Bluebeard's Castle (Powell, 1963): BFI Southbank, NFT3, 6.10pm
This film is part of the Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger season at BFI Southbank and features an introduction by writer Lillian Crawford. There are further screenings of the movie on December 8th and 23rd. You can find full details here.
Chicago Reader review:
After the hostile reception to his 1960 masterpiece Peeping Tom,
Michael Powell was virtually banished from English cinema, and most of
his remaining oeuvre is a scattered assortment of TV commissions and
Australian features. Made in 1963 for West German TV, this rarely seen
one-hour adaptation of Béla Bartók’s only opera, based on a libretto by
Béla Balázs (later known as a film theorist and as screenwriter of Leni
Riefenstahl’s first feature), is a particular standout, especially for
its vivid colors and semiabstract, neoprimitive decor (by Hein Heckroth,
who also designed the sets for The Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffman).
The two performers are producer Norman Foster (not to be confused with
the Hollywood actor and director) in the title role and Anna Raquel
Satre as Bluebeard’s doomed wife, Judith. In accordance with Powell’s
wishes, the English subtitles briefly describe and clarify the action
but don’t translate the text.
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Here (and above) is an extract.
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