• Born: 1902

Biography

Dilys Powell is an extremely influential British film critic whose work has had a tremendous effect on her country's film industry. Only C.A. Lejeune rivals her stature as an esteemed observer of film. She worked as a film critic for the Sunday Times from 1939-1976. She then began working for Punch. Powell is greatly respected for her directness, her genuine enthusiasm, and her lack of pretension. She strongly dislikes the pompous puffery often found in film theory, semiotics, and structuralism, preferring instead to take a humanistic view that makes her criticism available to all. She also has a lot of integrity and fearlessly dares to buck popular trends and attitudes. For example, she staunchly defended the artistic merits of Hitchcock's Psycho. She was also an unabashed fan of westerns and thrillers. As of 1988, Powell was a popular radio broadcaster on the BBC. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide