This film is currently unavailable

Ill Met by Moonlight
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s film of the daring WII raid to capture a German commander, with Dirk Bogarde and Marius Goring.
Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Overview
British agents in WWII Crete, led by Major Patrick Leigh-Fermor (Dirk Bogarde) hatch a daring plan to capture the Commander of the island's occupying German forces (Marius Goring). Despite its romantic, Shakespearean title Ill Met By Moonlight finds Powell and Pressburger in the stirring combat mode of their wartime films, such as 49th Parallel.
Following the lush Technicolor of their previous war film, The Battle of the River Plate, the film marked a return to black and white for the Archers. Both films were the result of a return to the Rank Organisation, where they’d produced their most famous films but from which they left under a cloud in 1949. Upon being persuaded to return, Michael Powell delighted in tormenting studio chief John Davis with ambitious requests to cast top leading men such as Orson Welles, only to eventually settle for Rank’s contract star Dirk Bogarde. Powell apparently felt Bogarde was too clean-cut for the role, and the production witnessed numerous creative differences between the director and Pressburger, leading to dissolution of their famous partnership. However the pair would reunite for some two final swansongs.
Related

Eye in the Sky Eye in the Sky
Thriller 2016 102 mins Director: Gavin Hood
Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman (in his last role) play the military commanders caught in the ethical crosshairs of drone warfare, in Gavin Hood’s gripping military thriller.

1917 1917
War 2019 119 mins Director: Sam Mendes
This technically brilliant, multi-award winner from Sam Mendes was inspired by his grandfather's memories of fighting in the First World War.

Our River... Our Sky Our River... Our Sky
War 2021 118 mins Director: Maysoon Pachachi
A small Baghdad community searches for hope in the face of unpredictable violence, turmoil, and loss.

Occupied City Occupied City
Documentary 2023 251 mins Director: Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen’s cinematic commemoration of the Holocaust offers a multidimensional experience full of gravity and sublimity.

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.

Summerland Summerland
Drama 2020 100 mins Director: Jessica Swale
Gemma Arterton stars in acclaimed theatre director Jessica Swale’s moving Second World War drama, as a woman rediscovering her ability to love.

The Battle of the River Plate The Battle of the River Plate
War 1956 119 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Powell and Pressburger’s biggest commercial success was this rousing retelling of the pursuit of a German battleship by the British Navy during World War II.

Black Narcissus Black Narcissus
Drama 1947 101 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Tensions grow when a group of nuns open a convent in the Himalayas in Powell and Pressburger’s remarkable melodrama, starring Deborah Kerr.

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.

A Canterbury Tale A Canterbury Tale
War 1944 125 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
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 and Emeric Pressburger
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.

A Matter of Life and Death A Matter of Life and Death
Fantasy 1946 104 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s timeless romantic fantasy, with David Niven as an airman trapped between life and death.

Darling Darling
Drama 1965 123 mins Director: John Schlesinger
Julie Christie stars in the quintessential swinging sixties film, as a young woman flitting nonchalantly through London's nightlife.

The Blue Lamp The Blue Lamp
Police drama 1950 85 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Dirk Bogarde stars as a loose-cannon crook with Dixon of Dock Green (Jack Warner) on his tail, in the classic Ealing policier.

The Sea Shall Not Have Them The Sea Shall Not Have Them
War 1955 92 mins Director: Lewis Gilbert
After their aircraft is shot down, four military men cast adrift must struggle to survive in this gripping WWII drama.

Victim Victim
Crime 1961 100 mins Director: Basil Dearden
This thought-provoking classic stars Dirk Bogarde as a homosexual lawyer who risks his career to hunt down a blackmailer.

Highly Dangerous Highly Dangerous
Drama 1951 85 mins Director: Roy Ward Baker
Margaret Lockwood plays an entomologist who travels to a Balkan country to investigate claims of germs warfare, only to find herself in the midst of a deadly spy game.

Her Last Affaire Her Last Affaire
Drama 1936 68 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's 'society drama’ involving suspicion, 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 when he inherits a hotel, 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.

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.

Dust & Metal Dust & Metal
Documentary 2022 82 mins Director: Esther Johnson
Discover unfamiliar histories of Vietnam through Esther Johnson’s poetic documentary on the country’s love affair with the motorbike.

Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound
Documentary 2024 91 mins Director: Antony Crook
Celestial sonic odyssey charting the cult Scottish band’s expansive career from the mid-90s to their tenth studio album written during lockdown.

Flow Flow
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 85 mins Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Oscar-winning animated adventure about an unlikely group of animals who must work together to survive a natural disaster.

Invasion Invasion
Science Fiction 1966 79 mins Director: Alan Bridges
An alien fugitive, injured in a road accident, pitches up at a rural hospital. But when two intergallactic pursuers arrive, things start to heat up...

Twiggy Twiggy
Documentary 2024 94 mins Director: Sadie Frost
International supermodel, actor, singer and one of the most iconic British figures – this is the real story of Twiggy.