Trivia

Introduced to his third wife Thelma Schoonmaker by Martin Scorsese.

He and his first wife Gloria only stayed together for three weeks before they decided to get a divorce.

Although he was still married to Frankie Reidy, he lived for some years with Pamela Brown until her death in 1975.

In "Who's Who", he listed his recreation as "Leaning on gates".

Ian Christie of the British Film Institute (BFI) has led a revival of interest in Powell's work. He has organized many Michael Powell Seasons at the BFI/NFT (British Film Institute/National Film Theatre) and initiated restoration work on many of Powell's classic films that were thought to be lost in their original form.

In 2014 an English Heritage Blue Plaque was erected to commemorate Powell and Emeric Pressburger at their old offices in London. The plaque was unveiled by Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker.

Was voted the 22nd Greatest Director of All Time by "Entertainment Weekly".

When he was in Crete to prepare the set of Night Ambush (1957) he wore a kilt. Seeing that, the inhabitants of the island thought he was "a Scottish general asking odd questions about partisans".

Upon his death, his remains were interred at Holy Cross Churchyard in Avening, Gloucestershire, England.

The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival is named in his honor.

Was an artist in residence at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in the early 1980s.

Kevin Gough-Yates pioneered the recovery of Powell's and Emeric Pressburger's reputations in Europe. He organized the first major retrospective of their works in 1970 at the National Film Theatre in London and published the seminal interview "Michael Powell in Collaboration with Emeric Pressburger". In 1973 Gough-Yates organized the Europalia exhibition at the Royal Film Archive, Belgium, and featured the Powell/Pressburger films as its main focus. Another important interview with Powell was again published. Subsequently he was the main catalyst in getting the films known throughout Europe.

In 2002 the Donostia-San Sebastián film festival included a retrospective showing 43 films by Powell. This was the largest number of his films that has ever been seen in one place--so far.

He directed Esmond Knight in eight films: Someday (1935), Blackout (1940), A Canterbury Tale (1944), Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), Gone to Earth (1950), Peeping Tom (1960) and The Boy Who Turned Yellow (1972). He co-directed A Canterbury Tale (1944), Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), Gone to Earth (1950) with Emeric Pressburger.

In 1957 he was a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.

Ian Christie of the BFI has also written two books about him: "Powell, Pressburger and Others" and "Arrows of Desire", both published through the BFI, London.

In 1981 he was made Fellow of BAFTA.

In 1983 he was made Fellow of the British Film Institute (BFI).

In 1987 he was awarded Hon Doctorate, Royal College of Arts.

Has been quoted as saying that A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate (1923) had a very critical impact on his career.

In 1970 the BFI held its first Powell and Emeric Pressburger retrospective. Fourteen films were shown and the booklet "Michael Powell in Collaboration with Emeric Pressburger" by Kevin Gough-Yates was published to accompany the season.

In 1978 the BFI held a complete retrospective showing all the extant works of Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The book "Powell, Pressburger and Others" by Ian Christie was published to accompany this.

In 1978 he was awarded Hon DLitt, University of East Anglia.

In 1978 he was awarded Hon DLitt, University of Kent.

He spent a long period preparing a big-screen adaptation of "The Tempest," starring James Mason as Prospero and featuring Malcolm McDowell and Topol. Trade papers announced that filming was to begin in Greece in September 1975, but the project collapsed due to funding problems.

Father of Columba Powell and Kevin Powell

Michael and Emeric Pressburger began their collaboration in 1938 after being brought together by Alexander Korda for the film The Spy in Black. They were together some 20 years and some 20 films including 49th Parallel and A Canterbury Tale amongst many others which were made through their own company, The Archers[.

He directed his first film in 1931.

He has directed two films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: 49th Parallel (1941) and The Red Shoes (1948).

He noted in his autobiography that he was never really accepted in his native United Kingdom, where his films were frequently seen as too controversial or experimental. He got some big breaks in his later career when he discovered that his films were seen as cult classics in Hungary and the United States, and that he had gained a following among film professionals.