The Archers: Films by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

"Written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger" – these words and the logo of their production company "The Archers" began all the films made by the unique writer-producer-director duo. Michael Powell (1905 – 1990) started his career in the British film industry during the silent movie era, working with Rex Ingram and Alfred Hitchcock among others. In the 1930s, he made a series of "quota quickies" - low-budget, quickly-made entertainment films. The producer Alexander Korda introduced him to Emeric Pressburger (1902 - 1988) in 1939. The Hungarian had worked as an author for UFA in the 1930s before being forced to flee the Nazis. He escaped to England via France. The duo's first joint works were propaganda films which anticipated their later resourcefulness and predilection for experimentation. Their extravagant work found a rather singular niche in British filmmaking that was more focused on realism. They created opulent, flamboyant and visually stunning films, which were characterized by their twin-kling charm and light-hearted humor, until they parted ways in 1957. Soon after, Powell's career came to a premature end over the Peeping Tom (1960) scandal. Powell and Pressburger's works were rediscovered in the late 1980s thanks to younger directors such as Martin Scorsese and Derek Jarman.