

Controversial since its release, Peeping Tom is widely considered a masterful progenitor of the contemporary slasher film.
One of the most notorious films of its era, Michael Powell’s psychological thriller Peeping Tom follows mild-mannered, reclusive photographer Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) who shoots pinup photos. But he is also working on his own film about fear—and he has a diabolical method for eliciting the emotion in his subjects. Made by the esteemed British director of such classics as A Matter of Life and Death (1946) and The Red Shoes (1948), Peeping Tom essentially ended Powell’s career as a major filmmaker after the swift backlash against his then-transgressive depictions of violence and sexuality. It’s often compared to Hitchcock’s Psycho, which it beat to the screen by mere months. Also featuring Moira Shearer and Anna Massey. (102 mins., 4K DCP)
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Peeping Tom, courtesy of Rialto Pictures.
Read more
- Feature: “‘Peeping Tom,’” Laura Mulvey, the Criterion Collection
- Feature: “Martin Scorsese names two movies that teach ‘everything about filmmaking,’” Thomas Leatham, Far Out Magazine
- Feature: "Peeping Tom: Inside the restoration of Michael Powell's shocking serial killer drama," Philip Concannon, BFI
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Program Support
Restored by the Film Foundation and BFI National Archive in association with STUDIOCANAL. Funding provided by the Film Foundation and STUDIOCANAL. Special thanks to Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker for their consultation.
FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
National Endowment for the Arts
Ohio Humanities
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Rohauer Collection Foundation
WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Ohio Department of Development
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Wexner Family
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Ohio Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts
CampusParc
Ohio State’s Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme
The Columbus Foundation
Nationwide Foundation
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Mike and Paige Crane
Axium Packaging
Nancy Kramer
Ohio State Energy Partners
Ohio History Fund/Ohio History Connection
Larry and Donna James
Bruce and Joy Soll
Rebecca Perry Damsen and Ben Towle
Jones Day
Alex and Renée Shumate
Peeping Tom