This film is part of Rentals
The Tales of Hoffmann
Powell and Pressburger direct this adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's spectacular opera, featuring sensationally sumptuous production design.
Director: Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell
Overview
Based on Jacques Offenbach's opera, The Tales of Hoffmann takes viewers through three fantastical stories, regaled to us by narrator E.T.A. Hoffman who revisits the tales of his three loves; Olympia, an animated doll, Giuletta the Venetian courtesan, and Antonia, a singer's daughter hidden away from the world.
Following their celebrated ballet sequences in The Red Shoes (1948), Powell and Pressburger envisaged Tales of Hoffmann as a further realisation of the marriage of music and film. And utilising an entirely synchronised soundtrack would give them the freedom to construct elaborate dance movements amid stunning sets and production design. Described by George Romero as "The film that made me want to make movies!" And hailed by such iconic figures as Martin Scorsese, Tales of Hoffman sees Powell and Pressburger at their most poetic.
mild violenceRelated
Boys on Film 24: Happy Endings Boys on Film 24: Happy Endings
Anthology 2024 174 mins Director: Jason Bradbury, Jesse Ung, Diego Alvarez Parra, Itai Jamshy, Fabia Martin, Alejandro Sandoval Bertín, Sara Larrota, Benjamin Belloir, Jeremy McClain and Arthur Cahn
A compilation of new gay short films showcasing unashamedly positive stories of love, sex and romance to move, inspire and uplift.
Boys on Film 23: Dangerous To Know Boys on Film 23: Dangerous To Know
Anthology 2023 159 mins Director: Renato Turnes, Máté Konkol, Sven Spur, Sam Max, Uriel Torten, Irasj Asanti, Elene Naveriani, Mark Pluck, Tom Young and Sean Lìonadh
The dangerous allure of risky attraction yields emotional results in Peccadillo’s 23rd edition of their Boys on Film compilation series.
Between Me and You Between Me and You
Anthology 2021 91 mins Director: Maud Lazzrerini, Ruth Caudeli, Michelle Flores, More Raca and Ping-Weng Wang
An anthology of short films from female filmmakers about lesbian and LGBTQIA+ relationships.
French Touch: Desires French Touch: Desires
Anthology 2021 121 mins Director: VARIOUS, François Barbier, Zoé Chadeau, Benjamin Wu and Jean Costa
Six contemporary stories of men exploring love, lust and modern dating.
At First Glance At First Glance
Anthology 2022 92 mins Director: Marta González De La Vega, Julie Robert, Fabrizio Benvenuto, Sophie Saville, Shanu Sharma, Ida H. Eldøen, Arnaud Lalanne and VARIOUS
An anthology of lesbian shorts where things are rarely as they first seem.
Into Her Own Into Her Own
Anthology 2022 99 mins Director: VARIOUS, Nicolas Greinacher, Anna Niebert, Sadeq Es-haqi, Jean Rousselot, Plamen Marinov, Jessica Barclay Lawton and Ayla Çekin Satijn
An anthology of short films led by girls who find their own way in life.
The Small Back Room The Small Back Room
Thriller 1949 103 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
An embittered bomb disposal expert is driven to drink in Powell and Pressburger’s compelling insight into the mental anguish of the alcoholic.
Oh... Rosalinda!! Oh... Rosalinda!!
Musical 1956 99 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Like the gloriously camp, all-singing, all-dancing cousin of The Third Man, the Archers’ take on Strauss’s operetta of infidelity is as frothy as the champagne it celebrates.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
War 1943 164 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Powell and Pressburger’s masterpiece follows the rise and fall of a career soldier, from dashing and brave young officer in the Boer War to a pompous and old-fashioned Colonel by the time of World War Two.
A Canterbury Tale A Canterbury Tale
War 1944 125 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Powell and Pressburger's most personal film combines a Chaucer-inspired pilgrimage with a war-time celebration of English landscape and values to create a gem of British cinema.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.