Richard Fleischer
1916 - 2006Richard O. Fleischer (December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director.
Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie (née Goldstein) and animator/producer Max Fleischer. After graduating from Brown University, he went to Yale School of Drama, where he met his future wife, Mary Dickson.
His film career began in 1942 at the RKO studio, directing shorts, documentaries, and compilations of forgotten silent features.
Fleischer moved to Los Angeles and was assigned his first feature, Child of Divorce (1946). In 1954, he was chosen by Walt Disney (his father's former rival as a cartoon producer) to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Kirk Douglas. In 1955 Fox signed Fleischer to a long term contract. He would work for that studio for the next fifteen years. His first film under his new contract with Fox was The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955). Kirk Douglas hired Fleischer to make The Vikings (1958), which was another big hit. He then moved to Paris where he directed two stories for Darryl F. Zanuck starring Greco. Fleischer then signed a contract with Dino de Laurentiis to make Barabbas (1962). Back in Hollywood, Richard Zanuck had become head of production at Fox and offered Fleischer Fantastic Voyage (1966). It was a success and resurrected his Hollywood career. Che! (1969), a biopic of Che Guevera that starred Omar Sharif, was an expensive flop, as was an account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). This was his last film for 20th Century Fox.
Fleischer travelled to England, where he directed an acclaimed thriller, 10 Rillington Place. See No Evil (1971) with Mia Farrow was another thriller. In Hollywood, he made The New Centurions (1972). At MGM, he made a science-fiction film, Soylent Green (1973), with Charlton Heston.
He was reunited with De Laurentiis for the popular, if controversial, Mandingo (1975). The Prince and the Pauper (1977) was a version of the Mark Twain novel that featured Heston, Harrison and Scott in its cast. Fleischer was then hired on Ashanti (1979), starring Michael Caine, which turned out to be a flop. Tough Enough (1983) was about the Toughman Contest starring Dennis Quaid. He made three more for de Laurentiis. His final theatrical feature was Million Dollar Mystery (1987).
Fleischer was chairman of Fleischer Studios, which today handles the licensing of Betty Boop and Koko the Clown. In June 2005, he released his memoirs of his father's career in Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution.
Fleischer's 1993 autobiography, Just Tell Me When to Cry, described his many difficulties with actors, writers and producers.
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Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Craig McCall
Jack Cardiff, Martin Scorsese
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda
Martin Balsam, Sō Yamamura
In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words use by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Cineastes contra magnats
Carlos Benpar
Marta Belmonte, Jesús Ángel Domínguez
How the cinema industry does not respect the author's work as it was conceived, how manipulates the motion pictures in order to make them easier to watch by an undemanding audience or even how mutilates them to adapt the original formats and runtimes to the restrictive frame of the television screen and the abusive requirements of advertising. (Followed by “Filmmakers in Action.”)
Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
The Boston Strangler
Richard Fleischer
Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda
Boston is being terrorized by a series of seemingly random murders of women. Based on the true story, the film follows the investigators path through several leads before introducing the Strangler as a character. It is seen almost exclusively from the point of view of the investigators who have very few clues to build a case upon.
The Boston Strangler
His Kind of Woman
Richard Fleischer, John Farrow
Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell
In a desperate attempt to get out of debt, career gambler Dan Milner agrees to rendezvous with a mysterious contact at a distant Mexican resort in exchange for $50,000. Upon arriving, Milner meets his fellow guests, including a plastic surgeon, a philandering movie star and his beautiful girlfriend. Soon Milner discovers that the man who hired him may be the ruthless gangster Nick Ferraro -- a deported crime boss looking to re-enter the USA.
His Kind of Woman
Armored Car Robbery
Richard Fleischer
Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens
While executing an armored car heist in Los Angeles, icy crook Dave Purvis shoots policeman Lt. Phillips before he and his cronies make off with the loot. Thinking he got away scot-free, Purvis collects his money-crazy mistress, Yvonne, then disposes of his partners and heads out of town. What Purvis doesn't know is that Phillips' partner, tough-as-nails Lt. Cordell, is wise to the criminal's plans and is closing in on his prey.
Armored Car Robbery
The New Centurions
Richard Fleischer
George C. Scott, Stacy Keach
An idealistic rookie cop joins the LAPD to make ends meet while finishing law school, and is indoctrinated by a seasoned veteran. As time goes on, he loses his ambitions and family as police work becomes his entire life.
The New Centurions
Barabbas
Richard Fleischer
Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano
Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.
Barabbas
