The Directors on Sky Arts: Series 5

Episode 1   Francis Ford Coppola

The next few directors are so familiar, they need little introduction from me. Stephen Armstrong did say that Francis Ford Coppola was at "the leading edge of the new Hollywood directors" and Derek Malcolm wittily added that he was "the Godfather to dozens of film makers". Coppola's ancestors were, of course, Italian immigrants. He studied at film school at UCLA and became an assistant to the director Roger Corman. It was Corman who gave him a chance to make a film with some funds left over from his own project and, on a tiny budget, Coppola made Dementia 13 that made back it's cost. It was Jack Warner of Warner Brothers who then gave him the opportunity in 1966 to make You're a Big Boy Now that had been his thesis at UCLA. Stephen Armstrong concluded that it was a very strange film.

The episode showed clips form his next film The Rain People from 1969. One showed a wedding that was a prototype for that in his next movie. That film was Coppola's adaptation of Mario Puzo's best seller and The Godfather was born in 1972.  Paramount wanted a cheap movie with a cheap director. What they got was a classic. It won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay that Coppola shared with Puzo. Neil Norman said it was a masterpiece. In 1974, Coppola directed The Conversation with Gene Hackman that might have been a remake of the British film Blow Up. It became a critical success and won the Palme D'or at Cannes. 

Also in 1974 came The Godfather: Part II. Paramount wanted more of the same but Coppola decided to make something different, part prequel and part sequel. It was nominated for eleven Oscars and won six including best picture, director and screenplay. Then in 1979 Coppola released Apocalypse Now, a staggering piece of work with a difficult production to say the least. Now a classic and one of my favourite films.

In 1983 came The Outsiders followed by Rumblefish, both filmed together and the latter another strange movie. 1984 was The Cotton Club and 1988 Tucker: The Man and his Dream. This was followed by 1990's The Godfather:Part III and 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula. Stephen Armstrong then told us that Coppola carried on making small intimate movies although his days of big successes were over. The clip from Tucker showed at at the end of the programme just showed how proficient he was at the highly populated set piece. Magnificent.

Episode 2   Ridley Scott

So much in this episode was all so familiar to me. From Ridley Scott's birth in South Shields in 1937 to his work in advertising and then movies. However, I had not realised that he was in Hamburg at the age of eight while his father was working there on reparations. He would have seen close up "the wreckage of war", a vision that would haunt some of his movies, as one of the contributors told us. Ian Nathan's opening remark was that "I don't think there is a better eye in film". This came from his time at West Hartlepool School of Arts and then the Royal College of Art. Amongst notable students he befriended was David Hockney. Whilst at RCA, he borrowed an old film camera and started making films at home. 

Scott joined the BBC as a trainee designer and ended up on a directors course where he actually directed an episode of Z Cars. But the pay at the BBC was very poor, and Scott branched out with some freelance work in advertising where he could make some money. He became extremely successful and Derek Malcolm said "his commercials won award after award". We were shown a clip of that iconic advertisement for Hovis. He formed  Ridley Scott Associates, a successful venture over ten year, and he brought in his brother Tony and worked with Alan Parker. 

But it was David Putnam who gave hi the chance to direct with 1977's The Duellists. Neil Norman said it was "an extraordinary first movie", it certainly had an amazing mix of acting talent. It was actually nominated for the main prize at the Cannes Film Festival and won an award for best debut film. And then in 1979 came Scott's first big success with Alien., only his second feature. He famously swopped the original male lead to female with Sigourney Weaver. The film was shot at Shepperton Studios. Scott's next film was 1982's Blade Runner that had those spectacular visuals which were all Scott's own work.

There were elements of that design in 1989's Black Rain, a huge success, much more that Blade Runner. Then came Thelma and Louise in 1991 which won Scott his first Oscar nomination. The ultimate American road movie directed by a Brit that made the careers of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. White Squall in 1996 was not a big hit, unlike Scott's next success that was 2000's Gladiator. This reinvented the epic movie and Scott wanted to make us feel as if we were right there in the arena, another Oscar nomination for best director.

