Michael Powell
Hailed as quintessentially British, Michael Powell directed a body of work that represents the pinnacle of British cinema. His greatest films were popular hits upon release, but which have endured in the collective memory and stand the test of time today; daringly subversive, breathtakingly inventive and passionately romantic. From his beginnings directing modestly budgeted 'Quota Quickies', he later refined his craft alongside his chief screenwriting and directing partner, Emeric Pressburger, to produce a series of classics. In this collection we focus primarily on Powell's solo works, both from the beginning of his career as he began to develop his style, and also the fascinating films towards the end of his journey, in the wake of his most notorious solo film, Peeping Tom.
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Peeping Tom
Much criticised at the time of its release, Michael Powell’s psychological study of a shy camera technician who films for his home movies the death throes of the women he kills is now widely regarded as a dark classic. Less a straightforward serial-killer thriller than a Freudian meditation on ...
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Rynox
The influence of Fritz Lang is unmistakeable on Powell’s earliest extant film – a thriller crafted with real visual style, despite its limited budget. The twisty plot concerns businessman F.X. Benedik (Rome), who has been receiving threats from a mysterious stranger. When Benedik is murdered,...
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Her Last Affaire
Powell’s adaptation of Walter Ellis’s successful play was the most prestigious production he had made to date. A ‘society drama’ involving suspicion, clandestine romance and presumed murder, its cast of accomplished stage actors are nonetheless entirely upstaged by the glorious comic doub...
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Hotel Splendide
Powell’s amiable ‘Quickie’ comedy stars music hall veteran Jerry Verno as a lowly clerk who inherits a hotel, but gets more than he bargained for when various guests turn out to be crooks. (Watch out for the cameo from Powell himself). The production’s limitations are undeniable, but Powe...
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The Boy Who Turned Yellow
The Boy Who Turned Yellow is the splendidly eccentric final collaboration from the eminent filmmaking duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. London schoolboy John Saunders turns a bright yellow after losing his pet mouse on a school, trip. Is the mysterious colour change the result of an alie...
