Michael Powell (director)
| Michael Powell | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Michael Latham Powell 30 September 1905 Bekesbourne, Kent, England |
| Died | 19 February 1990 (aged 84) Avening, Gloucestershire, England |
| Occupation | film director |
| Spouse(s) | Gloria Mary Rouger (1927–1927) Frankie Reidy (1943–1983) Thelma Schoonmaker (1984–1990) |
Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company "The Archers", they together wrote, produced and directed a series of classic British films, notably 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), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). His later controversial 1960 film Peeping Tom, while today considered a classic, was so vilified on first release that his career was seriously damaged.
Many film-makers such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and George A. Romero have cited Powell as an influence. In 1981, he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award along with his partner Pressburger, the highest honour the British Film Academy can give a filmmaker.
Powell was the second son and youngest child of Thomas William Powell, a hop farmer, and Mabel, daughter of Frederick Corbett, of Worcester, England. Powell was born in Bekesbourne, Kent, and educated at The King's School, Canterbury and then at Dulwich College. He started work at the National Provincial Bank in 1922 but quickly realised he was not cut out to be a banker.
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