Directing

Michael Powell

Born September 30, 1905 · Bekesbourne, Kent, England

Died February 19, 1990 · aged 84

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 cal…

Known For

Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom · 1960

MovieThrillerHorror

Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.

A Matter of Life and Death

A Matter of Life and Death · 1946

A Matter of Life and Death

MovieRomanceFantasy

A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.

A Canterbury Tale

A Canterbury Tale · 1944

A Canterbury Tale

MovieMysteryWar

Three modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.

The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes · 1948

MovieDramaRomance

A fledgling ballerina falls in love with a brilliant composer, but the jealous head of the ballet company plots to drive them apart.

Orlando

Orlando · 1992

MovieDramaFantasy

England, 1600. Queen Elizabeth I promises Orlando, a young nobleman obsessed with poetry, that she will grant him land and fortune if he agrees to satisfy a very particular request.

Black Narcissus

Black Narcissus · 1947

Black Narcissus

A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.

The Thief of Bagdad

The Thief of Bagdad · 1940

The Thief of Bagdad

MovieAdventureFantasy

When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.

I Hired a Contract Killer

I Hired a Contract Killer · 1990

I Hired a Contract Killer

MovieComedyCrime

After losing his job and realizing that he is alone in the world, a businessman opts to voluntarily end his life. Lacking courage, he hires a contract killer to do the job. Then, while awaiting his demise, he meets a woman and promptly falls in love.

Filmography

Sort

Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom · 1960

MovieThrillerHorror

Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.

Director

A Matter of Life and Death

A Matter of Life and Death · 1946

A Matter of Life and Death

MovieRomanceFantasy

A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.

Director

A Canterbury Tale

A Canterbury Tale · 1944

A Canterbury Tale

MovieMysteryWar

Three modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.

Director

The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes · 1948

MovieDramaRomance

A fledgling ballerina falls in love with a brilliant composer, but the jealous head of the ballet company plots to drive them apart.

Producer

Orlando

Orlando · 1992

MovieDramaFantasy

England, 1600. Queen Elizabeth I promises Orlando, a young nobleman obsessed with poetry, that she will grant him land and fortune if he agrees to satisfy a very particular request.

Thanks

Black Narcissus

Black Narcissus · 1947

Black Narcissus

A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.

Director

The Thief of Bagdad

The Thief of Bagdad · 1940

The Thief of Bagdad

MovieAdventureFantasy

When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.

Director

I Hired a Contract Killer

I Hired a Contract Killer · 1990

I Hired a Contract Killer

MovieComedyCrime

After losing his job and realizing that he is alone in the world, a businessman opts to voluntarily end his life. Lacking courage, he hires a contract killer to do the job. Then, while awaiting his demise, he meets a woman and promptly falls in love.

In Memory Of

49th Parallel

49th Parallel · 1941

MovieWarThriller

In the early days of World War II, a German U-boat is sunk in Canada's Hudson Bay. Hoping to evade capture, a small band of German soldiers led by commanding officer Lieutenant Hirth attempts to cross the border into the United States, which has not yet entered the war and is officially neutral. Along the way, the German soldiers encounter brave men such as a French-Canadian fur trapper, Johnnie, a leader of a Hutterite farming community, Peter, an author, Philip and a soldier, Andy Brock.

Director

The Tales of Hoffmann

The Tales of Hoffmann · 1951

The Tales of Hoffmann

MovieMusicFantasy

A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.

Director

They're a Weird Mob

They're a Weird Mob · 1966

They're a Weird Mob

An Italian sports journalist arrives in Australia but finds no work. The only employment he can find is as a builder's labourer. At first, he cannot comprehend the culture, but eventually he finds mateship and romance.

Director

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing · 1942

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

During a raid on Germany, a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland, where they're aided by Dutch civilians.

Director

The Battle of the River Plate

The Battle of the River Plate · 1956

The Battle of the River Plate

MovieDramaHistory

In the early years of the World War II, the Royal Navy is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open to supply the British Isles, facing the great danger posed by the many German warships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, which are scouring the ocean for cargo ships to sink.

Director

Gone to Earth

Gone to Earth · 1950

MovieDramaRomance

Hazel Woods, a beautiful and young Welsh girl, lives a wild, rustic life and loves animals — in particular, her pet fox. She is hotly desired by Jack Reddin, a fox hunting squire who vies for her affection and pursues her, despite the purer amorous intentions of the local pastor.

Director

Ill Met by Moonlight

Ill Met by Moonlight · 1957

Ill Met by Moonlight

MovieWarAdventure

Led by British officers, partisans on Crete plan to kidnap the island's German commander and smuggle him to Cairo to embarrass the occupiers.

Director

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp · 1943

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women, and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier.

Director

The Small Back Room

The Small Back Room · 1949

The Small Back Room

As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on 1943 Britain, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.

Director

Age of Consent

Age of Consent · 1969

An elderly artist thinks he has become too stale and is past his prime. His friend (and agent) persuades him to go to an offshore island to try once more. On the island he re-discovers his muse in the form of a young girl.

Director

The Elusive Pimpernel

The Elusive Pimpernel · 1950

The Elusive Pimpernel

MovieAdventureDrama

Foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, who secretly leads a double life as the daring rescuer of French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution, fights to save his brother-in-law while his wife is manipulated by the villainous Chauvelin into helping capture him, unaware of her husband's true identity.

Director

Oh... Rosalinda!!

Oh... Rosalinda!! · 1955

Oh... Rosalinda!!

MovieMusicComedy

Pseudonym Dr. Falke follows his wife through disguises and deceptions in postwar Vienna.

Director

The End of the River

The End of the River · 1947

The End of the River

A South American Indian is taken from his jungle home into the world of the White Man where he is forced to stand trial for murder.

Producer

Contraband

Contraband · 1940

MovieThrillerWar

During early World War II, a Danish sea captain, delayed in a British port, tangles with German spies.

Director

Sebastian

Sebastian · 1968

MovieDramaRomance

Sebastian is an undisciplined mathematics genius who works in the "cipher bureau" of the British Intelligence. While cracking enemy codes, Sebastian finds time to romance co-worker Rebecca Howard.

Producer

I Know Where I'm Going!

I Know Where I'm Going! · 1945

I Know Where I'm Going!

MovieRomanceDrama

Plucky Englishwoman Joan Webster travels to the remote islands of the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist. Trapped by inclement weather on the Isle of Mull and unable to continue to her destination, Joan finds herself charmed by the straightforward, no-nonsense islanders around her, and becomes increasingly attracted to naval officer Torquil MacNeil, who holds a secret that may change her life forever.

Director

The South Bank Show

The South Bank Show · 1978

The South Bank Show

SeriesDocumentaryTalk

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The Defenders

The Defenders · 1961

The Defenders is an American courtroom drama series . It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father-and-son defense attorneys who specialized in legally complex cases, with defendants such as neo-Nazis, conscientious objectors, civil rights demonstrators, a schoolteacher fired for being an atheist, an author accused of pornography, and a physician charged in a mercy killing.

Director

Espionage

Espionage · 1963

SeriesAction & AdventureDrama

Pulled from actual case histories and utilizing newsreel and documented narratives, the activities of spies from various countries are depicted as far back as the American Revolution and as recent as the Cold War.

Director