Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Grandson's search for his grandfather, 11 Jun 1996
By A Customer
Emeric Pressburger was a fascinating man. A Hungarian Jew
exiled during WWII he came to England and (together with
Michael Powell) made some of the most fascinating and
influential movies of the period.
This is the story of how Kevin MacDonald followed his
Grandfathers path through Europe and how and why a
non-native speaker could finish up being one of the
best observers of the English.
Emeric Pressburger often showed a deep understanding of
the British that is only granted to those "outside, looking
in". He always prided himself on being "more English than
the English". After all, some of use were just BORN English,
but he CHOSE to become English.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The oft overlooked Emeric deserves your attention, 12 Feb 2008
Kevin MacDonald's biography of Emeric Pressburger (Imre) is thoughtful and affectionate. MacDonald was the grandson of Imre, and regards his attempt to chronicle his life as benefiting from this relationship. This is true, as Imre was known to be reclusive and private. However MacDonald doesn't muckrake or over indulge in sentimentality. Instead he treats sections of the book like a journey of discovery, some sections are written in interview format. MacDonald travelled to Hungary and Romania to visit locations and meet people who knew Imre.
MacDonald's book manages to stand up to Michael Powell's two-volume autobiography 'A Life in Movies' and 'Million Dollar Movie' - no mean feet, since both are enjoyable, expansive and detailed texts. Yet Powell's own description of events is self-serving. He sometimes tells the past as how he would have wanted it to be, and not how it as. In particular the break up of the Archers through the filming of `Ill Met By Moonlight' (1957) tells a very different tale to Powell's. MacDonald references Powell's books frequently, but offers further insights and challenges certain details. This makes for a rich text, a text that is a combination of interviews, memories and even writings of Imre himself.
Imre's life is a fascinating story, which details much more than 1939-57. Similar to Powell's accounts of starting in the movie industry in the period 1925-38, this same time period delights with amazing tales of being down and out in Berlin, Paris and London. 'The Life and Death of a Screenwriter' is also a book that deals with race, national identity and relationships - all of which Imre explored in his films.
Pressburger is so often neglected, and overshadowed by Powell - this is partly from choice (his reclusive-ness) and from Powell's egotistical yet enigmatic persona. It is a book that is well worth a read. Imre's journey to Britain is so like so many other immigrants that fled the Nazis then rejuvenated the British Film Industry. This is a wonderful biography try it!
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent biography of Michael Powell's neglected partner, 13 Feb 2009
The thing about the Powell & Pressburger movies is that they were true collaborations, a rare thing in movies. Michael Powell did almost all the direction and had a hand in the writing; Emeric Pressburger did almost all the writing and had a hand in the direction, and they both functioned as producers. Kevin Macdonald's biography of his grandfather is a miracle of graceful writing, objectivity, clarity and balance, especially when you consider that grandchildren don't usually write about their own grandparents with anything like these qualities. Pressburger's strengths as a writer (and weaknesses as a director - he didn't get to direct much by himself) are clearly brought out.
Pressburger's craftsmanship, intelligence, very un-English sense of romance and his shrewd outsider's perspective English (and Scottish) life gave him an edge that many native English scriptwriters lacked, and it's surely one of the main reasons why Powell & Pressburger's films endure today while those of their contemporaries remain mostly unwatched and unloved. Powell's wizardry with the camera had much to do with it, but so did Pressburger's genius with script. It's notable that after the partnership ended, Powell made only one unequivocally brilliant film, "Peeping Tom", and it was so disturbing to its original audience that it held him back for years - and Pressburger's career more or less ground to a halt. They needed each other. Luckily for them both, there were a good few years when they each realised it, and the result is a crop of magnificent movies that will be watched as long as the medium survives.
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