By Aimee Braniff Cree
THE ABANDONED HOME of late English film director Michael Powell has been captured in a state of ruin.
Images show the home in Bristol, England still stocked full of treasures including posters celebrating Powell’s film career, family photos and royal family memorabilia.
Michael Latham Powell was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger through their production company The Archers.
They co-wrote, produced and directed a series of classic British films, notably The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp,1943, A Canterbury Tale, 1944, A Matter of Life and Death, 1946, also called Stairway to Heaven and Black Narcissus 1947.
His controversial and much maligned 1960 film Peeping Tom, seriously damaged his career but is now considered a classic and a contender for the first “slasher movie”.
Powell is cited to have influenced renowned filmmakers, such as Francis Ford Coppola, George A. Romero and Martin Scorsese.
In 1981, nine years before his death, he received the BAFTA Fellowship the highest honour given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, along with his partner Pressburger.
These images were taken by urban explorer Daniel Sims (35) on his Samsung Galaxy s24 Ultra. Known as Bearded Reality on Youtube.
Daniel captured the images in an undisclosed location in Bristol, England.
“At first, all I knew was that it was an abandoned home left for quite sometime after digging around we linked the property to Michael Powell the film director,” said Daniel.
“The bungalow is in an overgrown state, and has a few entrances including an open door and back door and windows left opened for years.
“The atmosphere was quite tense as this place is hidden away in quite an affluent area so we were sneaking around so we were not disturbing anyone.
“The outside is quite overgrown and slowly being retaken by nature but the actual bungalow is still attached and not falling through which is surprising as it has been left for 18 years.
“Inside it is a different story with the place even though surprisingly intact showing signs of vandalism, ransacking mould, and decay starting to set in.
“Everything has been left behind here including loads of amazing antiques and personal mementos from the previous occupants’ life.
“It was fascinating reading the personal diaries and hearing about their lives.
“What was really surprising was when we figured out the home once belonged to Michael Powell, the iconic British film director known for masterpieces like “The Red Shoes” and “A Matter of Life and Death” and the “Thief of Baghdad”.
“We saw many personal things around the property which helped us link the home to him.
“I love taking photos of different things and items and dramatic places such as this and showing how these places were once filled with people enjoying their everyday lives and now the space is vacant and left.
“No scary moments here. The place is a bit creepy as night had set in which added another layer to any exploration but was mainly just an interesting place to visit and record.
“The most interesting things were letters from the pope, many personal diaries and tons of unopened alcohol as well as various antiques such as a lot of commemorative plates from Charles and Diana wedding.”
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