Philip Saville
Encyclopedia
Philip Saville is a British television direction
and screenwriting
from the late 1950s. He began his working life as an actor
.
During the 1960s he directed television plays, such as Harold Pinter
's A Night Out
(1960) for ABC
's Armchair Theatre
anthology series, and Madhouse on Castle Street (1963) for the BBC. The later (now lost) production was the first acting appearance of the American
folk singer Bob Dylan
, whom Saville had flown over to the UK specifically to take part in the play.
Other significant programmes on which Saville worked include Out of the Unknown
(1965) and the Boys from the Blackstuff
(1982) for which Saville received a BAFTA to add to his earlier BAFTA for Hamlet at Elsinore
(1964).
For the cinema, Saville directed The Fruit Machine
(1988, released as Wonderland in the USA), Metroland
(1997) and The Gospel of John
(2003). Saville has been called one of the UK's top 100 directors of all time.
He has a masterclass
studio in London
specializing in dramatic improvisation. Saville's documentary on Harold Pinter
Pinter's Progress (2009) for Sundance
international television channels and UK's Sky Arts features numerous interviews with associates of the Nobel Prize winning playwright. Saville is currently developing further arts programming with Sundance and British TV company 3DD Productions
including Discovering Hamlet now in production.
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and screenwriting
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:...
from the late 1950s. He began his working life as an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
During the 1960s he directed television plays, such as Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
's A Night Out
A Night Out (play)
A Night Out is a play written by Harold Pinter in 1959.- Plot and overview :Albert Stokes, a loner in his late twenties lives with his emotionally-suffocating mother and works in an office...
(1960) for ABC
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
's Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
anthology series, and Madhouse on Castle Street (1963) for the BBC. The later (now lost) production was the first acting appearance of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk singer Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, whom Saville had flown over to the UK specifically to take part in the play.
Other significant programmes on which Saville worked include Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Each episode was an independent dramatisation of a separate science fiction short story...
(1965) and the Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff is a British television drama series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2....
(1982) for which Saville received a BAFTA to add to his earlier BAFTA for Hamlet at Elsinore
Hamlet at Elsinore
Hamlet at Elsinore is a 1964 television version of Shakespeare's play. Produced by the BBC, in association with Danish Radio, it was shown in the U.S. on NET in 1965. Winning wide acclaim both for its performances and for being shot entirely at Elsinore, in the castle in which the play is set, it...
(1964).
For the cinema, Saville directed The Fruit Machine
The Fruit Machine (film)
The Fruit Machine was known as Wonderland in the United States.The Fruit Machine is a British Film thriller directed by BAFTA-winner Philip Saville about two bud gay teens running from an underworld assassin and the police...
(1988, released as Wonderland in the USA), Metroland
Metroland (1997 film)
Metroland is a 1997 British film starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson. It was directed by Philip Saville and written by Adrian Hodges, based on the 1980 novel by Julian Barnes...
(1997) and The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John (film)
The Gospel of John is a 2003 film that is the story of Jesus' life as recounted by the Gospel of John. It is a motion picture that has been adapted for the screen on a word-for-word basis from the American Bible Society's Good News Bible...
(2003). Saville has been called one of the UK's top 100 directors of all time.
He has a masterclass
Master class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....
studio in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
specializing in dramatic improvisation. Saville's documentary on Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
Pinter's Progress (2009) for Sundance
Sundance
Sundance Resort is a ski resort located northeast of Provo, Utah, spanning over on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos in Utah's Wasatch Range. Snow skiing began on the site in 1944...
international television channels and UK's Sky Arts features numerous interviews with associates of the Nobel Prize winning playwright. Saville is currently developing further arts programming with Sundance and British TV company 3DD Productions
3DD Productions
3DD Productions is a UK based television production company formed in 2005 and part of the 3DD Group. It specialises in music television, cultural and film documentaries. Notably it has produced music programming for Channel 4 over the last 5 years, including the long running series The Album Chart...
including Discovering Hamlet now in production.
