This film is part of Rentals
Red Ensign
Passionate shipbuilding tale from an on-the-up Michael Powell.
Drama 1934 69 mins
Director: Michael Powell
Overview
An on-the-up Michael Powell injected more than a hint of himself into this passionate tale of a visionary shipbuilder intent on reviving a besieged industry. David Barr (Leslie Banks) is so certain of his modernising plans that he's willing to break the law to realise them. Contemporary critics praised the realism of the location-shot shipyard scenes, while Powell himself, directing his 12th film in just four years, was just beginning to see "something special about a Michael Powell film... something intriguing, aloof, but in the long run memorable."
Later critics saw in Red Ensign a semi-disguised plea for government support for the British film industry. With his uncompromising zeal, Barr is an early template for the morally complex prophets and dreamers - avatars for the director himself - who turn up in Powell's later films, among them Culpeper in A Canterbury Tale and Lermontov in The Red Shoes.
Related
Drama
Copilot Copilot
Drama 2021 119 mins Director: Anne Zohra Berrached
A captivating relationship, told from a woman’s perspective, in the lead up to an act that changed the world.
Sweet Thing Sweet Thing
Drama 2020 91 mins Director: Alexandre Rockwell
Three children embark on a wild trek across Massachusetts, crossing paths with a variety of eccentrics, in this poetic drama from 90s indie hero Alexandre Rockwell (In The Soup).
Boy Meets Boy Boy Meets Boy
Drama 2021 70 mins Director: Daniel Sánchez López
Two young men fall for each other over the course of a single day in this disarmingly tender debut from director Daniel Sánchez López.
The Father The Father
Drama 2020 97 mins Director: Florian Zeller
Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Academy Award® for his powerful portrayal of a man dealing with the onset of dementia.
Wildfire Wildfire
Drama 2020 84 mins Director: Cathy Brady
Sisterly bonds are pushed to breaking point in this simmering drama set on the Irish border, the debut feature from acclaimed shorts director Cathy Brady.
Nowhere Special Nowhere Special
Drama 2020 96 mins Director: Uberto Pasolini
After being diagnosed with a terminal illness and given only months left to live, single dad John embarks on a heartfelt quest to find the perfect family to raise his son.
Featuring Leslie Banks
Arsenal Stadium Mystery Arsenal Stadium Mystery
Police drama 1939 86 mins Director: Thorold Dickinson
When a player is poisoned at Highbury, an eccentric inspector is put on the case. Martin Scorsese is among the fans of this classic football film.
Directed by Michael Powell
Peeping Tom Peeping Tom
Drama 1960 101 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s dark, disturbing, once controversial tale of a shy camera technician who films women as he kills them is now rightly deemed a classic
The Phantom Light The Phantom Light
Comedy 1935 72 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s gothic mystery of a haunted lighthouse where insanity thrives.
A Canterbury Tale A Canterbury Tale
War 1944 125 mins Director: Michael Powell
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.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
War 1943 164 mins Director: Michael Powell
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.
The Boy Who Turned Yellow The Boy Who Turned Yellow
Children's 1972 54 mins Director: Michael Powell
A London schoolboy’s surprise transformation marks the final collaboration of great British director Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
New
Mandibles Mandibles
Fantasy 2020 77 mins Director: Quentin Dupieux
When Jean-Gab and Manu find a giant fly trapped in the boot of a car, they decide to train it in the hope of making a ton of cash.
The Reason I Jump The Reason I Jump
Documentary 2020 82 mins Director: Jerry Rothwell
Award-winning director Jerry Rothwell's compelling documentary is a rare cinematic and sensorial insight into the world of non-speaking autistic people.
Censor Censor
Horror 2020 84 mins Director: Prano Bailey-Bond
Prano Bailey-Bond's frightening but fun homage to ‘video nasties’ and classic 80’s horror.
The Story of Looking The Story of Looking
Documentary 2021 87 mins Director: Mark Cousins
Mark Cousins’ personal meditation on the power of looking.
Copilot Copilot
Drama 2021 119 mins Director: Anne Zohra Berrached
A captivating relationship, told from a woman’s perspective, in the lead up to an act that changed the world.
Sweet Thing Sweet Thing
Drama 2020 91 mins Director: Alexandre Rockwell
Three children embark on a wild trek across Massachusetts, crossing paths with a variety of eccentrics, in this poetic drama from 90s indie hero Alexandre Rockwell (In The Soup).