Nicolas Roeg

Nicolas Roeg

Birth : 1928-08-15, London, England, UK

Death : 2018-11-23

History

Nicolas Jack Roeg (15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing Performance (1970), Walkabout (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Bad Timing (1980), and The Witches (1990). Making his directorial debut 23 years after his entry into the film business, Roeg quickly became known for an idiosyncratic visual and narrative style, characterized by the use of disjointed and disorienting editing.

Profile

Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg

Movies

Crowhurst
Executive Producer
Donald Crowhurst competes in an around the world boat race. His lack of experience and mental state soon lead to tragedy.
Nicolas Roeg: It's About Time...
Self
The first major profile of the great British film director Nicolas Roeg, examining his very personal vision of cinema as in such films as Don't Look Now, Performance, Walkabout and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Roeg reflects on his career, which began as a leading cinematographer, and on the themes that have obsessed him, such as our perception of time and the difficulty of human relationships.
The Film That Buys the Cinema
Director
A collection of films from an eclectic array of contributors commissioned to raise funds for the Bristol independent cinema The Cube.
David Bowie: Five Years
Self
Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.
The Mapmaker
Executive Producer
A short UK drama following an ageing couple who return to the seaside where they were happy 50 years earlier. Now their lives have changed and they face sadness and a difficult decision. The film includes flashbacks to their youthful romance.
Zero
Producer
Thriller-drama about eight losers who will have to deal with a new life in which apparently they are the only people alive.
That's Insignificance
Himself
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Nicolas Roeg's 1985 film INSIGNIFICANCE featuring interviews with the cast.
The Making of 'Casino Royale'
Self - Director of Photography Stunt Unit
Interviews and overview of the making of the original 1967 James Bond film.
Puffball
Director
Powerful supernatural forces are unleashed when a young architect becomes pregnant after moving to an isolated and mysterious valley to build a house.
Watching the Alien
Documentary about The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Don't Look Now: Looking Back
Himself
In this short making-of documentary, director Nicolas Roeg discusses the production history of the film and the unique qualities of Daphne Du Maurier's story that inspired it, while director of photography Anthony B. Richmond explains the significance of specific scenes, including the notorious sex scene, and how they were shot. Editor Graeme Clifford also discusses his contribution to the film.
Claudia Schiffer................in...............Sound
Director
This collaboration between Roeg and Adrian Utley of Portishead was filmed as part of the BBC’s Sound On Film series
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Demons of Deception
Director
In the ninth film in the series, in September 1916, young Indiana Jones - going by the alias of "Henri Defense" - has become a motorcycle courier stationed near the trenches at Verdun. His friend Remy is still in the trenches, and both grow more disillusioned about the war each day. Chosen to sneak into enemy territory on account of his gift for languages, Indy overhears German officers speaking of the imminent arrival of their most powerful artillery guns, nicknamed "Big Bertha." A month later, Indy and Remy are granted leave to Paris, where Indiana meets the exotic dancer Mata Hari at a dinner party. He falls for her immediately, but soon finds out she is dating other men as well, including the French Minister of War.
Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance
Himself
Documentary profile of the Scottish painter, screenwriter and director Donald Cammell, who committed suicide in 1996.
Samson and Delilah
Writer
Mara and Manoa are both upstanding and religious Israelites living under the harsh and unjust rule of the Philistines. One day, a mysterious stranger appears to Mara and promises her that she will bear a son whom she is to call Samson.
Samson and Delilah
Director
Mara and Manoa are both upstanding and religious Israelites living under the harsh and unjust rule of the Philistines. One day, a mysterious stranger appears to Mara and promises her that she will bear a son whom she is to call Samson.
Two Deaths
Director
A tale of power, passion and obsession set in a politically torn Eastern European country.
Hotel Paradise
Director
A bride-to-be wakes up one morning next to a man chained to the bed, but cannot remember what happened the night before.
Full Body Massage
Director
