About

Bookending their first and final official collaborations are two films about underground operations, which indeed seem to be in dialogue with each other. Ill Met by Moonlight gives a fairy-tale flair to the true story of Major Paddy Leigh-Fermor (Dirk Bogarde) – affectionately regarded as ‘Philedem’ – who hunted German General Kreipe (Marius Goring) in Occupied Greece during WWII. Philedem’s mission was complicated by Kreipe’s cunning efforts to escape, and the pursuit by German forces as his team treks with Kreipe across unfamiliar rocky mountains to board a British ship. This engrossing operation film is replete with scrupulous detail and dramatic twists, and remarkable for its fluid orchestration, stunning location sequences, sophisticated characterisation, and the unique Powell and Pressburger touch that honours the mutual respect that sometimes develops between enemies.

Ill Met by Moonlight will screen from an imported 35mm print.