Hannibal in 2001 was Scott's sequel to The Silence of the Lambs and then the same year came Black Hawk Down, another Oscar nomination for best director. Ian Nathan said it was "visually stunning" and Neil Norman called it " one of the most authentic war films ever seen". Kingdom of Heaven in 2005, a film about the Crusades was not a big success. In 2007 came American Gangster with Denzel Washington. Did I spot the same New York staircase we saw in Joker? I did. Next came Prometheus in 2012, a complicated and strange prequel to Alien.

The Martian in 2015 was a more upbeat film about survival that I enjoyed a lot. It was nominated for an Oscar best picture. In 2017 came All the Money in the World, where Christopher Plummer famously, and very successfully replaced Kevin Stacey.  It was left to Neil Norman to tell us that Scott's films "were the luxury items of cinema" and reminded us how important music and sound were in accompanying his superb visual pictures.

Episode 3   Martin Scorsese

Another director who needed no introduction. Neil Norman said that his films "derive from something inside him". Born in 1942 in Queens, he lived his formative years in Little Italy in New York. The Sicilian and Italian neighbourhoods would influence his movies for his whole career. He attended Washington College and for a year studied to be a priest! But he left to go the New York University to major in film. 

But it was when he went to work for Roger Corman in Hollywood that he directed a very cheap film called Boxcar Bertha in 1972. However it was the following year that he started to impress with 1973's Mean Streets with Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel and shot in Little Italy. In 1974 came Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore with Ellen Burstyn (winning the Oscar for best actress), Kris Kristopherson and Jodie Foster. It was awarded best picture at the BAFTA's. Next came Taxi Driver in 1976 with De Niro, Cybil Shepherd and Jodie Foster. Already Scorsese was using the same actors time and again. Neil Norman caled this "his first masterpiece". It was nominated for best picture at the Oscars.

1977 was New York, New York with De Niro and Liza Minelli and The Last Waltz which was called the best live concert documentary ever. Next came De Niro's own passion project in 1980's Raging Bull with Oscar nominations for best picture and best director. 1982's King of Comedy with De Niro and Gerry Lewis was called unique. 

Up to this point, I cannot remember seeing any of these movies, nor have I any great desire to we them. That all changed with 1990's Goodfella's referred to as "one of the greatest gangster movies ever". De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta made this a huge box office success. The presenters didn't touch on the best tracking shot of all time through the back of the Copacabana night club. It was nominated for six Oscars, but only Joe Pesci won for supporting actor. But it did win big at the BAFTA's including best film and best director.

So the following films were very familiar: Cape Fear (1991), The Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995), Gangs of New York (2002), The Departed (2006), Shutter Island (2010), and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). There was a final mention for 2019's The Irishman but this is on Netflix. Thanks Martin. To wrap up, it was Stephen Armstrong who thought Scorsese was so generous with his actors. All the presenters were glowing in their praise, more than anything that he loved film and was a great film historian.

Episode 4   Oliver Stone

Ian Nathan reminded us at the beginning that the films of Oliver Stone were all part auto-biographical and were reflections of American history. Bonnie Greer agreed that they asked questions about America and Neil Norman said Stone's control of technique was extraordinary.

Stone was born in 1946 in New York City. He had quite a cultured upbringing, his father was a broker on Wall Street. Stone went to Yale although in between he volunteered for the army and had one tour in Vietnam. He had always loved French movies and as a result he went to New York University to study film. He graduated in 1971 and had various jobs in the industry and made a well received short called Last Year in Viet Nam. He was working partly as a screenwriter and in 1974 made a low budget horror called Seizure. Ian Nathan remarked that it already had signs of the director's trademark weirdness. This was followed by another low budget film The Hand  in 1981. 

But it was as a screenwriter that Stone first came to prominence and in 1979 he gained his first Oscar with his adaptation of  Midnight Express. He also wrote for Scarface and Conan, The Barbarian. His directing career took off in 1986 with Salvador starring James Woods and James Belushi and in the same year released the successful Platoon which won the Oscar for best picture and best director. Stone would always write or co-write the screenplay for all his films. 

