How Martin Scorsese’s idol shaped one of his greatest movies: “A major, major gift”

In 2024, Martin Scorsese narrated a documentary called Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger. It told the story of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, an English-Hungarian filmmaking duo who made some of the most underappreciated movies of the first half of the 20th Century. Their works Black Narcissus, A Canterbury Tale, and The Red Shoes have influenced countless great actors and directors, with Scorsese very much among that crowd. 

The Film Foundation, which was founded by Scorsese, was instrumental in the 2009 restoration of The Red Shoes. This was the Mean Streets director returning a favour, as the pair – who were collectively known as ‘The Archers’ – were instrumental in developing his cinematic tastes when he was a child. Also, Michael Powell once personally came to his rescue during the production of Raging Bull.

Speaking with IndieWire, Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese’s long-time editor and Powell’s widow, told a story about when her husband came to visit Robert De Niro when he was in training to become Jake LaMotta. “Michael said, ‘There’s something wrong with the red gloves,’” she recalled. “And Marty said, ‘You’re right, I used to watch fights with my father on kinescopes.’ They would go see the fights in black and white in movie theatres. So he decided to shoot in black and white. That was a major, major gift from Michael.”

Schoonmaker, who was 34 years younger than Powell, was introduced to the director by Scorsese. They got married in 1984, but their union would only last six years as, in 1990, Powell died from cancer aged 84. Since then, his wife has worked tirelessly to preserve his legacy, which was severely tarnished by his 1960 picture Peeping Tom. Now though, thanks to Schoonmaker and Scorsese’s work, he and Pressburger are regarded as some of the most important cinematic minds of their generation.

Powell became a mentor and sounding board for Scorsese through his relationship with Schoonmaker. It turns out Raging Bull wasn’t the only movie he had a hand in. “One of the most important [suggestions] Michael gave us was the ending for After Hours, because we didn’t have a very good ending. At the end of it, Cheech and Chong steal Griffin Dunne, who’s now encased in a plaster sculpture, and drive off,” recalled Schoonmaker. “But it wasn’t a strong enough ending, and some people said, ‘Oh, they should get in a balloon and fly off.’ Michael said, ‘No. He has to go back to the hell we found him in at first, where he’s training somebody to use a computer. What he really wants to do is write the great American novel. He has to go back there.’ And that’s what Marty shot.”

Powell also ended up playing a key role in Goodfellas when Scorsese was having trouble getting it over the line. “Marty couldn’t sell Goodfellas because the studios kept saying, ‘You have to take the drugs out,’” Schoonmaker revealed. “Michael was fiercely concerned about Marty’s artistic rights because of what he had suffered himself. So Michael said, ‘Read me the script.’ I read him the script, and he said, ‘Get Marty on the phone.’ And I did. And he said, ‘Marty, this is the best script I’ve read in 20 years. You have to make this movie.’”

Made in England is a brilliant watch for fans of the duo and complete newbies alike. Scorsese’s passion is so genuine and so obvious that, even if you’ve never seen a Powell and Pressburger film before, you’ll feel like you’ve known them all your life.

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