DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT FILMMAKERS are often made by fans of their subject.
It’s rare, though, to get three people as deeply and personally invested as the makers of Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger. It is presented by Martin Scorsese, a long-avowed enthusiast of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; edited by Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese’s longtime collaborator and Powell’s widow; and directed by David Hinton, who has his own history with Powell.
“It was incredibly personal for all of us,” says Hinton. “In the ’80s, I made a film for The South Bank Show about Michael. I was a friend of Michael’s at the end of his life. Thelma and I have stayed friends ever since.” When the prospect of a documentary emerged, Scorsese and Schoonmaker recommended that Hinton helm the project. The result is an ambitious love letter to the minds behind The Red Shoes, A Matter Of Life And Death and Black Narcissus, five years in the making, blending archival material, film clips, and Scorsese’s narration.