![John Schlesinger](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w185/dkFtKuiwmqXWAHKq1oi2ogTRt4M.jpg)
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE, was an English film and stage director, and actor. He won an Academy Award for Best Director for Midnight Cowboy, and was nominated for two other films (Darling and Sunday Bloody Sunday).
Schlesinger was born in London, into a middle class Jewish family. His acting career began in the 1950s and consisted of supporting roles in British films and television productions. He began his directorial career in 1956 with the short documentary Sunday in the Park about London's Hyde Park. In 1958, Schlesinger created a documentary on Benjamin Britten and the Aldeburgh Festival for the BBC's Monitor TV programme, including rehearsals of the children's opera Noye's Fludde featuring a young Michael Crawford.
By the 1960s, he had virtually given up acting to concentrate on a directing career, and another of his earlier directorial efforts, the British Transport Films' documentary Terminus (1961), gained a Venice Film Festival Gold Lion and a British Academy Award. His first two fiction films, A Kind of Loving (1962) and Billy Liar (1963) were set in the North of England. A Kind of Loving won the Golden Bear award at the 12th Berlinale in 1962. His third feature film, Darling (1965), tartly described the modern, urban way of life in London and was one of the first films about 'swinging London'. Schlesinger's next film was the period drama Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's popular novel accentuated by beautiful English country locations. Both films (and Billy Liar) featured Julie Christie as the female lead.
Schlesinger's next film, Midnight Cowboy (1969), was internationally acclaimed. A story of two hustlers living on the fringe in the bad side of New York City, it was Schlesinger's first film shot in the US, and it won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. During the 1970s, he made an array of films that were mainly about loners, losers and people outside the clean world, such as Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), The Day of the Locust (1975), Marathon Man (1976) and Yanks (1979). Later, came the major box office and critical failure of Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), followed by films that attracted mixed responses from the public
From 1973, he was an associate director of the Royal National Theatre, where he produced George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (1975). He also directed several operas, beginning with Les contes d'Hoffmann (1980) and Der Rosenkavalier (1984), both at Covent Garden. Schlesinger was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to film in 1970. In 2003, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.
Known For | Directing |
---|---|
Most Rating | 14.527 |
Birthday | 1926-02-16 |
Place of Birth | London, England, UK |
Also Known As | 존 슐레진저, |
![The Twilight of the Golds](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5p0c5yZxFzWaClp7wrv38vtAm8Q.jpg)
1996
![The Twilight of the Golds](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5p0c5yZxFzWaClp7wrv38vtAm8Q.jpg)
The Twilight of the Golds
5.8/19
When Suzanne Stein has a genetic analysis done on her unborn child, she discovers that although she has a healthy baby, the child will most likely be...
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The Twilight of the Golds
![The Celluloid Closet](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/x0DSh3uMeQk6EG1DHjGJUywN7C0.jpg)
1996
![The Celluloid Closet](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/x0DSh3uMeQk6EG1DHjGJUywN7C0.jpg)
The Celluloid Closet
7.129/97
What "That's Entertainment" did for movie musicals, "The Celluloid Closet" does for Hollywood homosexuality, as this exuberant, eye-opening movie serv...
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The Celluloid Closet
![The Crowd Around the Cowboy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/Ar0OF1K3SOcFXyQo9aSNhPC6PtI.jpg)
1969
![The Crowd Around the Cowboy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/Ar0OF1K3SOcFXyQo9aSNhPC6PtI.jpg)
The Crowd Around the Cowboy
0/0
A short documentary made on location during the filming of John Schlesinger's 1969 film "Midnight Cowboy."
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The Crowd Around the Cowboy
![Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lFRjRi44uznei5oSCql43rMS2mN.jpg)
1990
![Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lFRjRi44uznei5oSCql43rMS2mN.jpg)
Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey
6.3/3
Documentary is about the life and work of American screenwriter Waldo Salt who won two Academy Awards and was put on the Hollywood blacklist in the 19...
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Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey
![The Last Man to Hang](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/rxaXh09xuFLWY0igeKOhMo8aFGv.jpg)
1956
![The Last Man to Hang](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/rxaXh09xuFLWY0igeKOhMo8aFGv.jpg)
The Last Man to Hang
5.5/4
A man is tried for the murder of his neurotic wife by means of a sedative overdose.
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The Last Man to Hang
![Darling](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/cBd5YO9xG7VmRuC8Q27uR3PV9mn.jpg)
1965
![Darling](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/cBd5YO9xG7VmRuC8Q27uR3PV9mn.jpg)
Darling
6.681/127
The swinging London, early sixties. Beautiful but shallow, Diana Scott is a professional advertising model, a failed actress, a vocationally bored wom...
