Last night we watched 'Herzog Blaubarbs Burg' (Bluebeard's Castle) a relatively unknown film by Michael Powell, the British director, that he made for German broadcaster Suddeutscher Rundfunk in 1963. It was, essentially, a cinematic production of Bartok's one-act opera of 1911, 'Bluebeard's Castle', starring Norman Foster as Bluebeard and Ana Raquel Sarte as Judit and what a visually stunning piece of work it is. 'Bluebeard's Castle comes at a point when after the failure of his 1960 film 'Peeping Tom' his was according to Wiki 'ostracised' by the British film industry and he fund it hard to find work in the UK.
The film virtually disappeared after broadcast until last year (2023) when, after restoration, it was released as a dvd by the BFI. The result if an absolute real visual treat. The sets are spectacular but ethereal, the work of the designer Hein Heckroth who had worked with Powell and Emeric Pressburger on 'The Red Shoes', 1948, and 'Tales of Hoffman', 1951.
The film virtually disappeared after broadcast until last year (2023) when, after restoration, it was released as a dvd by the BFI. The result if an absolute real visual treat. The sets are spectacular but ethereal, the work of the designer Hein Heckroth who had worked with Powell and Emeric Pressburger on 'The Red Shoes', 1948, and 'Tales of Hoffman', 1951.
Bluebeard's Castle
1963
Director Michael Powell
Cinematogrpahy Hannes Staudinger
Producer Norman Foster
Cinematogrpahy Hannes Staudinger
Producer Norman Foster
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