Michael Radford

Last updated

Michael Radford
RadfordComp1.jpg
Born (1946-02-24) 24 February 1946 (age 77)
New Delhi, British India
Alma mater Worcester College
National Film and Television School
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, television writer
Spouse(s)Iseult Teran (1990–1997)
Emma Tweed (2006 present)
Children3
Awards1996 BAFTA Award for Best Direction , Il Postino: The Postman
1996 BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language , Il Postino: The Postman

Michael James Radford (born 24 February 1946) is an English film director and screenwriter. [1] He began his career as a documentary director and television comedy writer before transitioning into features in the early 1980s.

Contents

His best-known credits include the 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four starring John Hurt and Richard Burton (in his final role), the Shakespeare adaptation The Merchant of Venice , the true crime drama White Mischief , and the 1994 Italian-language comedy drama Il Postino: The Postman , for which he won the BAFTA Awards for Best Direction and Best Film Not in the English Language, and earned Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Early life and career

Radford was born on 24 February 1946, in New Delhi, India, to a British father and an Austrian Jewish mother. He was educated at Bedford School before attending Worcester College, Oxford. After teaching for a few years, he went to the National Film and Television School, becoming a student there in its inaugural year.

Between 1976 and 1982, Radford worked as a documentary film maker, mostly on projects for the BBC, covering subjects such as Scottish islanders on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides who believe in the literal truth of the Bible: The Last Stronghold of the Pure Gospel; the soprano Isobel Buchanan: La Belle Isobel; the singer songwriter Van Morrison: Van Morrison in Ireland ; and the self-explanatory The Making of The Pirates of Penzance . On the last two of these Radford worked with the cinematographer Roger Deakins, who would later shoot two of Radford's feature films; Nineteen Eighty-Four and White Mischief . Another notable early work was Another Time, Another Place (1983), a feature film set in Scotland during World War II and centred on a love story between a local woman and an Italian POW.

Career

Radford came to international attention with Nineteen Eighty-Four , his adaptation of George Orwell's novel 1984 , starring John Hurt as Winston Smith, and in which Richard Burton gave his final film performance. [2] The film was made in the time and place (London, April–June 1984) at which the book was set.

Radford's next film, released in 1987, was White Mischief , a period drama set in Kenya during the 1940s. [2] Radford again wrote the screenplay, an adaptation of the novel by James Fox also called White Mischief.

Michael Radford is most widely known as the writer and director of the 1994 film Il Postino: The Postman , which Radford adapted from the novel Ardiente Paciencia by Antonio Skármeta. [1] The massive international success of the film (for many years it was the largest grossing non-English language film ever made) led to international acclaim for Radford and the star of the film Massimo Troisi. Tragically Troisi died, aged 41, the day after the filming of Il Postino was completed. The film won many international film awards including the 'Best Film Not in the English Language' BAFTA for Radford, who was also nominated for the Best Director and Adapted Screenplay Academy Awards.

In 2000, Radford's film Dancing at the Blue Iguana was released. [2] In a departure from his more usual development technique, namely adapting novels, this film was largely improvised, although Radford shared the screenwriting credit with David Linter.

In 2004, Radford directed The Merchant of Venice (2004). [2] He adapted the William Shakespeare play (see: Shakespearean comedies), and the film stars Al Pacino as Shylock and Jeremy Irons as Antonio. [2] In 2007, he reunited Demi Moore and Michael Caine (who had already been together in 1984 for Blame it on Rio ) in Flawless , a diamond heist story set in 1960. [2] His most recent film is Elsa & Fred (2014), a romantic comedy starring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer.

Radford directed his first play in 2000, a West End production of The Seven Year Itch . This was an adaptation of Billy Wilder's 1955 film starring Marilyn Monroe.

Personal life

Radford has a son, Felix (born 1991), from his first marriage to Iseult Teran. He also has a daughter, Amaryllis (born 2005), and a son, Linus (born 2010), with his current wife Emma Tweed.

In addition to English (his first language), he speaks fluent Spanish, French, Italian, and some Mandarin.

