The Power of Powell

BBC2 had a Powell and Pressburger double bill on this afternoon. I caught the last 20 minutes of 'I Know Where I'm Going' and then got sucked into 'The Red Shoes'. Stunning stuff! Naturally I've seen each one before and several times, but it's been a while. I couldn't help but really admire some of the beauty in 'I Know...'. The shot where Roger Livesey opens the door to the castle cannot but recall 'The Searchers' for anyone who has seen 'The Searchers', though here Livesey must enter not leave. (Powell's movie predates Ford's). Then the use of shadow and light particularly at the harbour when the damaged boat returns.
In contrast to the use of shadow in the first movie, the vibrant colour of 'The Red Shoes' is almost blinding. Jack Cardiff, the cinematographer, deserves a special mention. Powell, of course, is amazing (the use of whip pan, the incredible composition of shots, etc.). Where I think my problem lies with the films of 'The Archers', is in the scripts of Pressburger. The stories are wonderful, and the oneliners sophisticated, but often the dialogue is just too theatrical (although 'A Matter of Life and Death' is one of my favourite movies, Niven spouting Marvell as he is about to die is just too much). 'The Red Shoes' doesn't suffer from this to a great extent. Moira Shearer is radiant (and Cardiff gets a lot of mileage out of lighting her flame hair), Marius Goring just right as the callow composer, and Anton Walbrook incredible in the plumb role of Lermontov. He exudes charm and selfish insanity as and when required, alternating from friendly mentor to vampiric Svengali. I had planned to stay for the first half hour, but ended up watching it all. Sumptuous.