With Platoon echoing his own experiences in Vietnam, so his next film 1987's Wall Street was, according to Bonnie Greer, a homage to his father. It was described as "one of the quintessential movies of the 1980's". Next came Talk Radio in 1988, adapted from the stage play, and in 1989 came Born on the 4th of July with Tom Cruise. This gained Stone his second best director Oscar for a biopic about a returning Vet from Viet Nam. In 1991 The Doors was a tribute to Jim Morrison and in the same year came JFK with Jim Garrison trying to prove that the president was assassinated by the mafia and elements in government. Stephen Armstrong described it as "his defining work" and "a masterpiece of film making". 

In 1993 Stone released Heaven and Earth, his third and last Viet Nam film, but it was not a critical or commercial success. The following year came Natural Born Killers, a highly controversial satire about violence depicted on  TV. Ian Nathan called it Stone "at his most frenzied". In 1995 came Nixon with Anthony Hopkins. Stephen Armstrong thought it was "almost Shakespearean" as it reminded him of King Lear. 1997 was a standard thriller U-Turn and was followed in 1999 by the American Football movie Any Given Sunday with an all star cast including Al Pacino. Ian Nathan said it was a cynical take on the rituals of sport.

Stone's first big epic came with Alexander the Great in 2004, a great spectacle but that was all. World Trade Centre came in 2006. Instead of a film about a conspiracy dwelling on cause and effect, the director went in the opposite direction and concentrated on the human story of two guys in the middle of the rubble. And a rescue. Stone looked at another president in 2008's W and in 2010 came Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps. A lazy rip-off of the original movie with Gecko now out of prison.

I his later career, Oliver Stone concentrated on documentaries, although in 2012 came Savages about drug cartels and Snowden in 2016. How obvious. Neil Norman called Stone " a committed and unafraid film maker. Ian Nathan concluded that he made the best war movies although he was "a contrarian". 

Episode 5   Nicolas Roeg

Why didn't I know this British director? Stephen Armstrong called him influential, Ian Nathan said he was revolutionary and Derek Malcolm found him imaginative. Nicolas Roeg was born in 1928 and grew up in St John's Wood. After private school he crossed the road from home to Marylebone Studios to find a job. He started at the bottom worked himself up, eventually becoming an assistant cinematographer and later taking the main role capturing many films, some of which gained  BAFTA nominations including Far from the Madding Crowd. 

Roeg's first film as director ( a credit as co-director disguised the fact that most of the film was directed by him) was Performance starring James Fox and Mick Jagger. Despite a troubled release, given it's strange feel, it was eventually successful and has become a cult classic. In 1971 came Walkabout with Jenny Agutter that Ian Nathan called mesmerising. Then in 1973 came the film for which Roeg is best remembered. Don't Look Now was highly controversial, a mixture of almost  horror and a portrait of grief said Simon Armstrong. Set in Venice, it starred Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. 

Up next was 1976's The Man Who Fell To Earth with David Bowie, a strange sci fi movie that the studio didn't understand! In 1980, Bad Timing was perhaps even more obscure, difficult and experimental. Although it did have a cast that included Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel and Art Garfunkel. Eureka in 1983 had  an equally good cast including Gene Hackman. A gangster movie that Neil Norman said was like a mystery thriller and "beautifully shot". Theresa Russell starred again in 1985's Insignificance, then Roeg directed Oliver Reed and Amanda Donohoe in 1986's Castaway. Stephen Armstrong said that this was one of his most mainstream films and Ian Nathan thought he was at his most fluent.

But another oddity came in 1988 with Track 29, based on Denis Potter's play with Theresa Russell again. In 1989 there came another adaptation of a stage play with Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth with Elizabeth Taylor and Mark Harmon. But Roeg was finding funding hard to come by and resorted next to a children's horror in Roald Dahl's The Witches. A small budget, most of which looked as if it was spent on make up. Although it was quite a big hit and made the studio money. Heart of Darkness released in 1993 was the Joseph Conrad story set in the Belgium Congo and starring Tim Roth. Nobody mentioned Apocalypse Now. Roeg's final film was puffball. Stephen Armstrong said it was a quiet farewell.

