This week, Michael Powell's renowned thriller Peeping Tom celebrates its 50th birthday. The celebrations include a newly restored print hitting cinemas on November 19th, before the film makes its Blu-ray bow on November 22nd.

Given the critical attention that's now lavished on Peeping Tom, it's hard to believe that the movie suffered such a diabolical reception in 1960. Critically lambasted, the film's performance was seen as a large factor in the downward spiral of Powell's career. Indeed, he struggled to work in Britain again, and ended up seeking work elsewhere.

How did one little movie cause such a stir? Could Peeping Tom (and the critically kicking it inspired) really have been the death knell of one of Britain's finest movie makers?

Like its close sibling Psycho, one of the most remarkable things about Peeping Tom is its enduring power; it retains the ability to shock and impress, and feels fresh despite the fact it is five decades old. So why did Psycho (admittedly a Hollywood flick with a Brit director) succeed where Peeping Tom failed?

While the movie's reception must have been devastating for Powell, one can't help but think that perhaps he was still able to retain some perspective on the film's qualities. In an interview given after the release of Peeping Tom, Powell said of his audience: "The English will always laugh at themselves eventually, even if it's not until 10 years after the event."

Though, perhaps in retrospect, 10 years was a bit of an underestimation.