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![The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/k3nxbipYP1hR73T0n6udtE7g8cA.jpg)
1976
![The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/k3nxbipYP1hR73T0n6udtE7g8cA.jpg)
The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People
0/0
Producer Robert Evans dominates with his trademark promotional style, but Schlesinger gets a short time on camera (one of his few available interviews...
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The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People
![Billy Liar](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/8YUzVyN3HdedaK7oGVf2nVrsf4R.jpg)
1963
![Billy Liar](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/8YUzVyN3HdedaK7oGVf2nVrsf4R.jpg)
Billy Liar
6.906/106
A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him...
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Billy Liar
![Terminus](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/mHp3MfipqK9xg71rVuG5aGHxKBk.jpg)
1961
![Terminus](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/mHp3MfipqK9xg71rVuG5aGHxKBk.jpg)
Terminus
7/15
This fly on the wall-style documentary from 1961 won an Oscar for best documentary, and shows the changing patterns of human emotions during 24 hours...
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Terminus
![Brothers in Law](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1plSQGOZ6uhOykoeLMuCQYEP1U7.jpg)
1957
![Brothers in Law](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1plSQGOZ6uhOykoeLMuCQYEP1U7.jpg)
Brothers in Law
7.1/7
Roger Thursby is an overly keen, newly-qualified barrister who rubs his fellow barristers up the wrong way. When he is thrown in at the deep-end, with...
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![Stormy Crossing](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/bdRBPiZc155b2norU32E120CjWm.jpg)
1958
![Stormy Crossing](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/bdRBPiZc155b2norU32E120CjWm.jpg)
Stormy Crossing
4.8/5
After murdering his lover, cross-channel swimmer Joy Webster, Derek Bond attempts to do same to her other boyfriend, Sheldon Lawrence. John Ireland pl...
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Stormy Crossing
![Pacific Heights](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/9iHD6xIrGSuuMEFWhwSVGXSddY2.jpg)
1990
![Pacific Heights](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/9iHD6xIrGSuuMEFWhwSVGXSddY2.jpg)
Pacific Heights
6.212/352
A couple works hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately one of their tenants has plans of his own.
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Pacific Heights
![The Divided Heart](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lZUbHxF8vDqXuswWNkxaP2qsdwQ.jpg)
1954
![The Divided Heart](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lZUbHxF8vDqXuswWNkxaP2qsdwQ.jpg)
The Divided Heart
6.7/7
During World War II, a German woman, Inga, goes missing and is presumed dead. Her infant son is placed in an orphanage where, years later, he's adopte...
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The Divided Heart
![Visions of Eight](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/mzVkecyq9ZUh5kaF8caVwr7tHso.jpg)
1973
![Visions of Eight](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/mzVkecyq9ZUh5kaF8caVwr7tHso.jpg)
Visions of Eight
7.1/15
Eight acclaimed filmmakers bring their unique and differing perspectives to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games held in Munich. The segments include Lelouch...
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![The Lost Language of Cranes](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/zFm8kjG5UPbd12emqWfrMSd1beX.jpg)
1992
![The Lost Language of Cranes](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/zFm8kjG5UPbd12emqWfrMSd1beX.jpg)
The Lost Language of Cranes
6.2/20
When a young gay man comes out of the closet, his friends support him, but when he comes out to his parents, he stirs up a wealth of hidden feelings a...
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![The Big Screen](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/oVZ6ewrZBBQuJdJYptI3l87esYT.jpg)
1973
![The Big Screen](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/oVZ6ewrZBBQuJdJYptI3l87esYT.jpg)
The Big Screen
0/0
Two of Britain's leading film directors - John Schlesinger and Gerald Thomas - share the anxiety, hopes and risks experienced by those involved with t...
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The Big Screen
![The Battle of the River Plate](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/pCkNI9LVDkH5z6PzwQUbutQcm3U.jpg)
1956
![The Battle of the River Plate](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/pCkNI9LVDkH5z6PzwQUbutQcm3U.jpg)
The Battle of the River Plate
6.135/52
In the early years of the World War II, the Royal Navy is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open to supply the British Is...
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![Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/rvUsvRFzEACM0BrKOljIXIAhWXh.jpg)
1998
![Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/rvUsvRFzEACM0BrKOljIXIAhWXh.jpg)
Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs
0/0
Ekchart Schmidt examines the machinery behind the dream factory; the Hollywood myth is unmasked. How does the studio industry work? What role does mar...
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![Black Legend](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/h3JjtIzT20McqjcrTNsp8hlbbG9.jpg)
1949
![Black Legend](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/h3JjtIzT20McqjcrTNsp8hlbbG9.jpg)
Black Legend
0/0
A dramatic retelling of the brutal double murder of Martha Broomham and her son Robert perpetrated by her husband George and his mistress Dorothy Newm...
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