#powell and pressburger

[benzedrine-calmstheitch]

Good Omens season 2 referencing Powell & Pressburger films

Crowley's angel hair is modeled after Kim Hunter's hair as June in A Matter of Life and Death (1946).

Maggie's shop is called The Small Back Room in reference to 1949's The Small Back Room.

The red ballet shoes on the door of Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death are a nod to The Red Shoes (1948). (Note : the klaxons sounding in Heaven at the end of episode 1 are said to be a nod to the alarm bells in The Other World in A Matter of Life and Death. Personally, I don't think they sound at all alike; they are only similar in both being alarms. Plus, it's an audio reference, which I don't have the skill or patience to include here. But it's there!)

In The Small Back Room, Maggie has a poster for the film Stairway to Heaven displayed. A Matter of Life and Death was released under this title in the US.

The tartan hills welcoming Aziraphale to Scotland are a reference to the tartan hills welcoming Joan to Scotland in I Know Where I'm Going! (1945). And of course, the third episode is itself titled "I Know Where I'm Going."

Jim drops the book My Best Games of Chess, 1924-1937, by Alexander Alekhine, onto a table in the bookshop repeatedly as he is discovering how gravity works. This book is featured prominently in A Matter of Life and Death.

When Aziraphale enters The Resurrectionist pub in Edinburgh, I Know Where I'm Going! is playing on both televisions (I'm pretty sure I found the right scene to match this screenshot). You can also make out the name 'Pressburger' on one of the posters in this screenshot, but we'll get to that later. . .

The family name on the mausoleum where Aziraphale and Crowley hide out with Elspeth and Wee Morag is Archers. It's never clearly seen in the show, but it can be seen in this BTS photo of the model used for Crowley's embiggening. The Archers was the name of Powell and Pressburger's production company. The interior of the tomb and the urns outside the full-size set also reference the Archers, and Powell & Pressburger individually.

In Mr. Arnold's record shop, one of the posters on the wall is for a UK music tour; either the band or the tour is titled Met By Moonlight. This is referencing Ill Met By Moonlight (1957), the final film Powell & Pressburger made together. (I personally think this one is a reach, as the title of the film is a line from A Midsummer Night's Dream and thus not really clockable to the outside viewer as a direct Archers reference, but apparently the intent was there so we're counting it!)

The Pressburger posters are more clearly visible during the Gabriel and Beelzebub rendezvous scene in The Resurrectionists pub. We can see they advertise 'Pressburger Scottish Lager,' which is of course a nod to Emeric Pressburger himself. (Unclear if Michael Powell has his own label that we just don't get a clear view of. . .)

-- -- -- -- --

I clocked a couple of these myself, but they are all referenced in the X-Ray trivia on the Prime Video player. Would love to know if anyone has clocked anymore that aren't divulged. . .

#as a side note : please watch a matter of life and death #it is exquisite as a film and also very relevant to gomens interests #it's on youtube! #good omens #powell and pressburger #the archers #a matter of life and death #the small back room #the red shoes #i know where i'm going #ill met by moonlight

[captainfantasticalright]

Powell and Pressburger easter eggs in Good Omens.

I gathered all of those mentioned within the trivia section of Prime. I also added all the possible behind the scenes posters, even went ahead and looked for the grave inscriptions on the tombs of Powell and Pressburger. Go on and read them, they’re beautiful. “For love is heaven and heaven is love”.

There is an extra slide I’ll add in the reblogs because I can’t put it here.

Who were Powell and Pressburger?

The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s.

Their collaborations—24 films between 1939 and 1972—were mainly derived from original stories by Pressburger with the script written by both Pressburger and Powell. Powell did most of the directing while Pressburger did most of the work of the producer and also assisted with the editing, especially the way the music was used. Unusually, the pair shared a writer-director-producer credit for most of their films.

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #neil gaiman #terry pratchett #good omens fun facts #good omens 2 #easter eggs #powell and pressburger #the red shoes #a matter of life and death #i know where im going

[aduckwithears]

Good Omens: A Matter of Life and Death

Easter eggs and references! We know from the obvious placement of the movie poster in the title sequence and Maggie's shop (and even from Neil's asks) that inspiration was drawn from this movie.

I'm not going to dive deep into a lot of meta connections, but I wanted to share some of the parallels. For a great summary of the movie (A Matter of Life and Death aka Stairway to Heaven by Powell and Pressburger) and some general info relating it to Good Omens pop over to this article. This will contain some spoilers for the movie - now on with the show!