Ian Nathan was not that complimentary about Roeg's career, his films did not follow a traditional format. Although he did say they were "greater in hindsight". Derek Malcolm was complimentary and Stephen Armstrong said that he did inspire future film makers. I had not seen any of Roeg's films. I did not visit the cinema in the 1970's, and all his later films were far too weird. I wonder why he was included in this series.

Episode 6   David Lynch

Ian Nathan started the episode with likening David Lynch to Andy Warhol, in that he was great surrealist. Derek Malcolm thought he was "the most important radical film maker in America" and that "he wanted to tell the story completely differently".

Born in 1946 in Montana, he attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, dropped out, went to Salzburg, came back and moved to The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. His talent at painting came alongside the making of short films. In 1971, he moved to LA and began studying film at the AFI Conservatory. He nearly left after a year, and it was only the Dean that persuaded him to stay and allowed him free rein for his next project.  

He actually spent five years making Eraserhead. that was released in 1977. Derek Malcolm said it was full of "darkness and pessimism". It has gained over the years a cult following. Lynch followed this film with The Elephant Man made from a script that "gave him a structure" to work on. Stephen Armstrong likened it to a "Victorian Melodrama". Ian Nathan thought it was "very moving". It was a big critical and commercial success and gained eight Oscar nominations including those for best picture and best director. A great cast included Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt.

The success brought him a big budget movie with the Dino de Laurentis production company. However, Dune was to be a big flop. A sci fi classic book, Lynch was never comfortable making it. A big name cast with Patrick Stewart was unable to save it. He was never going to do something like that again and Stephen Armstrong said this was the real "beginning of David Lynch as we know him". Because up next came the classic Blue Velvet in 1986. Ian Nathan and Derek Malcolm thought it was his best film. The former thought it was like a film noir that subverted into dream textures. Stephen Armstrong thought it was quite unsettling. A horror story, a drama, a film noir, a dream, pop culture, a mystery, it was called all these things. Kyle McLachlan, Laura Dern, Dennis Hopper  and Isabella Rossellini were all excellent. Another Oscar nomination for best director followed.

In 1990 came Wild at Heart with Nicholas Cage and (again) Laura Dern. Ian Nathan thought it seemed like a "pantomime" and Lynch's "most violent film". A road movie about lovers on the run, it won the Palme D'Or at Cannes in 1990. The same year, Lynch made the TV Series Twin Peaks. Although strange in the Lynch fashion, it was a big hit and Neil Norman called it a "monumental success" about "another small town". The second series without Lynch failed, but he returned in 1992 to make a film called Twin Peaks: Fir Walk With Me. Ian Nathan thought it was his "strangest film2 and Neil Norman said it was "heavy going".

Next came Lost Highway in 1997 with Bill Pullman and Roseanna Arquette that Neil Norman was "most puzzling" of his films. But Straight Story in the same year was called by Derek Malcolm as "the most orthodox film he ever made". With Richard Farnsworth and Harry Dean Stanton, Stephen Armstrong thought it "so simple, charming and strangely touching" while Neil Norman said it was "an absolutely wonderful film". 

In 2001 came what Neil Norman said was "David Lynch's undisputed masterpiece", although it was "impossible to explain the plot". Mulholland Drive with Naomi Watts shared the prize for best film at Cannes and won Lynch his third nomination as best director at the Oscars. Stephen Armstrong added that it was "incredibly puzzling". It was the last feature film he made. 

David Lynch was "such a distinctive director" and according to Derek Malcolm "a master of radical film making" and an "ingenious artist". Neil Norman thought he was a "surrealist avant garde film maker" that made the mainstream. I agreed with Ian Nathan when he said "you never forget a David Lynch film".

Episode 7   Preston Sturges

Again, a name with which I was not familiar, Not really surprising as he worked on films in the 1940's. But such an interesting story of a brilliant screen writer turned director. Neil Norman said he was "the conquering hero of screwball comedy" and that the six films he made between 1940 and 1944 were all classics and three of these were masterpieces". Stephen Armstrong thought these comedies were set at "an incredible pace" and Ian Nathan added that his "his ideas were too modern for the 1940's".