Nina, an art dealer, has her weekly massage appointment and is surprised to find out her usual masseur, Douglas, has sent a replacement named Fitch. The pair develop an easy rapport during the session, with talk about past relationships. As Nina lies topless on the massage table, Fitch also takes time to explain various massage techniques, including those used by Hopi medicine men.
Heart of Darkness
Director
A trading company manager travels up an African river to find a missing outpost head and discovers the depth of evil in humanity's soul.
Cold Heaven
Director
An adulterous woman's faith in God is tested when her husband dies and miraculously comes back to life.
The Witches
Director
A young boy named Luke and his grandmother go on vacation only to discover their hotel is hosting an international witch convention, where the Grand High Witch is unveiling her master plan to turn all children into mice. Will Luke fall victim to the witches' plot before he can stop them?
Without You I'm Nothing
Executive Producer
Sandra Bernhard stars in a studio version of her off-Broadway show, blending re-enactments of the original show's pieces with concept vignettes and 'testimonials' to underscore the relationship between a performer and an audience.
Sweet Bird of Youth
Director
Tennessee William’s masterful melodrama about an aging movie star who, appalled by her own image on the screen, flees from her movie premiere and goes into seclusion, becoming entangled with a much younger hotel masseur and resident gigolo.
Track 29
Director
Years after a desperate teenage Linda gives up her baby for adoption, she finds herself face-to-face with Martin, a young man claiming to be her long-lost son. Linda embraces Martin and in him finds a welcome reprieve from her unhappy marriage to the neglectful Henry. But soon Martin grows violent and becomes obsessed with Henry -- a philandering man whose only offspring is an expansive model train set that devours his waking hours.
Aria
Writer
Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound (Vivaldi, Bach, Wagner), and is an interpretation of the particular aria.
Aria
Director
Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound (Vivaldi, Bach, Wagner), and is an interpretation of the particular aria.
Castaway
Director
Middle-aged Gerald Kingsland advertises in a London paper for a female companion to spend a year with him on a desert island. The young Lucy Irving takes a chance on contacting him and after a couple of meetings they decide to go ahead. Once on the island things prove a lot less idyllic than in the movies, and gradually it becomes clear that it is Lucy who has the desire and the strength to try and see the year through.
Insignificance
Director
Four 1950s cultural icons who conceivably could have met but probably didn't, fictionally do so in this modern fable of post-WWII America. Visually intriguing, the film has a fluid progression of flashbacks and flashforwards centering on the fictional Einstein's current observations, childhood memories, and apprehensions for the future.
Eureka
Director
An Alaskan gold prospector lives in luxury with his family on an island which gangsters want.
Bad Timing
Director
Alex Linden is a psychiatrist living in Vienna who meets Milena Flaherty though a mutual friend. Though Alex is quite a bit older than Milena, he's attracted to her young, carefree spirit. Despite the fact that Milena is already married, their friendship quickly turns into a deeply passionate love affair that threatens to overtake them both. When Milena ends up in the hospital from an overdose, Alex is taken into custody by Inspector Netusil.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Director
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Don't Look Now
Director
Laura and John, grieved by a terrible loss, meet in Venice, where John is in charge of the restoration of a church, two mysterious sisters, one of whom gives them a message sent from the afterlife.
Glastonbury Fayre
Director of Photography
In the Summer of 1971 the Glastonbury legend was born when the organisers decided to try and create a festival that would be a forerunner for an 'alternative and utopian society'. The festival encompassed Midsummer's Day, and in true medieval tradition, the area of Worthy Farm, Pilton was given over to music, dance, poetry, theatre, spontaneous entertainment and nudity.
Glastonbury Fayre
Director
In the Summer of 1971 the Glastonbury legend was born when the organisers decided to try and create a festival that would be a forerunner for an 'alternative and utopian society'. The festival encompassed Midsummer's Day, and in true medieval tradition, the area of Worthy Farm, Pilton was given over to music, dance, poetry, theatre, spontaneous entertainment and nudity.
Walkabout
Story
Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with harsh wilderness alone. They are saved by a chance encounter with an Aborigine boy who shows them how to survive, and in the process underscores the disharmony between nature and modern life.
Walkabout
Director of Photography
Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with harsh wilderness alone. They are saved by a chance encounter with an Aborigine boy who shows them how to survive, and in the process underscores the disharmony between nature and modern life.
Walkabout
Director
Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with harsh wilderness alone. They are saved by a chance encounter with an Aborigine boy who shows them how to survive, and in the process underscores the disharmony between nature and modern life.
Performance
Director of Photography
Young gangster Chas Devlin seeks refuge from the mob in a basement belonging to a reclusive, fading rock star Turner.
Performance
Director
Young gangster Chas Devlin seeks refuge from the mob in a basement belonging to a reclusive, fading rock star Turner.
Petulia
Director of Photography
An unhappily married socialite finds solace in the company of a recently divorced doctor.
Far from the Madding Crowd
Director of Photography
Bathsheba Everdine, a willful, flirtatious, young woman, unexpectedly inherits a large farm and becomes romantically involved with three widely divergent men.
Casino Royale
Additional Photography
Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH, James thinks up the ultimate plan - that every agent will be named 'James Bond'. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Director of Photography
A wily slave must unite a virgin courtesan and his young smitten master to earn his freedom.
Fahrenheit 451
Director of Photography
In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…
Judith
Additional Photography
A Jewish woman is recruited to help track down a German commander who was her former husband.
Judith
Second Unit Director
A Jewish woman is recruited to help track down a German commander who was her former husband.
Every Day's a Holiday
Director of Photography
A group of teenagers take jobs at a holiday camp for the summer and enter a TV talent show
Victim Five
Director of Photography
The first victim is the butler of South African millionaire Wexler, who hires hard-hitting private eye Steve Martin for protection. Once at Wexler’s palatial Cape Town estate, Martin meets the patriarch’s family, close associates – and possible suspects. When it’s discovered that the key to the killing may lie in an old war photograph, Martin sets out on a mission to unravel the identities of the men in the picture before they become target two through VICTIM 5.
The Masque of the Red Death
Director of Photography
A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land. Restored in 2018 by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
The System
Director of Photography
In a seaside village, a group of local young men mingle among the seasonal tourists in search of sexual conquests. Near the end of one summer, the leader of the group, Tinker, a strolling photographer, aims to conquer a fashion model from a well-to-do family, but he finds himself unexpectedly falling in love. The tables thus turned, Tinker begins to see that maybe it's not the tourists who are being used in these sexual games.
Nothing But the Best
Director of Photography
Success has James Brewster's name written all over it, and he also has his heart set on his boss's daughter. A con artist hires him to help out on a bank scheme, but then again, James will do anything to get rich and be the most successful businessman in Britain-even if it means murder!!!
The Caretaker
Director of Photography
Aston, a quiet, reserved man, lives alone in a top-floor cluttered room of a small abandoned house in a poor London district. He befriends and takes in Mac Davies, an old derelict who has been fired from a menial job in a café. In time Aston offers him a job as caretaker of the house. Aston's brother, Mick - a taunting, quasi-sadist - harasses the derelict when his brother is away, countermanding his orders...
Death Drums Along the River
Writer
A British colonial policeman in Africa investigates a murder in a hospital up river.
Dr. Crippen
Director of Photography
A British physician stands trial for murdering his wife after he and his mistress are captured while fleeing to Canada.
Just for Fun
Lighting Camera
When the government cuts the quota of musical programs permitted on television, teenagers Mark and Cherry lead others youngsters in forming their own political party.
Just for Fun
Director of Photography
When the government cuts the quota of musical programs permitted on television, teenagers Mark and Cherry lead others youngsters in forming their own political party.
Lawrence of Arabia
Second Unit Cinematographer
