If you're a film enthusiast, Made in England: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger should rank high on your list. Director David Hinton structures his film around an extended narration from director Martin Scorsese, who became close to Powell late in the director's life. (Powell, who died in 1990, was married to Scorsese's go-to editor, Thelma Schoonmaker). The films of Powell (director) and Pressburger (screenwriter) include The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, and The Tales of Hoffman. Scorsese talks about the influence the Powell/Pressburger collaboration had on his career. Clips and biographical information show how one generation of filmmakers can find itself in conversation with another. I'm not going to rehash the film's content, but it's difficult to find a better guide through someone's filmography than Scorsese. For Scorsese, the films he discusses aren't part of film history: They're as vital to him today as they were when he first saw them, sometimes on TV when he was a kid. That sense of immediacy keeps Made In England from becoming a lecture: It's an informed and passionate appreciation.
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