collaboration. -- Jacqueline Riding * The Art Newspaper * The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger raids the BFI's archive to provide definitive visual gloss on the partnership's career. Gorgeous paintings from the production-design teams. Reproductions of pages from Powell's diary revealing his immaculately vertical penmanship. Lavish promotional stills that work subtle variations on the moving images. No coffee table is complete without it. -- Donald Clake * The Irish Times * A superb acknowledgement of the powerfully collaborative nature of filmmaking ... [And] a record of remarkable artistic freedom made possible for a prolifically imaginative director and writer to cast their spells, enthusiasm and love. * London Grip * Echoing the laudatory tone of the BFI season, The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger is the kind of elegant, thoughtful book museums issue to commemorate an exhibition... Morris and Smith's book is a valuable addition to the literature on Powell and Pressburger. * Cineaste Magazine * Morris and Smith's collection is a superb resource, and there is so much here on which scholars of multiple disciplines can profitably draw and build ... The composite structure of each chapter and the juxtaposition of the analytical, archival, and reflective components set this volume apart from previous scholarship on Powell and Pressburger, offering different insights from those found in autobiographical and biographical works. The editors' expert knowledge of the archival material is a particular strength here. This book will delight and inform those coming to Powell and Pressburger's works for the first time. It will send those familiar with the Archers back to the films themselves with a new set of critical tools and also invites further attention to be directed to the filmmakers' materials in the BFI archive itself. -- Matthew Woodcock, University of Leeds * History * A souvenir of the season and a celebration of the treasures of the Archive itself... The participants [the writers] have assembled all bring something new to a beautifully presented table. * Journal of British Cinema and Television *