Paul Bryers
Encyclopedia
Paul Bryers, born in Liverpool
in 1953, is a British film director
, screenwriter
and fiction author
.
. Later he joined the Daily Mirror’s training scheme for journalists. He worked there for two years, and then became a reporter and presenter for the British commercial television station Southern ITV
. Later he became producer and director, covering conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and South America.
, Channel 4
, Channel 5 and PBS
.
Bryers got quickly noticed by docudramas as A Vote For Hitler (1988) about the Munich Agreement
in 1938 and the subsequent Oxford by-election, 1938
, and A Strike Out of Time (1990), a docudrama about the miners’ strike
in 1985.
In 2001 he made the four-part TV series Queen Victoria's Empire with Donald Sutherland
, which won the Outstanding achievement award at the New York Film Festival
in 2002.
Besides documentaries and docudramas Bryer adapted some classics of the world literature for television. In 1992 he made the TV film Incident in Judea, an adaptation of the biblical chapters from the novel The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov
with Mark Rylance in the role of Yeshua (Jesus) and John Woodvine
in the role of Pontius Pilate
, and in 1992 he made a screenversion of the theatre play The Golden Years
by Arthur Miller
about the conquest of Mexico
by Hernán Cortés
, with Robert Powell
as the conquistador Cortés and Ronald Pickup
as Montezuma
.
In 2008 he started writing The Mysteries of the Septagram, a series of novels for children and teenagers. The first in the series, Kobal, was published in 2008 and was nominated for the Waterstone's Book of the Year Award. Thereafter followed Avatar (2009) and Abyss (2010).
and an alliance of European powers, later known as the First Coalition. The hero of these novels is called Nathan Peake.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in 1953, is a British film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and fiction author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Biography
Paul Bryers studied Modern history, politics and economy at the University of SouthamptonUniversity of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
. Later he joined the Daily Mirror’s training scheme for journalists. He worked there for two years, and then became a reporter and presenter for the British commercial television station Southern ITV
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
. Later he became producer and director, covering conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and South America.
Film and television
After his career as a reporter, Paul Bryers became especially known for his documentaries and docudramas for the television channels BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, Channel 5 and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
.
Bryers got quickly noticed by docudramas as A Vote For Hitler (1988) about the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
in 1938 and the subsequent Oxford by-election, 1938
Oxford by-election, 1938
The Oxford by-election, 1938 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Oxford, held on October 27, 1938. The by-election was triggered when Robert Croft Bourne, the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament died on August 7, 1938...
, and A Strike Out of Time (1990), a docudrama about the miners’ strike
UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
in 1985.
In 2001 he made the four-part TV series Queen Victoria's Empire with Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
, which won the Outstanding achievement award at the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
in 2002.
Besides documentaries and docudramas Bryer adapted some classics of the world literature for television. In 1992 he made the TV film Incident in Judea, an adaptation of the biblical chapters from the novel The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, woven around the premise of a visit by the Devil to the fervently atheistic Soviet Union. Many critics consider the book to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and one of the foremost Soviet satires, directed against a...
by Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhaíl Afanásyevich Bulgákov was a Soviet Russian writer and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his novel The Master and Margarita, which The Times of London has called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century.-Biography:Mikhail Bulgakov was born on...
with Mark Rylance in the role of Yeshua (Jesus) and John Woodvine
John Woodvine
John Woodvine is an English stage and screen actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.-Early life:...
in the role of Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
, and in 1992 he made a screenversion of the theatre play The Golden Years
The Golden Years (play)
The Golden Years is a radio play by Arthur Miller. It was written in 1940 but remained unperformed for many years. It was presented on BBC radio 3 in 1987 as a radio play.-References:...
by Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
about the conquest of Mexico
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
by Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
, with Robert Powell
Robert Powell
Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
as the conquistador Cortés and Ronald Pickup
Ronald Pickup
-Life and career:Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer. Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.His television work began with an episode...
as Montezuma
Montezuma
Montezuma, Moctezuma, Moteczoma, Motecuhzoma, Moteuczomah, Mwatazuma, are variant spellings and may refer to:*Moctezuma II , ninth Aztec Emperor, ruler at the beginning of the Spanish conquest of Mexico...
.
The author Paul Bryers
Paul Bryers is also the author of several novels, published between 1976 and 2003. He got the British Arts Council Award for Best First Novel.In 2008 he started writing The Mysteries of the Septagram, a series of novels for children and teenagers. The first in the series, Kobal, was published in 2008 and was nominated for the Waterstone's Book of the Year Award. Thereafter followed Avatar (2009) and Abyss (2010).
The author Seth Hunter
In 2008 Paul Bryers started another series of books under the pseudonym Seth Hunter. The stories play in the time of the War of the First Coalition, an armed conflict between the revolutionary FranceFrench First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
and an alliance of European powers, later known as the First Coalition. The hero of these novels is called Nathan Peake.
Filmography
- 1988 – A Vote for Hitler (TV film, Channel 4)
- 1989 – The Survivor's Guide (Documentary TV series, Channel 5)
- 1990 – A Strike Out of Time (TV film, Channel 4)
- 1991 – Incident in Judaea (TV film, Channel 4)
- 1992 – The Golden Years (TV film, Channel 4)
- 1993 - The Essential History of Germany (Documentary, BBC Two)
- 2001 – Tales from the Tower (Docudrama, The Learning Channel)
- 2001 – Queen Victoria's Empire (Documentary TV series, PBS)
- 2002 – Harem (Docudrama series, Channel 4)
- 2003 – Seven Wonders of the Industrial World – The Line (TV series, BBC Two)
- 2004 – The Great Nazi Cash Swindle (Documentary, Channel 4)
- 2005 – Murder at Canterbury (Docudrama, BBC Two)
- 2005 – Flood at Winchester (Docudrama, BBC Two)
- 2005 – Nelson’s Trafalgar (Docudrama, Channel 4)
Novels
- 1978 – Hollow Target
- 1978 – Cat Trapper
- 1982 – Hire Me a Base Fellow
- 1987 – Coming First
- 1991 – The Adultery Department
- 1995 – In a Pig’s Ear
- 1998 – The Prayer of the Bone
- 2003 – The Used Women’s Book Club
Seth Hunter
- 2008 – The Time of Terror
- 2009 – The Tide of War
- 2010 – The Price of Glory
- 2011 – The Winds of Folly