* * * * (Out of * * * *)
1. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
2. The Red Shoes (1948)
3. Peeping Tom (1960)
(Pressburger had no involvement)
4. Black Narcissus (1947)
5. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
6. The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
7. I Know Where I’m Going! (1945)
8. Gone to Earth (1950)
(I watched it on youtube)
9. A Canterbury Tale (1944)
10. The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
(co-directed with Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan)
11. The Small Back Room (1949)
12. The Edge of the World (1937)
(Pressburger had no involvement)
13. Age of Consent (1969)
(Pressburger had no involvement)
14. Return to the Edge of the World (1978)
(TV Documentary)
I would have to rate Black Narcissus as number one. Unforgettable imagery, and a spellbinding performance from Kathleen Byron. Peeping Tom would be number one on another list though. A wonderful psychological thriller that is streets ahead of Psycho, released in the same year.
Best wishes, Pete.
I’ve only seen Peeping Tom, which I’m a big fan of. Great movie that I want to write about. It is very sophisticated from the psychological point of view which fascinates me. The motivation. Why do deviants behave as they do? I disagree with Pete about Psycho though. I think Psycho is the superior film although it is more campy. The imagery and symbolism in Psycho is more subtle than the blatant phallic symbol knife/tripod in Peeping Tom. Carl Boehm is undoubtedly the better actor over Anthony Perkins.
I love Black Narcissus as well 🙂 And yes Kathleen Byron is indeed unforgettable. One of the things that made Peeping Tom so controversial was it put us (i.e. the viewer) in the shoes of the lead character, who murderers women with that tripod thing on his movie camera. While Psycho kind of did the same thing, Hitchcock employed his trademark black humor to calm the audience. In Peeping Tom, Powell does not bless us with such comforts. Therefore, we are forced to view it with pure ugliness. Anyway, thanks for dropping by 🙂
Oh yeah, please do check out more of Powell and Pressburger’s work? 🙂 I read that their work served as a prime influence on the careers of masterful directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese. Personally, I love both Peeping Tom and Psycho equally. I will agree that the symbolism in Psycho is more subtle whereas that aspect in Peeping Tom is like a German Expressionist film shot in glorious Technicolor. I love both Carl Boehm and Anthony Perkins, but I will admit, that Boehm is even creepier. Anyway, thanks for dropping by 🙂