Contents
Michael Powell
The British director who created The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death with Emeric Pressburger.
A Matter of Life and Death · The Red Shoes
- Born
- 30 September 1905
- Birthplace
- United Kingdom
- Died
- 19 February 1990
More people
Michael Powell
Michael Powell combined striking colour, fantasy and emotional intensity. As part of the Archers partnership, he helped create a distinctive strand of British cinema.
Early life
Kent childhood
Born near Canterbury and educated in England.
First employment
Worked briefly in banking before entering filmmaking.
Career
- 1920s
Film apprenticeship
Worked in the film industry in France.
- 1937
Independent breakthrough
Directed The Edge of the World.
- 1939
Creative partnership
First collaborated with Emeric Pressburger on The Spy in Black.
- 1960
Controversial thriller
Directed Peeping Tom, initially attacked by critics.
Selected work
A Matter of Life and Death
A wartime romance moves between Earth and an imagined afterlife.
The Red Shoes
A dancer faces competing demands from love and art.
Peeping Tom
A disturbing thriller about looking, filmmaking and violence.
Beyond work
Memoirs
Wrote A Life in Movies and Million Dollar Movie.
Film preservation
His later marriage to editor Thelma Schoonmaker connected him with a new generation of filmmakers.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗BFI: The Red Shoes ↗Photo: James, P G (Lt), Royal Navy official photographer. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
