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DVD-VIDEO |
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ESPIONAGE:
MICHAEL POWELL |
DVD |
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Click image for full cover
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Images: Network Distributing
with thanks to Rob White |
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Released: 24 March 2008
(source: World of
Books) |
Publisher: Network |
Discs:
1 |
Catalogue No.:
7952798 |
EAN: 5027626279844 |
BBFC Certification: 12 |
Region Code:
2 |
Design: Rob White |
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Episodes |
The Frantick Rebel Never
Turn Your Back on a Friend A Free Agent |
Special
Features |
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Notes |
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Following the fallout from his making of
Peeping Tom (1960), a controversial psychological thriller
that was mauled on moral grounds by film critics but lauded by
cineastes, Michael Powell's directorial career had suffered a
major setback. Previously highly regarded for his work with
Emeric Pressburger on films such as The Life and Death of
Colonel Blimp (1943), A Matter of Life and Death
(1946), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes
(1948), suddenly Powell was ostracised by the British Film
Industry and unofficially blacklisted. Consequently, Powell
struggled to find work and looked to the nascent television
industry to ply his trade, initially working for Sόddeutscher
Rundfunk (SDR) in West Germany on Herzog Blaubarts Burg
('Bluebeard's Castle', 1963).
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Aside from a 1961 feature film - The Queen's
Guards - which was in production at the time of Peeping
Tom's release, Powell's engagement to direct three
episodes of Espionage in 1964 marked his first work in
the United Kingdom since the critics' backlash of 1960. The
production afforded him the opportunity to work in his
familiar field of expertise - 35mm film - rather than an
electronic studio and therefore played to his strengths.
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After Espionage, Powell directed two
single episodes of television drama in the United States -
The Defenders: The Sworn Twelve (1965) and The Nurses:
A39846 (also 1965) - and the Australia-set feature films
They're a Weird Mob (1966) and Age of Consent
(1969). His final feature was for the Children's Film
Foundation, the quirky The Boy Who Turned Yellow
(1972).
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Network released this DVD knowing the interest
in Michael Powell amongst film buffs who may well not have
been interested in the full series of Espionage. It
also served as a teaser for the complete series set that was
in the works and eventually released in 2009.
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ESPIONAGE:
THE COMPLETE SERIES |
DVD |
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Click image for full cover
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Images: Network Distributing
with thanks to Martin Cater |
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Released: 16 March 2009
(source: Browns Books) |
Publisher: Network |
Discs:
6 |
Catalogue No.:
7952797 |
EAN: 5027626279745 |
BBFC Certification: 12 |
Region Code:
2 |
Design: Martin Cater |
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Episodes |
The Incurable One
Covenant with Death The Weakling The Gentle Spies
He Rises on Sunday, and We on Monday The Dragon Slayer
To the Very End
The Light of a Friendly Star A Tiny Drop of Poison
Festival of Pawns The Whistling Shrimp
Never Turn Your Back on a Friend Medal for a Turned Coat
Final Decision Do You Remember Leo Winters?
The Frantick Rebel Castles in Spain Snow on Mount Kama
Once a Spy
We, the Hunted
The Liberators Some Other Kind of World A Free Agent A
Camel to Ride |
Special
Features |
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Script PDFs for Castles in
Spain and Snow on Mount Kama
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Extensive image galleries, including
many colour photographs
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Notes |
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Originally teased by Network for March 2008,
this complete series set of Espionage was ultimately
released nearly a year later.
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The Network catalogue numbers of this complete
series set (7952797) and the Michael Powell disc (7952798)
suggest that the two releases were originally planned to be
published simultaneously.
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Even though Network had released the three
Michael Powell episodes a year earlier, their 2009 complete
series release still recognised his marketability, with the
cover featuring a strapline noting his involvement. However,
this suggested that his three plays had not been seen in more
than 40 years, which arguably overlooked their own release of
2008!
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