Graeme Clifford
Encyclopedia
For the opera singer with a similar name, see Grahame Clifford
.
Graeme Clifford is an acclaimed Australian film director, his directing credits include the Academy Award nominated film Frances
, Gleaming the Cube
and the mini-series The Last Don
, which received two Emmy nominations.
Clifford was a leading film editor for over ten years, before he made an impressive feature directorial debut with Frances
, the dramatic real-life story of actress Frances Farmer
, which gained Academy Award nominations for Jessica Lange
and Kim Stanley
. His second feature outing was the Australian historical adventure-drama Burke & Wills
which was chosen as a participant in the 1986 Cannes Film Festival
. He followed up with the contemporary action-suspense drama Gleaming the Cube
, starring Christian Slater
, and Deception (a.k.a. Ruby Cairo
), starring Andie MacDowell
, Liam Neeson
and Viggo Mortensen
.
Born in Sydney, Australia, Clifford obtained his wide-ranging experience in editing, special effects, sound recording/mixing, animation and assistant directing at Artransa Park, Sydney’s only film studio for many years. He received additional tutelage working under directors like Robert Altman
and Nicholas Roeg. His collaborations with Altman include M*A*S*H, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Images
and The Long Goodbye
. For Roeg, Clifford edited Don't Look Now
, for which he was nominated for a British Academy Award, as well as The Man Who Fell to Earth
.
Clifford’s other feature editing credits include Norman Jewison
’s F.I.S.T.
, Sam Peckinpah
’s Convoy
, Bob Rafelson
’s The Postman Always Rings Twice
and the cult-classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show
.
Clifford’s television directorial credits are many and varied. They include episodes of Joan of Arcadia
, The Guardian, Twin Peaks
and Faerie Tale Theatre, and the movies Profoundly Normal (Kirstie Alley
, Delroy Lindo
), See You In My Dreams (Aidan Quinn
, Marcia Gay Harden
), Redeemer (Matthew Modine
), Past Tense (Scott Glenn
, Lara Flynn Boyle
, Anthony LaPaglia
) and Mario Puzo
’s The Last Don
Parts I and II, an Emmy-nominated 10 hour mini-series (Danny Aiello
, Joe Mantegna
, Jason Gedrick
, Daryl Hannah
).
Feature films
Television films
Grahame Clifford
For the film editor with a similar name, see Graeme Clifford.Grahame Clifford , was an English opera singer and actor primarily known for his work in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and as principal baritone of the Royal Opera Company, Covent Garden.-Life...
.
Graeme Clifford is an acclaimed Australian film director, his directing credits include the Academy Award nominated film Frances
Frances
Frances is a 1982 American drama film starring Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, and Sam Shepard. When it was released this film was advertised as a purportedly true account of actress Frances Farmer's life but the script was largely fictional and sensationalized...
, Gleaming the Cube
Gleaming the Cube
Gleaming the Cube is an American movie released in 1989. It featured Christian Slater as Brian Kelly, a 16-year-old skateboarder investigating the death of his adopted Vietnamese brother.The Skating Technical Advisor for the film was original Z-Boy, Stacy Peralta...
and the mini-series The Last Don
The Last Don
The Last Don is a novel by Mario Puzo, best known as the author of The Godfather.The story alternates between the movie industry and the Las Vegas casinos, showing how the Mafia is linked to them both.-Plot:...
, which received two Emmy nominations.
Clifford was a leading film editor for over ten years, before he made an impressive feature directorial debut with Frances
Frances
Frances is a 1982 American drama film starring Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, and Sam Shepard. When it was released this film was advertised as a purportedly true account of actress Frances Farmer's life but the script was largely fictional and sensationalized...
, the dramatic real-life story of actress Frances Farmer
Frances Farmer
Frances Elena Farmer was an American actress of stage and screen. She is perhaps better known for sensationalized and fictional accounts of her life, and especially her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital...
, which gained Academy Award nominations for Jessica Lange
Jessica Lange
Jessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
and Kim Stanley
Kim Stanley
Kim Stanley was an American actress, primarily in television and theatre, but with occasional film performances....
. His second feature outing was the Australian historical adventure-drama Burke & Wills
Burke & Wills
Burke & Wills is a 1985 Australian adventure film directed by Graeme Clifford, starring Jack Thompson and Nigel Havers. The film is based on the true story of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition across Australia....
which was chosen as a participant in the 1986 Cannes Film Festival
1986 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Sydney Pollack*Alexandre Mnouchkine*Alexandre Trauner*Charles Aznavour*Danièle Thompson*István Szabó*Lino Brocka*Philip French*Sonia Braga*Tonino Delli Colli-Feature film competition:* After Hours by Martin Scorsese...
. He followed up with the contemporary action-suspense drama Gleaming the Cube
Gleaming the Cube
Gleaming the Cube is an American movie released in 1989. It featured Christian Slater as Brian Kelly, a 16-year-old skateboarder investigating the death of his adopted Vietnamese brother.The Skating Technical Advisor for the film was original Z-Boy, Stacy Peralta...
, starring Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
, and Deception (a.k.a. Ruby Cairo
Ruby Cairo
Ruby Cairo is a 1993 film directed by Graeme Clifford. The soundtrack features music by John Barry and the song You Belong to Me performed by Patsy Cline.-Plot:...
