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Erwin Hillier
Erwin Hillier (2 September 1911 – 10 January 2005) was a German-born cinematographer known for his work in British cinema from the 1940s to 1960s. Early career Born in Germany to English-German Jewish parents (original surname Hiller), he studied art in Berlin in the late 1920s. Impressed by Hillier's paintings, the director F.W. Murnau offered him a job as camera assistant on ''Tabu'' (1931), but Hillier's father intervened because of Murnau's homosexuality. Fortunately, Murnau recommended him to director Fritz Lang at UFA studios, who employed him on his classic '' M'' (1931). Soon after he moved to Britain to pursue a career in film. In Britain, he worked as a camera assistant for Gaumont Pictures, where he worked with Hitchcock. He later moved to Elstree Studios, working on ''The Man Behind the Mask'' (1936) with Michael Powell, who noted his "insane enthusiasm". His debut as cinematographer came with ''Lady from Lisbon'' (1942). Work with The Archers Impressed by his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin, Germany
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent states, Berlin is surrounded by the State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban area, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the second most populous urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions. Berlin straddles the banks of the Spree, which flows into the Havel (a tributary of the Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel and Dahme, the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee. Due to its locat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Canterbury Tale
''A Canterbury Tale'' is a 1944 British film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Sgt. John Sweet; Esmond Knight provided narration and played two small roles. For the post-war American release, Raymond Massey narrated and Kim Hunter was added to the film. The film was made in black and white, and was the first of two collaborations between Powell and Pressburger and cinematographer Erwin Hillier. Much of the film's visual style is a mixture of British realism and Hillier's German Expressionist style that is harnessed through a neo-romantic sense of the English landscape. The concept that 'the past always haunts the present' in the English landscape was already part of English literary culture, e.g. in works by Rudyard Kipling such as ''Puck of Pook's Hill'', and would become a notable trope for British novelists and film-makers from the 1960s. ''A Canterbury Tale'' takes its title from ''The Canterbury Tales'' of Geof ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dam Busters (film)
''The Dam Busters'' is a 1955 British epic war film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. It was directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis's ''bouncing bomb''. The film was based on the books '' The Dam Busters'' (1951) by Paul Brickhill and '' Enemy Coast Ahead'' (1946) by Guy Gibson. The film's reflective last minutes convey the poignant mix of emotions felt by the characters – triumph over striking a successful blow against the enemy's industrial base is tempered by the sobering knowledge that many died in the process of delivering it. The film was widely praised and became the most popular motion picture at British cinemas in 1955. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted ''The Dam Busters'' the 68th greatest British film of the 20th century. Its depiction of the raid, along with a similar sequence in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shoes Of The Fisherman (movie)
''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' is a 1968 American film based on the 1963 novel of the same name by the Australian novelist Morris West. Shot in Rome, the motion picture was directed by Michael Anderson and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot During the height of the Cold War, Kiril Pavlovich Lakota, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv, Ukraine, is unexpectedly set free after 20 years in a Siberian labour camp by his former gaoler Piotr Ilyich Kamenev, now the Premier of the Soviet Union. He is sent to Rome, where the elderly Pope Pius XIII makes him a cardinal, assigned titulus of the Church of St. Athanasius. Lakota is reluctant, begging to be given "a simple mission with simple men", but the pope insists that he kneel and receive the scarlet ''zucchetto'' that designates the rank of cardinal. When the pontiff suddenly collapses and dies, the process of a papal conclave begins, and Cardinal Lakota participates as one of the electors. During the ''sede vacante'', two ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Angelo (film)
''Private Angelo'' is a 1949 British comedy war film directed by Michael Anderson and Peter Ustinov and starring Ustinov, Godfrey Tearle, María Denis and Marjorie Rhodes. It depicts the misadventures of a soldier in the Italian Army during the Second World War. It was adapted from the 1946 novel '' Private Angelo'' by Eric Linklater. The film's costumes were designed by Ustinov's mother Nadia Benois. A number of scenes were filmed in the Italian village of Trequanda in the Province of Siena. It also featured music played by the Società Filarmonica di Trequanda. Interiors were shot at Welwyn Studios, with sets designed by the art director John Howell. Cast * Peter Ustinov as Private Angelo * Godfrey Tearle as Count Piccologrando * María Denis as Lucrezia * Marjorie Rhodes as Countess * James Robertson Justice as Feste * Moyna Macgill as Marchesa Dolce * Robin Bailey as Simon Telfer * Harry Locke as Corporal Trivet * Bill Shine as Colonel Michael * John Harvey John Harvey may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Anderson (director)
Michael Joseph Anderson (30 January 1920 – 25 April 2018) was an English film director, best known for directing the World War II film '' The Dam Busters'' (1955), the epic ''Around the World in 80 Days'' (1956) and the dystopian sci-fi film ''Logan's Run'' (1976). Early life and education Anderson was born in London, United Kingdom, to a theatrical family. His parents were the actors Lawrence (1893–1939) and Beatrice Anderson (1893–1977). His great-aunt was Mary Anderson of Louisville, Kentucky, who became one of the first US Shakespearean actresses; the Mary Anderson Theatre in Louisville was dedicated to her. He began working in the industry as an actor during the 1930s. By 1938, he had graduated to working behind the camera as an assistant director. During World War II, while serving in the British Army's Royal Signals Corps, he met Peter Ustinov and subsequently assisted him on two films. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sid Field
