The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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New Powell & Pressburger Documentary – Made in England

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‘Made in England’ is a fascinating new documentary, hosted by Martin Scorsese, about the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, particularly those released under the Archers label. Their films were unique, innovative and influential. They made films they wanted to make, rather than under studio instructions, so took risks with little regard to box office success. The result was a group of brilliant, unforgettable films, including ‘The Red Shoes’, ‘Black Narcissus’, ‘The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp’, ‘A Canterbury Tale’ and ‘A Matter of Life and Death’. Turns out that Scorsese worked for a number of years with Michael Powell and got to know him well. Any Powell & Pressburger fans in The Afterword? Have you yet seen ‘Made in England’?

Mixed by Erry

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I’ve read this article but don’t really know what it’s on about. I’ve never heard of Mixed by Erry before. I thought it might interest anyone who has, plus KFD. @kaisfatdad It combines three of your obsessions in one handy package: Music, Cinema and Italy. (Not my obsessions, I hasten to add, because I don’t have any.)

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/mar/08/i-was-the-spotify-of-the-1980s-the-italian-pirate-mixtape-empire-that-brought-pop-to-the-people

Cinema Songs

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What is your favorite song from a film, or song brilliantly used in a film?

I have so many and if this thread takes off I’ll post a few. But I’ll start with Curtis Mayfield. Obviously Superfly is his career highpoint; few soundtrack composers get to undermine the entire film they are soundtracking (low budget has a certain freedom). But this song, No Thing On Me (Cocaine On Me) doesn’t get the attention it deserves. It’s a glorious piece of joy.

So folks, film soundtracks or moments from films brilliantly soundtracked by the perfect song. Let me know…

No, don’t tell me the plot!

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I hate knowing the plot of a film before I see it, it spoils it somewhat for me

It’s difficult to avoid the plot outline when you’re browsing films to watch.

movie reviews, friends and then trailers and sometimes posters give away too much information

In fact I’d prefer to know nothing about a film before I see it – actors, director, setting -nothing (maybe the year it was made would be ok)

Ideally and I know this is impossible, I would be put in front of a screen knowing nothing about the film and there would be a good chance I’d like it

Am I being unreasonable/unrealistic – does anyone else have a similar view?

Philip K Dick: A brief introduction

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Following the recent Man In The High Castle mini-debate surely it’s time that we debated the merits of the man who is possibly the most influential writer in Hollywood, even if he’s been dead for thirty years. As a card-carrying Phil fan I’m keen to get the Massive’s thoughts on his literary output, and perhaps persuade a few of you to venture forth into the great man’s considerable oeuvre. His enormous influence on current sci-fi, especially in the movies, is perhaps not as borne out in mega book sales as you would expect.

Here’s my ten-point guide to the man’s formidable body of work – at almost fifty novels and hundreds of short stories he wrote a lot – as sci-fi writers had to in those days to live. Quality varies widely, and he dabbled in mainstream fiction and even children’s stories as well as science fiction.

1. Yes the short stories are better than the novels. He’s not the only sci-fi great for whom this is true. Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein and many others writing, let’s say, before 1970 also follow this rule. They were paid by the word and this led to novels being expansions of short stories and » Continue Reading.