Courtesy of BFI
by James Cameron-wilson
Between the years 1931 and 1937, Michael Powell directed twenty-three films: twenty-three films in six years. Sadly, ten of those works are no longer with us due to the fact that they were printed on the highly volatile nitrate film stock, which was not only extremely difficult and expensive to store, but was highly flammable. Michael Powell, who went on to direct such classics as The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, was still in his twenties when he started directing but was known for his sense of economy and swiftness of turning a project around. Thanks to a government initiative set up to boost British cinema by establishing a quota system – so that a proportion of British films had to be shown in British cinemas alongside the big-budget Hollywood releases – the ‘quota quickie’ was born.
by James Cameron-wilson
Between the years 1931 and 1937, Michael Powell directed twenty-three films: twenty-three films in six years. Sadly, ten of those works are no longer with us due to the fact that they were printed on the highly volatile nitrate film stock, which was not only extremely difficult and expensive to store, but was highly flammable. Michael Powell, who went on to direct such classics as The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, was still in his twenties when he started directing but was known for his sense of economy and swiftness of turning a project around. Thanks to a government initiative set up to boost British cinema by establishing a quota system – so that a proportion of British films had to be shown in British cinemas alongside the big-budget Hollywood releases – the ‘quota quickie’ was born.
- 9/29/2024
- by James Cameron-Wilson
- Film Review Daily
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