Sidney Arthur Field (1 April 1904 – 3 February 1950) was an English comedy entertainer who was popular in the 1940s. Early years Field was born in Ladywood, Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Albert (a candlemaker) and Bertha (a dressmaker). Field spent most of his childhood in Birmingham. As a child, he charged his friends "admission" to his back garden impression shows. He also busked and performed in the queues at his local cinema dressed as Charlie Chaplin (once being cautioned by police for his activities). Field was later praised by Chaplin himself, at whose parties Field was a regular invitee. Field was educated at Conway Road, Stratford Road and Golden Hillock Road schools, and attended Sunday school at Emmanuel Church, Walford Road. His cousins, "''the Workmans"'', performed in concerts at Moseley Road Swimming Baths in the city, where Field made his stage debut, singing "What A Life" at the age of nine. His first professional engagement, with "The Kino Royal J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Town (1946 Film)
''London Town'' is a 1946 Technicolor musical film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Sid Field and Petula Clark, generally regarded as one of the biggest flops in the history of British film, cinema. Plot summary The screenplay by Sig Herzig, Val Guest, and Elliot Paul, based on a story by director Wesley Ruggles, revolves around comedian Jerry Sanford (Sid Field), who arrives in London believing he has been hired as the star of a major stage production, when in fact he is merely an understudy. Thanks to his daughter Peggy (Petula Clark, already a screen veteran at age fourteen), who sabotages the revue's star Charlie de Haven (Sonnie Hale), he finally gets his big break. The premise allows for a variety of musical numbers and comedy sketches performed by, among others, Kay Kendall in her film debut and Tessie O'Shea. Cast * Sid Field as Jerry Sanford * Greta Gynt as Mrs. Eve Barry * Petula Clark as Peggy Sanford * Kay Kendall as Patsy * Sonnie Hale as Charlie de Haven * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Matter Of Life And Death (film)
''A Matter of Life and Death'' is a 1946 British fantasy film, fantasy-romance film set in England during the Second World War. Written, produced and directed by Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the film stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter and Marius Goring. The film was originally released in the United States under the title ''Stairway to Heaven'', which derived from the film's most prominent special effects, special effect: a broad escalator linking Earth to the afterlife. In 1999, ''A Matter of Life and Death'' was placed 20th on the British Film Institute's list of BFI Top 100 British films, Best 100 British films. In 2004, a poll by the magazine ''Total Film'' of 25 film critics named ''A Matter of Life and Death'' the second-greatest British film ever made, behind ''Get Carter''. It ranked 90th among critics, and 322nd among directors, in the The Sight & Sound Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time, 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff, (18 September 1914 – 22 April 2009) was a British cinematographer, film and television director, and photographer. His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor, to filmmaking more than half a century later. He is best known for his influential color cinematography for directors such as Powell and Pressburger ('' A Matter of Life and Death'', '' Black Narcissus'', and '' The Red Shoes''), John Huston ('' The African Queen'') and Alfred Hitchcock (''Under Capricorn''). He is also known for his work as a director – in particular, his critically acclaimed film ''Sons and Lovers'' (1960) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. In 2000, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and, in 2001, he was awarded an Academy Honorary Award for his contribution to the cinema. Jack Cardiff's work is reviewed in the documentary film: '' Cameraman: The Life and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Livesey
Roger Livesey (25 June 1906 – 4 February 1976) was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'', ''I Know Where I'm Going!'' and '' A Matter of Life and Death''. Tall and broad with a mop of chestnut hair, Livesey used his highly distinctive husky voice, gentle manner and athletic physique to create many notable roles in his theatre and film work. Early life Livesey was born in Barry, Wales. Although most articles about him indicated that his parents were Samuel Livesey and Mary Catherine (''née'' Edwards), later research has shown that his father was actually Joseph Livesey. The confusion may have arisen because his mother Mary married Samuel (Joseph's brother) after Joseph's death and the death of Samuel's wife, Mary's sister. Samuel and Mary had a child of their own, Stella, who was both Roger's half sister and first cousin. Roger Livesey was educated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Know Where I'm Going!
''I Know Where I'm Going!'' is a 1945 romance film by the British-based filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown and Finlay Currie. Plot Joan Webster is a 25-year-old middle-class Englishwoman with an ambitious, independent spirit. She knows where she's going, or at least she thinks she does. She travels from her home in Manchester to the Hebrides to marry Sir Robert Bellinger, a wealthy, much older industrialist, on the (fictitious) Isle of Kiloran. When bad weather postpones the final leg of her journey (the boat trip to Kiloran), she is forced to wait it out on the Isle of Mull, among a community of people whose values are quite different from hers. There she meets Torquil MacNeil, a naval officer trying to go home to Kiloran while on shore leave. They are sheltered for the night in the nearby home of Torquil's friend, Catriona Potts. The next day, on their way to catch a bus to Tobermory to find ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