This one is before the movie even starts - The Archers is the production company of Powell and Pressburger - their target logo looks a lot like the one in the magic show portion of the title sequence.

We open in space - looking at stars and supernova, talking about the big, expansive universe. Fascinating how our view of the cosmos has been changed by modern telescopes (Crowley is so proud).

June (our heroine) is an American radio operator and picks up British squadron leader Peter's plane as he is crashing into the channel. They form an instant connection. Her hair was the inspiration for the Starmaker's amazing do.

Peter's fellow airman dies and ends up in Heaven, waiting for him. The angel administrators are very serious, very organized, very well dressed, and Heaven as a whole is colorless.

But Peter doesn't die - in fact he washes up on the beach near June, where they meet and immediately fall in love. Conductor 71 (the heavenly employee who was meant to collect Peter but lost him in the fog) is sent to convince him to come to Heaven, stopping time and freezing June to have a conversation with Peter.

I'll stop here to keep this from getting too long... More to come?

#good omens #good omens s2 #good omens parallels #powell and pressburger #a matter of life and death #good omens easter eggs #good omens references #good omens 2 #gos2 #gomens #a duck talks #stairway to heaven #filmmaking #good omens meta

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1946)

#A Matter of Life and Death #Michael Powell #Emeric Pressburger #Powell #Pressburger #quote #universe #1946 #Powell & Pressburger #earth #stars #powell and pressburger #michael powell and emeric pressburger

[junior-stargazer-goke91]

Black Narcissus (1947)

Directors: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger 

Cinematographer: Jack Cardiff 

#classicfilmsource #black narcissus #deborah kerr #classic movies #classic film #technicolor #powell and pressburger #classicfilmblr #classicfilmedit #oldhollywoodedit

[filmografie]

Favorite films watched for the first time in 2023:

The Long Farewell (1971), dir. Kira Muratova

Black Peter (1964), dir. Milos Forman

Providence (1977), dir. Alain Resnais

The Ascent (1977), dir. Larisa Shepitko

Death in Venice (1971), dir. Luchino Visconti

Black Narcissus (1947), dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Do the Right Thing (1989), dir. Spike Lee

Pather Panchali (1955), dir. Satyajit Ray

Loving Couples (1964), dir. Mai Zetterling

L’Atalante (1934), dir. Jean Vigo

#w23* #2023 in films #films of 2023 #the long farewell #kira muratova #black peter #milos forman #providence #alain resnais #larisa shepitko #the ascent #death in venice #luchino visconti #black narcissus #powell and pressburger #do the right thing #pather panchali #loving couples #spike lee #satyajit ray #mai zetterling #l'atalante #jean vigo

[idlesuperstar]

Conrad Veidt as Captain Hardt in The Spy In Black [Powell & Pressburger, 1939]

#conrad veidt #powell and pressburger #BUTTER #adventures in cinemagoing #so I got to see this on the big screen last night for the first time #thanks to the bfi sending their P&P stuff round the country #not watched it for AGES and had forgotten loads #my pals who came with enjoyed very much which was pleasing #I have never fancied connie but I do love him #and the swagging through the doors entrance is extremELY COOL #also had forgot what boyfriends he and marius are #very interesting to note that in the more histrionic moments he reminds me of anton when he's being histrionic #also him creeping around the boat at the end is just one great audition for a british made dracula with connie as the count #I mean why did that not happen #my wee gifs #look at me actually making gifsets

[chaptertwo-thepacnw]

#gif #the red shoes #the archers #powell and pressburger #moira shearer #léonide massine #1948 #film

[blacknarcissus]

This room though…

The Red Shoes (1948)

#the red shoes #anton walbrook #technicolor #old hollywood #british film #the archers #emeric pressburger #michael powell #powell and pressburger #interior design #classic film #decade: 1940s #1940s cinema #1940s film

[zimshan]

Greta Gerwig was on TCM picking films tonight and talked about inspiration/influences for Barbie.

She explained how “authentic artificiality” was the catchphrase for filming Barbie and named The Red Shoes as one of the films that captured that so well.