Preston Sturges was born in Chicago in 1898. His father seems to have dropped out of the picture but his mother was quite bohemian. She actually took the three year old Preston to Paris when he was onlt three. He was soaked in culture from a very early age but grew to despise it. His surname comes from his step father. During WW1 he signed up for the US Army Airforce but never saw action. 

After the war he went briefly into acting before starting to write his own plays. The first called The Guinea Pig was a success and transferred to Broadway. His second play was even more successful. Strictly Dishonourable made his name. Hollywood came calling and he was able to make a lucrative deal on the back of this meteoric rise. He had a hugely successful time as a screen writer all through the 1930's. Ian Nathan said that when he submitted The Power and the Glory, the producer said he couldn't change a single word.

It was Stephen Armstrong who told us that in these days you didn't get writers who became directors. My guess is that they were fat too valuable. However at the mature age of 40, Sturges was in a "torrent of creativity" according to Ian Nathan and wanted to direct his script for The Great McGinty. He sold it to Paramount for $1 on the basis that he could direct. It was very successful and won the first ever Oscar for best original screenplay in 1940. 

Next up the same year was a farce called Christmas in July with Dick Powell. In 1941 Sturges directed The Lady Eve, a romantic comedy with Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck. Neil Norman said it was "one of the most perfect screwball comedies ever written" and Ian Nathan thought it was "a marvel" and "hilarious". Again the same year came Sullivan's Travels starring Joel McCrea and Veronika Lake. Neil Norman told us it was "one of his masterpieces" and "almost about himself".  Joel McCrea also starred in Sturges' next film The Palm Beach Story that also featured Claudette Colbert. Neil Norman said it was almost like a Marx Brothers film. 

In 1943 came The Miracle of Morgan's Creek starring Betty Hutton. Neil Norman reminded us that this was the film that had most trouble with the censors. Ian Nathan described "the chaotic farce" but had "such pace and non stop dialogue". It won Sturges another Oscar for best original screenplay. Next came Hail the Conquering Hero in 1944. At Paramount Studios, a new producer didn't like directors who wrote and vice versa and tried to take hold of the final edit. But Sturges got his way in the end and took back the editing himself. Another Oscar for best original screenplay, the second in that year. 

This experience led Sturges to leave Paramount and helped set up an independent film company. However, this was not successful. 1944's The Great Moment and 1947's The Sin of Harold Diddlebock were flops. But he was back to form with Unfaithfully Yours with Rex Harrison. In 1949 his first film in colour was The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend. But his bankability had disappeared and led Sturges to move to France and made one film there that was to be his final directing feature. He returned to America but died soon after.

The presenters agreed that he should be classed alongside all the great directors. It was a relatively small output, but he did start quite late in his career. But what impressed me was that it was his writing that shone through. Yes, he was ahead of his time.

Episode 8   Mervyn LeRoy

Yet another unfamiliar name, not surprising as Mervyn LeRoy directed most of his films in the 1930's and 40's. I had heard of some of his later movies. In fact when Derek Malcolm opened proceedings he said that LeRoy would be "most peoples favourite director of the 1950's". Ian Nathan said that he "transformed Hollywood" and Neil Norman added that he "understood the power of movies".

Mervyn LeRoy was born in San Francisco in 1900. After his mother left, his father losy everything in the 1906 earthquake. When young Mervyn won a Charlie Chaplin contest, he went into a Vaudeville group for nine years! When they broke up he was stranded in New York  He was rescued by a cousin, Jesse Lasky who was a movie producer. He found LeRoy jobs in the studio which gave him great experience in lots of departments. From camera assistant to small roles in early silent movies, he began to co-write scripts and by the late 1920's was directing his first silent pictures and then those with sound.

It was Warner Brothers who saw his potential, where we were told by Ian Nathan as being "the working class studio, making gritty films". LeRoy's first film there was 1931's Little Caesar" with Edward G Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Junior. This was the first proper gangster movie on that scale. The following film LeRoy directed was Five Star Final, again with Edward G Robinson, that Stephen Armstrong said showed "the worst excesses of the tabloid press".1932 saw I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, that we were told was very successful, full of ambiguity and uncertainty. Anthony Adverse came in 1936, a historical drama. Not LeRoy's kind of film, but he understood what the studio wanted, and the film was Oscar nominated for best picture.

