36° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
POWELL & PRESSBURGER

THE TALES OF HOFFMANN

THE TALES OF HOFFMANN
by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Country: UK
Year: 1951
Duration: 133'


Hoffmann’s diabolic tales in the musical version by Jacques Offenbach: people who sell eyes, seductive mechanical dolls, wizards who can transform wax into diamonds, femmes fatales who bring death, mirrors which steal images, and magicians who buy souls. Gothic-expressionistic fantasy, with highpoints of visual delirium, for which P&P recompose the magnificent group of artists from The Red Shoes, starting with Moira Shearer and Ludmilla Tcherina.

Biography

film director

Michael Powell

Michael Powell (Bekesbourne, UK, 1905 - Avening, UK, 1990) started his collaboration with Emerich Pressburger (Miskolc, Hungary, 1902 - Saxstead, UK, 1988) in 1939. In 1943 they formed their own production company, Archers Film Productions. They made nineteen films together, such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947), Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). The Archers Film Productions came to an end in 1957 and the pair separated to pursue their individual careers (Powell in 1960 directed Peeping Tom) but they remained devoted friends for the rest of their lives. 

FILMOGRAFIA


Michael Powell:
Two Crowded Hours (mm, 1931), My Friend the King (mm, 1931), Rynox (mm, 1931), The Rasp (mm, 1931), The Star Reporter (mm, 1931), Hotel Splendide (mm, 1932), C.O.D. (1932), His Lordship (1932), Born Lucky (1932), The Fire Raisers (1933), The Night of the Party (1933), Red Ensign (Vessillo rosso, 1934), Something Always (1934), The Girl in the Crowd (mm, 1934), Lazybones (1935), The Love Test (1935), The Phantom Light (1935), The Price of a Song (1935), Someday (1935), Her Last Affaire (1936), The Brown Wallet (1936), Crown V. Stevens (1936), The Man Behind the Mask (1936), The Edge of the World (Ai confini del mondo, 1937), The Spy in Black (La spia in nero, 1939), The Lion Has Wings (Leoni dell’aria, doc., 1939), Contraband (Contrabbando, 1940), The Thief of Bagdad (coregia/codirector Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan, Il ladro di Bagdad, 1940), An Airman’s Letter to His Mother (cm, 1941), 49th Parallel (Gli invasori/49° parallelo, 1941), One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (Volo senza ritorno, 1942), The Sorcerer’s Apprendice (cm, 1955), Honeymoon (1959), Peeping Tom (L’occhio che uccide, 1960), The Queen’s Guards (Le guardie della Regina, 1961), Never Turn Back On a Friend (mm, tv, 1963), A Free Agent (mm, tv, 1964), The Bluebeard’s Castle (1964), The Sworn Twelve (mm, tv, 1965), A 398 46 (mm, tv, 1965), They’re a Weird Mob (Sono strana gente, 1966), Age of Consent (L’età del consenso, 1968), The Boy Who Turned Yellow (Il ragazzo che diventò giallo, 1972), Return to the Edge of the World (tv, 1978).


Michael Powell, Emerich Pressburger:
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Duello a Berlino, 1943), The Volunteer (Il volontario, 1943), A Canterbury Tale (Un racconto di Canterbury, 1944), I Know Where I’m Going (So dove vado, 1945), Black Narcissus (Narciso nero, 1947), The Red Shoes (Scarpette rosse, 1948), The Small Back Room (1949), Gone to Earth (La volpe, 1950), The Elusive Pimpernel (L’inafferrabile Primula Rossa, 1950), The Tales of Hoffmann (I racconti di Hoffmann, 1951), Oh... Rosalinda!! (id., 1955), The Battle of the River Plate (La battaglia di Rio della Plata, 1956), Ill Met by Moonlight (Colpo di mano a Creta, 1956). 

Emerich Pressburger

Michael Powell (Bekesbourne, UK, 1905 - Avening, UK, 1990) started his collaboration with Emerich Pressburger (Miskolc, Hungary, 1902 - Saxstead, UK, 1988) in 1939. In 1943 they formed their own production company, Archers Film Productions. They made nineteen films together, such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947), Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). The Archers Film Productions came to an end in 1957 and the pair separated to pursue their individual careers (Powell in 1960 directed Peeping Tom) but they remained devoted friends for the rest of their lives. 

FILMOGRAFIA

Emeric Pressburg:
Twice Upon a Time (C’era una volta…, 1953)


Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger:
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Duello a Berlino, 1943), The Volunteer (Il volontario, 1943), A Canterbury Tale (Un racconto di Canterbury, 1944), I Know Where I’m Going (Io so dove vado, 1945), A Matter of Life and Death (Scala al Paradiso, 1946), Black Narcissus (Narciso Nero, 1947), The Red Shoes (Scarpette rosse, 1948), The Small Back Room (I ragazzi del retrobottega, 1949), Gone to Earth (La volpe, 1950), The Elusive Pimpernel (L’inafferrabile Primula Rossa, 1950), The Tales of Hoffmann (I racconti di Hoffmann, 1951), Oh… Rosalinda!! (id., 1955), The Battle of the River Plate (La battaglia di Rio de la Plata, 1956), Ill Met by Moonlight (Colpo di mano a Creta, 1957).



Cast

& Credits

regia, sceneggiatura, produttori/directors, screenplay, producers
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
soggetto/story
dall’omonima opera di/from the opera of the same title by Jacques Offenbach
fotografia/cinematography
Christopher Challis
montaggio/film editing
Reginald Mills
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
Moira Shearer (Stella, Olympia), Robert Rousenville (Hoffmann), Robert Helpmann (Lindorff, Coppelius, Mr Dapertutto, Dr. Miracolo/Miracle), Leonid Massine (Spalanzani, Schlemiel, Franz), Ludmilla Tcherina (Giulietta), Anna Ayars (Antonia)
produzione/production
The Archers, Vega Film Productions
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