Following on from the huge success of the BFI’s major ‘Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger’ project last year, discover five rare early films by acclaimed British director Michael Powell in the 2-disc collection, Michael Powell: Early Works. Newly remastered by the BFI National Archive and available for the first time on Blu-ray.

Throughout the 1930s, director Michael Powell (The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, Peeping Tom) honed his craft on a succession of modestly budgeted feature films produced under the United Kingdom’s screen ‘quota’ system. Many of these titles remain lost but those rare films which survive, reveal a burgeoning talent that readily established Powell as one of British cinema’s leading lights. Of special interest to cinephiles, these films reveal the origins of Powell’s irreverent humour, an eye for topical issues, and his growing skill with actors.

This new 2-disc collection brings together five early films directed by Powell, newly remastered by the BFI National Archive, including Behind the Mask (the abridged version of Powell’s lost 1936 film, The Man Behind the Mask). Discover the formative works of a filmmaking icon with this collection featuring murder mysteries, sensational thrillers and a comedy caper. Remastering for the BFI project has been made possible with the support of Matt Spick and the Charles Skey Charitable Trust.

The Films:

• Rynox (1931, 47 mins)
• Hotel Splendide (1932, 53 mins)
• The Night of the Party (1934, 63 mins)
• Her Last Affaire (1936, 68 mins)
• Behind the Mask (abridged reissue version of The Man Behind the Mask) (1944, 56 mins)

Michael Powell: Early Works will be released as a 2-disc Blu-ray set by the BFI on 23 September 2024 at the RRP of £34.99.

2-DISC BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Five newly recorded audio commentaries by Marc David Jacobs (Rynox, Behind the Mask), Lawrence Napper and Dom Delargy (Hotel Splendide), Dr Josephine Botting and Vic Pratt (The Night of the Party), and Ian Christie (Her Last Affaire)
• Riviera Revels – Travelaughs No.1 and No.10 (1927, 26 mins total): Powell himself appears  in these rare short comedy curiosities from the silent era, with optional audio commentary by Bryony Dixon,  curator of silent film at the BFI
• Inside the Archive: Riviera Revels (2024, 12 mins): Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of Riviera Revels and Michael Powell's work on them
• Inside the Archive: The Early films of Michael Powell (2024, 42 mins): a new documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell
• Visions, Dreams and Magic: The Unmade Films of Michael Powell (2023, 41 mins): new documentary exploring some of Michael Powell’s unrealised films
• Interview with Erwin Hillier (1988, 26 mins, audio): in these extracts from an interview recorded by the British Entertainment History Project, cinematographer Erwin Hillier recalls working with Michael Powell
• The Archers in Argentina  (1954, 21 mins): Michael Powell and an international film-star entourage are captured on camera at an Argentinian film festival in this home movie footage shot by Emeric Pressburger, with optional audio commentary by Marc David Jacobs
• Illustrated booklet featuring contributions from James Bell, Marc David Jacobs, Lawrence Napper, Pamela Hutchinson, Ian Christie, Bryony Dixon, Dr Josephine Botting and Kieron Webb