Powell's journalism led a change in the writing of cinema criticism. To quote from the British Film Institute: "... she was open to new directions in cinema and was not constrained by the middle class shibboleths of "good taste", unlike her rival C. A. Lejeune, film critic for "The Observer" from 1928 to 1960." She remained film critic at "The Sunday Times" until 1979 – a compilation of her reviews was published in 1989 as "The Golden Screen" – but from 1976 she also began writing about films on television, which she continued to do until the end of her life. Her last piece, a review of "Barry Lyndon", appeared in "The Times" on the day of her death. She also served as film critic for "Punch" until its first closure in 1992.