Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger have made several war movies.
In the ones from the 40's ("The life and death of Colonel Blimp" (1943), "A matter of life and death" (1943) and to a lesser extent "49th parallel" (1941)) the Second World War is used as a background against which a more comprehensive story is told.
The ones from the 50's ("The battle of the river plate" (1956) and "Ill met by moonlight" (1957)) are more plain adventurous and patriotic.
Personally I like the ones from the '40s better, and, judging the IMDB ratings, I am not the only one. "Ill met by moonlight" was the last collaboration of Powell and Pressburger. The inspiration was clearly gone and so their artistic separation was not too early.
It is not entirely fair to attribute the disappointing quality of the film only at the directors. Lead actor Dirk Bogarde is also not at his best. In an earlier review I quoted Bogarde saying that "Hunted" (1952, Charles Crichton) was his best film from the '50s. This claim is certainly not belied by "Ill met by moonlight". Given a disappointing lead actor supporting actor Marius Goring, playing the captured German general Kreipe cooperating with his kidnappers on the surface but secretly obstructing their attempt, becomes the star of the movie.
In the ones from the 40's ("The life and death of Colonel Blimp" (1943), "A matter of life and death" (1943) and to a lesser extent "49th parallel" (1941)) the Second World War is used as a background against which a more comprehensive story is told.
The ones from the 50's ("The battle of the river plate" (1956) and "Ill met by moonlight" (1957)) are more plain adventurous and patriotic.
Personally I like the ones from the '40s better, and, judging the IMDB ratings, I am not the only one. "Ill met by moonlight" was the last collaboration of Powell and Pressburger. The inspiration was clearly gone and so their artistic separation was not too early.
It is not entirely fair to attribute the disappointing quality of the film only at the directors. Lead actor Dirk Bogarde is also not at his best. In an earlier review I quoted Bogarde saying that "Hunted" (1952, Charles Crichton) was his best film from the '50s. This claim is certainly not belied by "Ill met by moonlight". Given a disappointing lead actor supporting actor Marius Goring, playing the captured German general Kreipe cooperating with his kidnappers on the surface but secretly obstructing their attempt, becomes the star of the movie.