In September 2013, he took part in the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race, in which he raced one of 12 identical 70-foot racing yachts from London to Rio. [3]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleFunctioned asNotes
DirectorWriter
1973Concerning the SurfaceYesYes NFTS student film
1974Cold NightYesYes
1981 Van Morrison in Ireland YesNo Documentary film
1983 Another Time, Another Place YesYes Taormina Golden Charybdis
Nominated – David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film
1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four YesYes Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Film
Istanbul Golden Tulip
Nominated – Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award
1987 White Mischief YesYes
1994 Il Postino: The Postman YesYes BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language
BAFTA Award for Best Direction
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Director
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated – Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film
1998 B. Monkey YesYesReplaced Michael Caton-Jones
2000 Dancing at the Blue Iguana YesYes
2002 Ten Minutes Older: The Cello YesYesSegment: "Addicted to the Stars"
2004 The Merchant of Venice YesYesNominated – David di Donatello for Best European Film
2007 Flawless YesNo
2011Michel PetruccianiYesYes Documentary film
Nominated – César Award for Best Documentary Film
2013 The Mule YesYesRadford walked away and cut ties with the film in the wake of a litigation over its finances, renouncing to any credit in the cut released in 2013 [4]
2014 Elsa & Fred YesYes
2017 The Music of Silence YesYes
Television
YearTitleFunctioned asNotes
DirectorWriter
1979 Everyman YesYesEpisodes: "The Last Stronghold of the Pure Gospel" & "La Belle Isobel"
Scotch and Wry NoYes3 episodes
1976–77 Omnibus YesNoEpisodes: "Unita" & "The Madonna and the Volcano"
1980 The Two Ronnies NoYes3 episodes
The White Bird PassesYesYes Television film
1981 A Kick Up the Eighties NoYes5 episodes [5]
Three of a Kind NoYes3 episodes [5]
1981–82 Crackerjack! NoYes10 episodes [5]
1982 The Late, Late Breakfast Show NoYes11 episodes [5]
1996 Homicide: Life on the Street YesNoEpisode: "Justice: Part 1"

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult
1983 Taormina Film Fest Golden CharybdisAnother Time, Another PlaceWon
1985 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film AwardNineteen Eighty-FourNominated
International Istanbul Film Festival Golden TulipWon
London Evening Standard Best FilmWon
1986 Accademia del Cinema Italiano Best Foreign Film Another Time, Another PlaceNominated
1995 Ciak Best FilmIl Postino: The PostmanWon
Rome Foreign Press AssociationBest FilmNominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
São Paulo International Film Festival Best FeatureWon
1996 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director Nominated
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Norwegian International Film Festival Best Foreign Feature FilmWon
London Film Critics' Circle British Director of the YearWon
British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Best Direction Won
Best Film Not in the English Language Won
Argentine Film Critics Association Best Foreign Film Won
Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievements in Motion Pictures Nominated
Radio Nacional de España Best Foreign FilmWon
Radio Nacional de EspañaRosa de Sant Jordi Audience AwardWon
1997 Académie des Lumières Best Foreign FilmWon
Danish Film Academy Best Foreign Film Won
Kinema Junpo Best Foreign Language FilmWon
2004London Film Critics' CircleBritish Director of the YearThe Merchant of VeniceNominated
2005Accademia del Cinema Italiano Best European Film Nominated
2012 Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma Best Documentary Film Michel PetruccianiNominated
2014 Bari International Film Festival Platinum Award for Cinematic ExcellenceWon
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival International Audience Choice AwardElsa & FredWon
2017 El Gouna Film Festival Golden Star – Feature Narrative CompetitionThe Music of SilenceNominated
Montecarlo Film FestivalCareer AwardWon

Related Research Articles

<i>Il Postino: The Postman</i> 1994 film directed by Michael Radford

Il Postino: The Postman is a 1994 comedy-drama film co-written by and starring Massimo Troisi and directed by English filmmaker Michael Radford. Based on the 1985 novel Ardiente paciencia by Antonio Skármeta, itself adapted from a 1983 film written and directed by Skármeta, the film tells a fictional story in which the real life Chilean poet Pablo Neruda forms a friendship with a simple Procida postman (Troisi) who learns to love poetry. The cast includes Troisi, Philippe Noiret, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta. The screenplay was adapted by Radford, Troisi, Anna Pavignano, Furio Scarpelli, and Giacomo Scarpelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massimo Troisi</span> Italian actor, film director, and poet (1953–1994)

Massimo Troisi was an Italian actor, cabaret performer, screenwriter, and film director. He is best known for his works in the films I'm Starting from Three (1981) and Il Postino: The Postman (1994), for which he was posthumously nominated for two Oscars. Nicknamed "the comedian of feelings", he is considered one of the most important actors of Italian theater and cinema.

Lee Hall is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for writing the screenplay for the film Billy Elliot (2000) and the book and lyrics for its adaptation as a stage musical of the same name. In addition, he wrote the play The Pitmen Painters (2007), and the screenplays for the films War Horse and Rocketman (2019).

<i>Nineteen Eighty-Four</i> (British TV programme) British TV series or programme

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a British television adaptation of the 1949 novel of the same name by George Orwell, originally broadcast on BBC Television in December 1954. The production proved to be hugely controversial, with questions asked in Parliament and many viewer complaints over its supposed subversive nature and horrific content. It starred Peter Cushing, Yvonne Mitchell, Donald Pleasence and André Morell.

