{"id":29555,"date":"2024-07-11T14:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T18:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=29555"},"modified":"2024-07-13T14:50:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-13T18:50:21","slug":"legendary-film-editor-thelma-schoonmaker-celebrates-late-husband-michael-powell-by-debuting-the-doc-made-in-england-the-films-of-powell-and-pressburger-at-tribeca-fest-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=29555","title":{"rendered":"Legendary Film Editor Thelma Schoonmaker Celebrates Late Husband Michael Powell by Debuting The Doc \u201cMade in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger\u201d at Tribeca Fest and More"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pressburger & Powell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Report by Brad Balfour<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMade in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger\u201d
Director:\u00a0David Hinton
2024 Tribeca Festival
June 11 [premiere]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger\u201c
Through July 31\u00a0
Museum of Modern Art [MoMA]
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I should have attended the opening night screening of “Black Narcissus” when Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese introduced the Museum of Modern Art’s [MoMA] retrospective of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger films, but I didn\u2019t. Instead, I made it the next night to see legendary film editor, Thelma Schoonmaker share her thoughts about Powell, her late husband when the institution screened “Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But hell, Marty was the sole narrator of this definitive doc so we hear him speak throughout a whole film celebrating the late Michael Powell and his partner, Emeric Pressburger, directed by David Hinton. In fact, Schoonmaker was introduced to Powell by Scorsese and his London-based film producer, Frixos Constantine. The couple were married from May 19, 1984 until his death in 1990. Since they had no children, Schoonmaker has been devoting herself to honoring and preserving the legacy of the many classic films that Powell directed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in January, 1940, this American film editor is best known for her five decades-long collaboration with Scorsese. Schoonmaker started working with Scorsese on his 1967 debut feature film, \u201cWho’s That Knocking at My Door,\u201d and has edited all of his films since 1980\u2019s \u201cRaging Bull.\u201d Awarded many accolades, she has won three Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four ACE Eddie Awards. The 84-year-old has been honored with a British Film Institute Fellowship in 1997, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2014, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In close collaboration with the British Film Institute (BFI), MoMA has been screening a comprehensive retrospective honoring this legendary filmmaking duo, creators of such classic films as \u201cThe Red Shoes,\u201d \u201cA Matter of Life and Death\u201d and \u201cBlack Narcissus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Powell’s controversial 1960 film \u201cPeeping Tom\u201d was so vilified on first release that it seriously damaged his career, but it\u2019s now considered a classic and a contender for the first “slasher movie.\u201d Besides Scorsese, many renowned filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola and George A. Romero have cited Powell as an influence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1981, he received the BAFTA Fellowship along with partner Pressburger — the highest honor the British Academy of Film and Television Arts can bestows upon filmmakers. This series \u2013 the largest and most wide-ranging exploration of their work ever undertaken \u2013 celebrates the duo\u2019s cultural legacy and enduring influence. It features several 35mm prints, as well as new digital restorations of such Powell and Pressburger classics as \u201cThe Small Back Room,\u201d \u201cThe Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” and \u201cThe Tales of Hoffmann.\u201d Rarely screened films from Powell\u2019s late period will include \u201cOh\u2026 Rosalinda!!,\u201d \u201cThe Battle of the River Plate,\u201d \u201cPeeping Tom,\u201d and his long-unavailable 1963 adaptation of Bela Bartok\u2019s opera, \u201cBluebeard\u2019s Castle.\u201d The latter two are newly restored by the BFI National Archive and the Film Foundation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These true cinematic visionaries and innovators worked together on 24 films between 1939 and 1972, with Powell directing and Pressburger responsible for the scripts \u2014 though their duties blended often enough. For the films they produced together as The Archers, their credit reads \u201cDirected and written by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.