Filmography
- A Piece of CakeA Piece of CakeA Piece of Cake is a 1948 British fantasy comedy film directed by John Irwin and starring the husband and wife team of Cyril Fletcher and Betty Astell as well as Laurence Naismith and Jon Pertwee.-Plot:...
(1948) - 1948 Penny and the Pownall Case, Actor: Police Car Driver
- 1953 Murder at 3amMurder at 3amMurder at 3am is a 1953 British crime film directed by Francis Searle and starring Dennis Price, Peggy Evans and Philip Saville. A Scotland Yard detective investigates a series of attacks on women.-Cast:* Dennis Price ... Inspector Peter Lawton...
, Actor: Edward/Jim King - 1953 The Straw Man, Actor: Link Hunter
- 1954 Bang! You're DeadBang! You're DeadBang! You're Dead is a 1954 British psychological film drama, directed by Lance Comfort and starring Jack Warner, Anthony Richmond and Sean Barrett. The film takes as its subject the accidental killing of a man by a child, and the struggles of the child and his companion to comprehend the gravity...
, Actor: Ben Jones - 1954 The Night of the Full Moon, Actor: Dale Merritt
- 1955 Contraband Spain, Actor: Martin Scott
- 1956 On the Run, Actor: Driscol
- 1957 The Great Van Robbery, Actor: Carter
- 1958 The Betrayal, Actor: Bartel
- 1958 Three Crooked Men, Actor: Seppy
- 1959 An Honourable Murder, Actor: Mark Anthony
- 1964 Hamlet [made for television], Director
- 1964 In CameraNo ExitNo Exit is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The original French title is Huis Clos, the French equivalent of the legal term in camera, referring to a private discussion behind closed doors; English translations have also been performed under the titles In Camera, No Way Out...
[made for television], Director / Adapted by - 1966 Stop the World, I Want to Get Off, Director
- 1968 Oedipus the KingOedipus the KingOedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...
, Director / Screenwriter - 1969 The Best House in London, Director
- 1971 Secrets, Director / Screenwriter
- 1977 Count DraculaCount Dracula (1977)Count Dracula is a British television adaptation of the famous novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It first aired in December 1977. It is among the more faithful of the many adaptations of the original book...
, Director - 1984 Those Glory, Glory Days, Director
- 1985 ShadeyShadeyShadey is a 1985 British comedy film directed by Philip Saville and starring Antony Sher, Billie Whitelaw and Patrick Macnee. A man with clairvoyant qualities is recruited by British intelligence for a secret mission.-Cast:* Antony Sher - Oliver Shadey...
, Director - 1986 The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, Director
- 1987 Mandela, Director
- 1988 The Fruit MachineThe Fruit Machine (film)The Fruit Machine was known as Wonderland in the United States.The Fruit Machine is a British Film thriller directed by BAFTA-winner Philip Saville about two bud gay teens running from an underworld assassin and the police...
(1988), a/k/a Wonderland (USA), Director - 1989 Fellow Traveler, Director
- 1990 Max and Helen, Director
- 1990 Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501, Director
- 1991 Angels, Director
- 1991 The Cloning of Joanna May, Director
- 1993 Family Pictures, Director
- 1997 MetrolandMetroland (1997 film)Metroland is a 1997 British film starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson. It was directed by Philip Saville and written by Adrian Hodges, based on the 1980 novel by Julian Barnes...
, Director - 1998 Little White Lies, Director
- 2000 My Uncle Silas, Director
- 2002 The Biographer: The Secret Life of Princess Di, Director
- 2003 The Gospel of JohnThe Gospel of John (film)The Gospel of John is a 2003 film that is the story of Jesus' life as recounted by the Gospel of John. It is a motion picture that has been adapted for the screen on a word-for-word basis from the American Bible Society's Good News Bible...
, Director
External links
- Philip Saville at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. - The Philip Saville Studio
- The New York Times / Philip Saville