The following year came They Won't Forget. "Back to his social realism roots" said Stephen Armstrong, Ian Nathan adding he was "ahead of his time". He went on to say that LeRoy was now a major force in Hollywood that prompted MGM to employ him on double his salary as producer and director. In the former role, he had much to do with the production of The Wizard of Oz. Derek Malcolm gave an interesting piece about Le Roy's role at this time. Back in the director's chair, LeRoy made Waterloo Bridge in 1940 with Robert Taylor and a superb Vivienne Leigh. The extracts shown reminded me of those big romantic films of the time, but this was more of a tragedy. 

In 1942 came Random Harvest with Ronald Coleman and Greer Garson, another big romantic drama. Neil Norman said that it got his vote for "the most romantic movie ever made". Ian Nathan added that "at last a LeRoy happy ending". The film was a big hit, being Oscar nominated for best picture and best director. Thirty Seconds over Tokyo in 1944 was based on a true event and was described by Neil Norman as "one of the best aviation movies ever made", although the raid inflicted horrific devastation on the civilian population. In 1946 came Without Reservations, described as a curious comedy with Claudette Colbert and John Wayne in a romantic role? 

!949 saw the advent of colour with Little Women with a fantastic cast and being true to the book and the time. It was predictably a smash hit. Next came Quo Vadis in 1951, a big Roman epic. Le Roy took over when the production got into trouble in it's Italian location. Sergio Leone was taken on to help. It was three hours long but a big hit. In 1962 Leroy directed The Devil at 4 O'clock, with Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra, that Stephen Armstrong called "the first disaster movie made in Hollywood". Gypsy starring Natalie Wood came in 1962, a movie about the pressures of show business.  Ian Nathan said it was quite a dark story, typical of the director, and a massive hit for his last film.

Derek Malcolm summarised his career with the words "no other director had won so many nominations at the Academy Awards without ever winning". Neil Norman reminded us that LeRoy took us from silent movies to sound, black and white to colour and was "capable of doing anything" in an "extraordinary career". Stephen Armstrong said his movies "explode with life".


Episode 9 James L Brooks

Ian Nathan introduced yet another director whose name was not familiar to me. He said James L Brooks "mixed drama and comedy to a perfect cocktail". Stephen Armstrong said that he "loved language". Brooks was born in 1940 in Brooklyn. He was brought up by his mother and older sister to which Ian Nathan added "women would fill his creative life". And how!

He dropped out of New York University and it was his sister who found him a job at CBS, entering at the very lowest level. But once he was given a chance to fill in for an absent news writer, he never looked back. He went on to work in documentaries in LA but this did not last long. However, a chance meeting at a party with the CBS producer Alan Burns led to another job at CBS, this time as script writer. Here he wrote for many of their TV shows, eventually teaming up with Burns to create "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-1977). It was set in a news room but, unusually, with a female lead. It was highly successful, a programme that everybody watched. Brooks had proved he was a top comedy drama writer.There were two spin-offs in "Rhoda" and "Lou Grant" (1977-1982). 

Brooks and Burns then set up a production company so that they could retain overall control. First up came "Taxi" (1977-1983). Brooks wrote the script for his  first feature film that was "Starting Over" in 1979 with Burt Reynolds. Here Brooks learnt the art of directing so he was ready for his next film. He had saved his own baby for such an eventuality. "Terms of Endearment" released in 1983 won the Oscars for best picture, best director and (not mentioned in the programme, but I guess more importantly for Brooks) best adapted screenplay. Acting Oscars went to Shirley MacLaine (best actress) and Jack Nicholson (best supporting actor) as well as nominations for Debra Winger (best actress) and John Lithgow (best supporting actor) as well as nominations in other categories. All this for Brooks' first time directing and producing. Really quite something. He knew how to write female roles with "comedy and tear jerking elements".  Brooks followed this enormous success with his love letter to his early years at CBS with "Broadcast News" in 1987 with Holly Hunter and William Hurt. 