\u201d The Archers worked with an exceptionally talented group of longtime collaborators who helped to craft and deliver their narrative worlds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Dan Diaz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Schoonmaker introduced the doc at MoMA, she offered these comments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very glad that you are going to have a chance to see what it’s like when I work with Marty. From the time I met him, he talked about the films of Powell and Pressburger. And when videos finally came around, he would send me home with one from the editing room so I could actually see why he was so excited. Of course, when I saw the films, I became as excited as he was. When he introduced me to Michael Powell at a dinner, while we were editing \u201cRaging Bull,\u201d I was stunned by him. \u201cMuch to the amazement of everyone, including Michael and myself, we began a relationship and eventually married. Michael was with us in New York from \u201cThe King of Comedy\u201d until the film \u201cGoodfellas.\u201d He loved being back in the film world, and his presence meant so much to Marty as you will see in the documentary. So here’s just a few notes, [then] we can get into the documentary about Michael’s time with us in New York.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have all these great masterpieces to try and get down into a length that\u2019s reasonable. Michael would stop me on the street in New York sometimes and demand indignantly, ‘Why isn’t \u2018Mean Streets\u2019 being run every day somewhere in New York City?\u201d He thought it was a masterpiece. He’s right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMichael gave us the ending for \u2018After Hours.\u2019 We didn’t have a strong ending and some people were giving us ideas like Cheech and Chong should fly away in a balloon. But Michael said no. Richard Dunn has to go back to the hell where we first saw him, teaching someone how to use a computer when what he really wants to do is write a great American novel. And that’s what Marty shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen \u2018The Last Temptation of Christ\u2019 was under such severe attack even before it was released, we had to have bodyguards for Marty. Marty finally let Michael see an almost finished edit of the film. He was always so worried about showing Michael any edits of our films because he said if he doesn’t like it, I’m going to jump out the window. At the end, Michael stood up and there were tears streaming down his face. And I thought, what an incredible gift that was for Marty to be given at that terrible time.

\u201cMost importantly, when Marty couldn’t sell \u201cGoodfellas\u201d to the studios, if you can believe that, because they said he had to take the drugs out. He said, \u2018I can\u2019t.\u2019 That’s the story. So I think that’s in the editing room when I told Michael about it. He got very upset. He said he was ferociously protective of Marty’s artistic rights because of what he, himself, had suffered. \u201cAnd he told me to read him the script. When I finished, he said, get Marty on the phone. When I did, he said to Marty, “This is the best script I’ve read in 20 years. You have to make it.” Marty went in one last time and got it made. Can you imagine if \u2018Goodfellas\u2019 had never been made? But Michael did not live to see it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn return, what Marty has done for Michael and Emeric, is so enormous. Nobody’s done as much as him to bring the films of Powell and Pressburger back from oblivion, in which they lingered for more than 20 years. He brought Michael Powell to the U.S., took him to film festivals where he got awards, entered \u2018Peeping Tom\u2019 into the New York Film Festival in 1980, arranged for its re-release in America. And through his film foundation, he has raised the funds to restore eight of the Powell-Pressburger films.That is only a small list of what he has done through the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo when Nick Varley, one of the producers of \u2018Made in England: the Films of Powell and Pressburger,\u2019 suggested making a documentary about them, Marty and I were thrilled. We knew that it should be directed by David Hinton, who had already made a lovely film for the South Bank show on British TV about Michael Powell, when he was still alive and when his autobiography was published. Hinton took everything Marty had ever said or written about Powell and Pressburger and in conjunction with Marty, skillfully created the beautiful script you are about to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDavid also insisted that Marty should be the only host in the documentary. No talking heads. How right he was. When Marty and I finished working on that little film, \u2018Killers of the Flower Moon,\u2019 We joined into a wonderful collaboration with David and his editor Margarida Cartaxo. Edits flew back and forth across the Atlantic. It was a great joy for me to be living with the great films that I loved so much. You’ll see a long list of organizations that funded the documentary, for which we are very grateful. With special thanks to George Harrison’s widow, Olivia, who came in at the end to give us a much needed boost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd just in time, for there is an explosion of interest in the films of Powell and Pressburger around the world. The British Film Institute, at the end of last year, put on a major retrospective of their films. Large numbers of young people attended the packed screenings and events. Now, the MoMA, collaborating with the BFI, has put on an equally major retrospective for you all to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are so grateful to Dave Kehr, Olivia Priedite, and Sean Egan for the huge job of getting 50 films here for us all. And because of the amazing interest in the documentary, it is being distributed around the world, even in Beijing, where they screened