Julia is a fictional character in George Orwell's 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Her last name is not revealed in the novel but she is called Dixon in the 1954 BBC TV production.

<i>1984</i> (1956 film) 1956 film by Michael Anderson

1984 is a 1956 British black-and-white science fiction film, based on the 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, depicting a totalitarian future of a dystopian society. The film was the first feature-length adaptation of the story, and followed a previous Westinghouse Studio One adaptation and a BBC-TV made-for-TV adaptation. 1984 was directed by Michael Anderson and starring Edmond O'Brien as protagonist Winston Smith, and featured Donald Pleasence, Jan Sterling, and Michael Redgrave.

<i>1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)</i> 1984 soundtrack album by Eurythmics

1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) is a soundtrack album by the British pop duo Eurythmics. Released on 12 November 1984 by Virgin Records, it was the duo's fourth album overall and contains music recorded by Eurythmics for the film Nineteen Eighty-Four, based on George Orwell's dystopian novel of the same name. Virgin Films produced the film for release in its namesake year, and commissioned Eurythmics to compose a soundtrack.

The 1st Critics' Choice Movie Awards were presented on January 22, 1996, honoring the finest achievements of 1995 filmmaking.

The 49th British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 23 April 1996, honoured the best films of 1995.

A postman is a mail carrier, a person delivering post.

George Orwell's 1949 dystopian political novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, has been adapted for the cinema, radio, television, theatre, opera and ballet.

<i>Nineteen Eighty-Four</i> (1984 film) Film directed by Michael Radford

Nineteen Eighty-Four, also known as 1984, is a 1984 dystopian drama film written and directed by Michael Radford, based upon George Orwell's 1949 novel of the same name. Starring John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, and Cyril Cusack, the film follows the life of Winston Smith (Hurt), a low-ranking civil servant in a war-torn London ruled by Oceania, a totalitarian superstate. Smith struggles to maintain his sanity and his grip on reality as the regime's overwhelming power and influence persecutes individualism and individual thinking on both a political and personal level.

<i>Nineteen Eighty-Four</i> 1949 dystopian social science fiction novel by George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, it centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance and repressive regimentation of people and behaviours within society. Orwell, a democratic socialist, modelled the authoritarian state in the novel on the Soviet Union in the era of Stalinism, and Nazi Germany. More broadly, the novel examines the role of truth and facts within societies and the ways in which they can be manipulated.

The 2nd Society of Texas Film Critics Awards were given by the Society of Texas Film Critics (STFC) on December 28, 1995. The list of winners was announced by STFC president, Joe Leydon. Founded in 1994, the Society of Texas Film Critics members included 18 film critics working for print and broadcast outlets across the state of Texas. The Usual Suspects received four awards, more than any other film.

Roberto Perpignani is an Italian film editor.

O'Brien is a fictional character and the main antagonist in George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The protagonist Winston Smith, living in a dystopian society governed by the Party, feels strangely drawn to Inner Party member O'Brien. Orwell never reveals O'Brien's first name. The name indicates that O'Brien is of Irish origin, but this background is never shown to have any significance.

The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell.

The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink.

Anna Pavignano is an Italian screenwriter born in 1955 in Borgomanero. She is best known for her screenplay for the film Il postino and Ricomincio da tre. She was the partner in life and career of Massimo Troisi from 1977 to 1987.

<i>Il Postino</i> (opera)

Il Postino is an opera in three acts by Daniel Catán with a Spanish libretto by the composer. Based on the novel Ardiente paciencia by Antonio Skármeta and the film Il Postino by Michael Radford, the work contains elements of drama and comedy, integrating themes of love and friendship along with political and spiritual conflict. The opera premiered at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion by Los Angeles Opera on 23 September 2010.

<i>Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me</i> 2023 Italian documentary film

Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me is a 2023 Italian documentary film co-written and directed by Mario Martone. The documentary film is a Mario Martone's personal journey in Massimo Troisi's cinema. By assembling the scenes of his films, Martone wants to highlight Troisi as a great director of our cinema even before being a great comic actor. It was selected at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in Berlinale Special, where it had its world premiere on 17 February 2023. It was released in cinemas on 23 February 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 Sandra Brennan (2016). "Michael Radford". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Michael Radford Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014.
  3. Clipperroundtheworld.com Archived 25 August 2013 at archive.today
  4. Tremlett, Giles (9 June 2013). "British director cuts his ties with Spanish civil war film". The Guardian .
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Michael Radford". BFI. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2019.