At the same time, Brooks had set up a production company called Gracie Films and produced for television, "The Tracy Ullman Show". To break up the scenes, Brooks commissioned a series of short animations from Matt Groening featuring The Simpson family. This later became "The Simpsons" that is still going today. We were told that this was the very first animated series for adults. Brooks was now a well respected producer and helped "Big" in 1988, "Say Anything" ad "The War of the Roses" in 1989, and "Bottle Rocket"  and "Jerry Maguire" in 1996. "Bottle Rocket" was described as an amazing experience as Brooks brought Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson from Texas to Hollywood to eventually finish writing, directing and acting in their first main feature.

Before this, in 1994, Brooks wrote and directed "I'll Do Anything" which the programme must have missed. He followed this with "As Good As It Gets" in 1997 with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. Almost and anti-romantic comedy with Ian Nathan saying it was "making comedy serious". "Spanglish" came in 2004 with Adam Sandler and "How Do You Know" in 2010 with Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson and Paul Judd. This last film from Brooks was not a success. 

But he had an enormous talent for words, his writing took all that experience from the TV sit-coms through to major productions on the big screen. But just as importantly, in his later role as producer, he brought together other film makers to make important contributions to cinema. Ian Nathan said he reflected the "truth of American life".

Episode 10   Robert Aldrich

Robert Aldrich was born in 1918 to a wealthy Rhode Island family. Neil Norman described how he "walked away from privilege and wealth to live an independent life". Stephen Armstrong added that "he was one of the great unsung influencers". Aldrich loved his mother but she died when he was thirteen. He was expected to go to Yale, but failed the entrance and instead headed for Virginia University. This was so different to his rich background but it started a huge education.

 He actually dropped out when his uncle found him a goffer's job at RKO Studios.  His father was livid and disinherited his son. But Aldrich didn't care.  When WW2 started he volunteered for the US Army Air Force. However due to an old football injury, he was invalided out. He took the chance of getting work in Hollywood as numbers there were now scarce, and worked his way up to assistant director. Then on to New York where he was able to direct many episodes of various TV series. 

It was MGM who gave him a chance to direct a feature with the small production that was Big League  with Edward G Robinson. He was also able to use the same crew and studio for World for Ransom that was almost an independent movie. These were successful enough for Aldrich to be able to direct 1954's Apache with Burt Lancaster and in the same year Vera Cruz with the same actor and Gary Cooper. These two westerns were both successful, the latter was a huge hit, pioneering as it was the types of spaghetti westerns that would follow. Stephen Armstrong said that  he was "already a very influential figure".

On the back of these hits, Aldrich set up his own independent film company with his own studio. His first film was 1955's film noir  Kiss Me Deadly  and this was followed by Attack in 1956 with Jack Palance and Lee Marvin. Next came 1959's The Angry Hills with Robert Mitchum, taking cast and crew to Greece. Aldrich continued to be more interested in human motives than anything else in his films.

The Last Sunset in 1961 starred Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson and Joseph Cotton, another unusual western with echoes of the hit Vera Cruz. Neil Norman thought it had elements of "Greek tragedy". Then in 1962, Aldrich pulled off a great coup in getting Bette Davis and Joan Crawford together for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. The rivalry of the two actresses helped to make this an iconic movie, almost a horror film. The 1964 follow up Hush ....Hush, Sweet Charlotte saw Olivia de Havilland replace Joan Crawford.

1965's The Flight of the Phoenix with James Stewart was only moderately successful, but then came the blockbuster hit The Dirty Dozen in 1967. A big star cast with Lee Marvin was described as hugely influential. Then came The Longest Yard, an American Football film in 1974 with Burt Reynolds described as funny and thrilling. Burt Reynolds starred again in 1975's Hustle with Catherine de Neuve. Aldrich made his last film in 1979 with The Frisco Kid, typically another western, but a comedy this time with Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford.

Ian Nathan summarised the career of Robert Aldrich, saying that he was a " great Hollywood radical, ahead of his time". Stephen Armstrong added that "He changed Hollywood completely, inventing new forms of cinema and inspired a new generation of film makers". It was left to Neil Norman to conclude that he "made movies like no-one else could".