born Sept. 30, 1905, Bekesbourne, Kent, Eng.
died Feb. 19, 1990, Avening, Gloucestershire
British film director.
He directed his first movie, Two Crowded Hours , in 1931 and made over 20 low-budget films before Alexander Korda teamed him with screenwriter Emeric Pressburger (1902–88) to make the successful U-Boat 29 (1939). Forming their own production company, they made movies such as The Thief of Bagdad (1940), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Stairway to Heaven (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). Powell made the controversial Peeping Tom (1960) without Pressburger. Powell's films were notable for their use of brilliant colour, fantasy, and experimental cinematography.