Michael Powell
Known for
Michael Powell was an English director born in Bekesbourne, Kent, celebrated, alongside longtime creative partner Emeric Pressburger, for visually ravishing, formally daring films made under their shared production banner The Archers. The Red Shoes, a Technicolor ballet drama examining art's demands on the body, and Black Narcissus, a psychologically intense drama set among nuns in the Himalayas, showed his extraordinary command of color, set design, and expressionist visual technique. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp offered an unusually nuanced and controversial wartime portrait of British military tradition. Peeping Tom, a disturbing psychological thriller about a killer who films his victims' deaths, was made without Pressburger and proved so controversial on release that it effectively ended Powell's mainstream directing career, though it has since been reassessed as a landmark of British cinema. Powell's visual audacity and formal ambition made him one of the most technically innovative directors Britain has produced.
Michael Powell
50 Directed
2 Series
Michael Powell was an English director born in Bekesbourne, Kent, celebrated, alongside longtime creative partner Emeric Pressburger, for visually ravishing, formally daring films made under their shared production banner The Archers. The Red Shoes, a Technicolor ballet drama examining art's demands on the body, and Black Narcissus, a psychologically intense drama set among nuns in the Himalayas, showed his extraordinary command of color, set design, and expressionist visual technique. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp offered an unusually nuanced and controversial wartime portrait of British military tradition. Peeping Tom, a disturbing psychological thriller about a killer who films his victims' deaths, was made without Pressburger and proved so controversial on release that it effectively ended Powell's mainstream directing career, though it has since been reassessed as a landmark of British cinema. Powell's visual audacity and formal ambition made him one of the most technically innovative directors Britain has produced.
Movies
Director
Peeping Tom
1960
Director
The Red Shoes
1948
Director
A Matter of Life and Death
1946
Director
Black Narcissus
1947
Director
The Thief of Bagdad
1940
Director
The Battle of the River Plate
1956
Director
Oh... Rosalinda!!
1955
Director
49th Parallel
1941
Director
Age of Consent
1969
Director
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
1943
Director
The Tales of Hoffmann
1951
Director
Gone to Earth
1950
Director
The Small Back Room
1949
Director
I Know Where I'm Going!
1945
Director
The Elusive Pimpernel
1950
Director
A Canterbury Tale
1944
Director
Ill Met by Moonlight
1957
Director
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
1942
Director
The Spy in Black
1939
Director
Crown v. Stevens
1936
Director
The Boy Who Turned Yellow
1972
Director
The Edge of the World
1937
Director
The Love Test
1935
Director
Contraband
1940
Director
The Queen's Guards
1961
Director
They're a Weird Mob
1966
Director
The Man Behind the Mask
1936
Director
Lazybones
1935
Director
The Night of the Party
1934
Director
The Fire Raisers
1934
Director
Honeymoon
1959
Director
Red Ensign
1934
Director
Something Always Happens
1934
Director
Rynox
1931
Director
The Phantom Light
1935
Director
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
1955
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Peeping Tom
Full Filmography
The Boy Who Turned Yellow
Director
1972
Film
Age of Consent
Director
1969
Film
They're a Weird Mob
Director
1966
Film
Espionage
Director · 3 episodes
1963–
TV
The Queen's Guards
Director
1961
Film
The Defenders
Director · 1 episode
1961–
TV
Peeping Tom
Director
1960
Film
Honeymoon
Director
1959
Film
Ill Met by Moonlight
Director
1957
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Michael Powell still alive?
Michael Powell passed away on February 19, 1990 at age 84.
What are the most famous roles of Michael Powell?
Michael Powell is best known for directing Peeping Tom, The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus.
How many movies has Michael Powell directed?
Over a 61-year career (since 1929), Michael Powell has directed or written 50 films and worked on 2 TV shows.
What was Michael Powell's first movie?
The career of Michael Powell began with Blackmail (1929).
What is Michael Powell's most recent movie or series?
Michael Powell's most recent release is Return to the Edge of the World, which premiered on October 2, 1978.
What TV shows has Michael Powell created or directed?
On television, Michael Powell has appeared in The Defenders, Espionage.
Michael Powell
1905-09-30 · Bekesbourne, Kent, England
Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. They worked together under the name of "The Archers" and produced a series of classic British films, notably The Thief of Bagdad (1940), 49th Parallel (1941), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Matter of Life and Death (1946, also called Stairway to Heaven), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948). His controversial 1960 film Peeping Tom, however, was so vilified that his career was seriously damaged.