it three times. We are so grateful to Altitude Movie and Cohen Media for making this possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To end, I want to give my undying thanks to Marty, for letting me help him edit 22 of his movies, for initiating me into the Powell-Pressburger cult and for giving me the most wonderful husband in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, after Tribeca Festival debuted \u201cMade in England\/The Films of Powell & Pressburger,\u201d MoMA\u2019s retrospective began. In presenting the doc there, Schoonmaker answered a few questions from a moderator about the film:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thelma Schoonmaker: Oh, it’s so emotional. This film was made with quite a few people who really love Powell. It came out of years of Marty sending me home with videos of their movies and educating me about them and talking about them all the time. The producer of this film, Nick Varley, suggested to me that we make a documentary about it because of the wonderful celebration of Powell and Pressburger last year in England, in which I participated a lot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now the MoMA is doing exactly the same celebration. They’re going to run 50 films of these men.I never get tired of these movies, and was so thrilled to be part of it. Marty’s deep emotion about this movie is just what makes it so strong. Nobody ever did more to bring Powell and Pressburger back to the world than Marty. Many other people \u2013 Ian Christie, Kevin Goff Yates, Bertrand Tavernier \u2013- did great work to bring it back. But it was Marty who really, because of his ability to create publicity for them, made sure that the Museum of Modern Art ran a retrospective many years ago.Getting \u201cPeeping Tom\u201d reissued, all these things Marty did. Then he introduced my husband to me. It’s an amazing thing to share with you all. And I do hope you’ll go and see things at the Museum of Modern Art. Yes, definitely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: This is such a fascinating documentary, and it\u2019s very much a love story from Scorsese to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thelma Schoonmaker: When I went to the celebration in England, there were so many young people there. I would look out at the audience, and half of them would be young people. They are coming in droves to these meetings. They’re rediscovering them. I went up to Toronto to show this documentary, and after that they ran 10 films of Powell and Pressburger. And they said it was packed with young people. Michael and Emmerich would be so thrilled to know that. Anytime would have been the right time, but we seem to have accidentally hit a particular moment. That is wonderful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Talk a little bit about the decision to tell the story of Powell and Pressberger’s career through the lens of another filmmaker?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thelma Schoonmaker: I think David \u2013 this movie\u2019s wonderful director \u2013 said that he wanted Marty to be the host. He didn’t want a lot of talking heads. But he said, \u201cNo, I just want one person. I want Marty to do it.\u201d And of course, we agreed. And I think he was absolutely right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: He’s been a champion for their films for such a long time. you can really feel the love and connection to their films through his films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thelma Schoonmaker: Yes, I think he’s probably one of the best working filmmakers who can talk about film.Q: You made an interesting choice with the film to highlight just a few of the films. Do you think that there is one film that you could pick that is the most meaningful or most special to you from Powell and Pressburger? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thelma Schoonmaker: I hate that question because that’s like saying, which of your children do you like best? I love them all. But my personal favorite is \u201cThe Life and Death of Colonel Blimp,\u201d which I accidentally saw when I was 15. We weren’t allowed to watch TV except when our mother chose what we should watch at night. But my mother worked as a nursery school teacher and I got home before her from high school and I turned on this wonderful million dollar movie that Marty talks about in the documentary where they ran the same film nine times in one week. Marty would try and watch them nine times unless his mother got fed up and stopped him. I just happened to turn on the TV and there was this amazing film. I will never forget it. It just marked me so deeply. Little did I know that I would, many years later, meet the director and marry him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael’s personal favorite was \u201cA Matter of Life and Death.\u201d He loved being a magician and he could do anything he wanted in that movie. Create heaven and earth, forget all about continuity and the things we’re supposed to do when we make films. Just do what was right. Of course, Rex Ingram — the director that he worked with at the Victorine Studios when he was young — had inspired him with this love of magic. So that was his favorite.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger Opens Friday, July 12th
Q&As with Thelma Schoonmaker, 7\/12 & 7\/13
The Quad
34 W 13th St.
New York, NY 10011
Contact: info@quadcinema.com<\/p>\n

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