And after the film showing, she expanded on that catchphrase and how it influenced Barbie:

“I wanted it to feel like…and we always asked ourselves…how would they do this in 1959? If we were making it in 1959, would you use front projection, rear projection, how would we composite this shot, what would be the thing that we’d use then. Because to me I wanted to give myself the constraints of what a movie world is. Whatever Barbieland was was a sound stage, that it had a lid, it had an edge. And we looked at different versions of the design too, where we would see a corner joined at the end of the stage. Because I wanted that sense of being contained in a box. There’s so many examples in The Red Shoes where you both feel the edge of what the painting is but then you can also see the illusion and depth that it creates. And it was that type of juxtaposition I was interested in.”

She also named two easter eggs in Barbie for any Red Shoes fans out there:

Ken’s cateye sunglasses are inspired by the glasses on Lermontov in the train scene.

The scene Barbie walks up to Kate McKinnon’s house is shot to mimic the scene where Vicki walks up to Lermontov’s mansion in that great big dress.

She kept mentioning the “handmade” aspect of the visual in The Red Shoes. So this comment really resonated for me:

“There’s something exuberant about Powell and Pressburger’s joy of making. It feels like, ‘Well, why don’t we try it like this? Let’s make it like this.’ It feels like it gets at the heart of what I was hoping for Barbie, which…at its heart—it’s play. It has that play of cinema that I love.”

It’s a fitting statement for a movie about a child’s toy and extends to the wider realms of creative pursuits, where real life pressures often constrain child-like play and we lose the joy of making we once had.

Don’t forget the play aspect of creativity. At heart, we’re all still kids with our paint sets and dolls having fun making things and telling stories.

#greta gerwig #barbie #tcm #the red shoes #powell and pressburger #classic film #women directors #quality film meta on tcm guest picks night #the other film she picked was philadelphia story btw so 🎯 #i havent seen barbie yet but thought this was interesting #probably increased my probablity of watching it 100% #films #the philadelphia story #my txt #creativity #inspiration #2023

[pinewood-to-hollywood]

Anton Walbrook as Theo in Powell and Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943).

#anton walbrook #powell and pressburger #1940s #moustache #handsome

[embracing-the-ineffable]

A clue?! Oh my, I just went down a new GO Clue rabbit hole… apparently the Powell and Pressburger film “the Small Back Room” (which is of course the name of Maggie’s shop) has a plot element about a Nazi bomb which looks like a “common thermos flask” (no mention of if it is tartan!) I’ve not seen this film, but adding it to my list since that seems like it could have Clues. Wanted to share and see if you had any ideas. Keep up the great detective work!

I haven't watched The Small Back Room yet, but that's a VERY interesting parallel! @noneorother is working on a movie meta right now, so I'll tag them on this as well. Thanks for sharing!

#good omens meta #good omens analysis #good omens references #good omens season 2 #small back room #powell and pressburger #good omens #good omens clues #ineffable mystery

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1946)    

#films watched in 2022 #A Matter of Life and Death #Michael Powell #ocho #Emeric Pressburger #David Niven #Kim Hunter #Roger Livesey #Marius Goring #Powell & Pressburger #powell and pressburger #1946 #michael powell and emeric pressburger #fantastic #drama #love #death #war #ii world war #hands #flower #flowers #feet #comedy #science fiction #Jack Cardiff #Kathleen Byron

[junior-stargazer-goke91]

The Red Shoes (1946)

Directors: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Cinematographer: Jack Cardiff

#classicfilmsource #the red shoes #powell and pressburger #moira shearer #anton walbrook #classicfilmedit #classicfilmblr

[boxcarwild]

Contraband (1940) is a wartime spy film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, which reunited stars Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson after their earlier appearance in The Spy in Black the previous year. On this occasion, Veidt plays a hero, something he did not do very often.

The title of the film in the United States was Blackout. Powell writes in his autobiography, A Life in Movies, as saying that the U.S. renaming was a better title and he wished he had thought of it.

#contraband #film noir #powell and pressburger #1940s #ww2 #emeric pressburger #michael powell #valerie hobson #blackout #conrad veidt #second world war #world war two

[filmografie]

Favorite films watched in August 2023:

The Hit (1984), dir. Stephen Frears

The Small Back Room (1949), dir. Emeric Pressburger & Michael Powell

The Lady Vanishes (1938), dir. Alfred Hitchcock

Black Narcissus (1947), dir. Emeric Pressburger & Michael Powell

The Long Farewell (1971), dir. Kira Muratova

#the hit #stephen frears #the small back room #the lady vanishes #alfred hitchcock #powell and pressburger #the long farewell #kira muratova #black narcissus #w23* #2023 in film #films of 2023