), starring Andie MacDowell
Andie MacDowell
Rosalie Anderson "Andie" MacDowell is an American model and actress. She has received the Golden Camera and an Honorary César.-Early life:...
, Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
and Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
.
Born in Sydney, Australia, Clifford obtained his wide-ranging experience in editing, special effects, sound recording/mixing, animation and assistant directing at Artransa Park, Sydney’s only film studio for many years. He received additional tutelage working under directors like Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
and Nicholas Roeg. His collaborations with Altman include M*A*S*H, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Images
Images (film)
Images is a 1972 British-American psychological thriller film directed by Robert Altman.-Plot:Wealthy housewife and children's author Cathryn receives a series of disturbing and eerie phone calls in her home in London one dreary night...
and The Long Goodbye
The Long Goodbye (film)
The Long Goodbye is a 1973 neo noir, directed by Robert Altman and based on Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Leigh Brackett, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Big Sleep in 1946...
. For Roeg, Clifford edited Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now is a 1973 thriller film directed by Nicolas Roeg. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland star as a married couple whose lives become complicated after meeting two elderly sisters in Venice, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their recently deceased daughter is...
, for which he was nominated for a British Academy Award, as well as The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)
The Man Who Fell to Earth is a 1976 British science fiction film directed by Nicolas Roeg.The film is based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, about an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet, which is suffering from a severe drought...
.
Clifford’s other feature editing credits include Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
’s F.I.S.T.
F.I.S.T.
F.I.S.T. is a 1978 movie directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sylvester Stallone. In this film, Stallone plays a Cleveland warehouse worker named Johnny Kovak who becomes involved in the labor union leadership of the fictional "Federation of Inter State Truckers", and finds that he must...
, Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
’s Convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
, Bob Rafelson
Bob Rafelson
Robert "Bob" Rafelson is an Emmy Award winning American film director, writer and producer. He was an early member of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s and is most famous for directing and co-writing the film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson, as well as being one of the creators of...
’s The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1934 crime novel by James M. Cain.The novel was quite successful and notorious upon publication, and is regarded as one of the more important crime novels of the 20th century...
and the cult-classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
.
Clifford’s television directorial credits are many and varied. They include episodes of Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi , who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m...
, The Guardian, Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
and Faerie Tale Theatre, and the movies Profoundly Normal (Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Louise Alley is an American actress known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987–1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991...
, Delroy Lindo
Delroy Lindo
Delroy George Lindo is an English actor and theatre director. Lindo has been nominated for the Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards and has won a Satellite Award...
), See You In My Dreams (Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn
-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
, Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden is an American film and theatre actress. Harden's breakthrough role was in Miller's Crossing and then The First Wives Club which was followed by several roles which gained her wider fame including the hit comedy Flubber and Meet Joe Black...
), Redeemer (Matthew Modine
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the...
), Past Tense (Scott Glenn
Scott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...
, Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
, Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony M. LaPaglia is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American TV series Without a Trace, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
) and Mario Puzo
Mario Puzo
Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
’s The Last Don
The Last Don
The Last Don is a novel by Mario Puzo, best known as the author of The Godfather.The story alternates between the movie industry and the Las Vegas casinos, showing how the Mafia is linked to them both.-Plot:...
Parts I and II, an Emmy-nominated 10 hour mini-series (Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
, Joe Mantegna
Joe Mantegna
Joseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. is an American actor, producer, writer,director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , and Up Close & Personal...
, Jason Gedrick
Jason Gedrick
Jason Gedrick is an American actor best known for his work on the television series Murder One and Boomtown and the motion picture Iron Eagle....
, Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
).
Filmography
As director:Feature films
- FrancesFrancesFrances is a 1982 American drama film starring Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, and Sam Shepard. When it was released this film was advertised as a purportedly true account of actress Frances Farmer's life but the script was largely fictional and sensationalized...
- Burke & WillsBurke & WillsBurke & Wills is a 1985 Australian adventure film directed by Graeme Clifford, starring Jack Thompson and Nigel Havers. The film is based on the true story of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition across Australia....
- Gleaming the CubeGleaming the CubeGleaming the Cube is an American movie released in 1989. It featured Christian Slater as Brian Kelly, a 16-year-old skateboarder investigating the death of his adopted Vietnamese brother.The Skating Technical Advisor for the film was original Z-Boy, Stacy Peralta...
- Ruby CairoRuby CairoRuby Cairo is a 1993 film directed by Graeme Clifford. The soundtrack features music by John Barry and the song You Belong to Me performed by Patsy Cline.-Plot:...
Television films
- Write & WrongWrite & WrongWrite & Wrong is a 2007 Lifetime Television movie, directed by Graeme Clifford and starring Kirstie Alley and Eric Christian Olsen....
- Family Sins
- Profoundly Normal
- Crossing the Line
- Gaily, Gaily
- Redeemer
- See You In My Dreams
- Caracara
- The Last Don II
- My Husband's Secret Life
- The Last DonThe Last DonThe Last Don is a novel by Mario Puzo, best known as the author of The Godfather.The story alternates between the movie industry and the Las Vegas casinos, showing how the Mafia is linked to them both.-Plot:...
- A Loss of Innocence
- Nightmare Classics: The Turn of the Screw