This film is part of Rentals

Red Ensign
Passionate shipbuilding tale from an on-the-up Michael Powell.
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

The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.

Cloud Cloud
Drama 2024 124 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
An online scam leads to deadly consequences in Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s chilling tech thriller.

La Cocina La Cocina
Drama 2024 139 mins Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Tensions rise in a frenzied New York diner, in this loose reworking of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play.

Misericordia Misericordia
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Alain Guiraudie
French provocateur Alain Guiraudie's rural homecoming story mixing passion, crime, mushrooms and bedroom farce to dizzily involving effect.

The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.

Driving Mum Driving Mum
Comedy 2022 113 mins Director: Hilmar Oddsson
Jon drives his mums corpse across Iceland in Hilmar Oddsson’s darkly comic odyssey of self-discovery and acceptance, beautifully filmed in crisp black and white.

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.

Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide
Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell
Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.

Crown v. Stevens Crown v. Stevens
Crime 1936 67 mins Director: Michael Powell
Patric Knowles stars as a naïve young man who becomes embroiled in the murderous, money-hungry scheming of his boss’s wife, in Michael Powell’s stylish proto-film noir.

Rynox Rynox
Crime 1932 46 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s earliest existing film is a twisty thriller crafted with a bold visual style that is unmistakeably influenced by Fritz Lang.

The Night of the Party The Night of the Party
Crime 1934 61 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s fun stage adaptation about a murder at a society party, with characterful performances from its fine ensemble cast.

Something Always Happens Something Always Happens
Comedy 1934 70 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s sprightly comedy about a freeloading charmer who romances the daughter of a wealthy petrol station owner.

The Night of the Party The Night of the Party
Crime 1934 61 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s fun stage adaptation about a murder at a society party, with characterful performances from its fine ensemble cast.

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.

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.

Her Last Affaire Her Last Affaire
Drama 1936 68 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's 'society drama’ involving clandestine romance and presumed murder, and glorious comic double-act from Googie Withers and John Lurie.

Rynox Rynox
Crime 1932 46 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s earliest existing film is a twisty thriller crafted with a bold visual style that is unmistakeably influenced by Fritz Lang.

Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide
Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell
Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.

The Night of the Party The Night of the Party
Crime 1934 61 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s fun stage adaptation about a murder at a society party, with characterful performances from its fine ensemble cast.

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.

A New Kind of Wilderness A New Kind of Wilderness
Documentary 2023 84 mins Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A tragedy shatters the idyllic world of a family living off-grid in the Norwegian wilderness.

Riefenstahl Riefenstahl
Documentary 2024 115 mins Director: Andreas Veiel
Captivating insight into the controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous for her Nazi propaganda.

Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.

The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.

Cloud Cloud
Drama 2024 124 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
An online scam leads to deadly consequences in Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s chilling tech thriller.

La Cocina La Cocina
Drama 2024 139 mins Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Tensions rise in a frenzied New York diner, in this loose reworking of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play.