The story of British officer T.E. Lawrence's mission to aid the Arab tribes in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Lawrence becomes a flamboyant, messianic figure in the cause of Arab unity but his psychological instability threatens to undermine his achievements.
A Prize of Arms
Story
A criminal gang sets out to pull off the heist of a large army payroll.
Band of Thieves
Director of Photography
A group of prisoners are encouraged to form a jazz band and vow to go straight when they are released to tour the country. However, the trumpets and clarinets are just a cover for a series of robberies. Musical comedy, starring British jazz star Acker Bilk as himself, alongside Jimmy Thompson and Jennifer Jayne.
Information Received
Director of Photography
Drama of an underworld double-cross as a man and woman set a death trap from which only one could possibly escape.
Doctor Blood's Coffin
Camera Operator
After being thrown out of medical school for ethical violations, Dr. Peter Blood returns home to a small Cornish village, where he sets up a research laboratory in a secluded cave. There, he attempts to revive the dead, using kidnapped humans -- who he views as unworthy of life -- for their body parts, specifically, their hearts.
The Sundowners
Camera Operator
In the Australian Outback, the Carmody family--Paddy, Ida, and their teenage son Sean--are sheep drovers, always on the move. Ida and Sean want to settle down and buy a farm. Paddy wants to keep moving. A sheep-shearing contest, the birth of a child, drinking, gambling, and a racehorse will all have a part in the final decision.
Jazz Boat
Camera Operator
A bumbling gang of thieves crash a jazz party.
The Trials of Oscar Wilde
Camera Operator
At the height of his fame, Oscar Wilde angers the Marquis of Queensberry by having what is believed to be a romantic relationship with Queensberry's son Lord Alfred Douglas, who is twenty years Wilde's junior. When Queensberry slanders Wilde, the artist decides to take the matter to court and brings about his own downfall.
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
Camera Operator
The greatest adventure of jungle king Tarzan. Four British villains raid a settlement to obtain explosives for use in a diamond mine. In doing so they nearly destroy the settlement, so Tarzan pursues them to their mine.
The Bandit Of Zhobe
Camera Operator
British soldiers in India must contend with an outlaw bandit.
Innocent Meeting
Camera Operator
The daughter of a textile company owner falls in love with a young illustrator with a secret criminal past.
The Child and the Killer
Camera Operator
Joe Marsh (Robert Arden) is a U.S. Army captain who goes on the run in Britain after committing murder. He breaks into a family's home and forces 7-year-old Tommy Martin (Richard Williams) to guide his escape through the surrounding rural territory. A bond begins to form between the child and the desperate fugitive, but Marsh's criminal nature cannot help but show itself again before the chase comes to an end.
The Great Van Robbery
Camera Operator
Interpol detective Caesar Smith tracks robbers of the Royal Mint van. He travels to Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Paris and establishes the guilt of a London coffee importer.
Passport to Shame
Camera Operator
British melodrama about a cabbie befriending a girl caught up in the white slave trade.
The Man Inside
Camera Operator
A detective tracking a stolen gem begins to suspect there's more to the case than just theft.
Moment of Indiscretion
Camera Operator
Janet Miller (Lana Morris) is a married woman caught in awkward circumstances after police investigating a murder come up with evidence, and a potentially lethal motive, which lead them to suspect her of committing the crime. Their suspicions increase when Janet is less than forthcoming about a visit she paid to a former beau. Happily, her loyal husband (Ronald Howard) swears by her innocence and quickly leaps into motion to find the real killer.
A Woman Possessed
Camera Operator
English doctor John Winthrop (Francis Matthews) must protect his new wife, Ann (Kay Callard), from his wealthy and entirely too overbearing mother, Katherine (Margaretta Scott), who has some strong opinions about her son's new union. But things go too far when John accuses Katherine of trying to kill Ann with medication. Could she do such a thing -- and will these three ever have a good relationship?
Bhowani Junction
Assistant Camera
Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones seeks her true identity amid the chaos of the British withdrawal from India.
Pacific Destiny
Focus Puller
Life is strange and worrying for a cadet who arrives in the Pacific in the colonial service. And the testy resident commissioner, who had been expecting an experienced man, soon shows his disapproval.
John Wesley
Assistant Camera
When young John Wesley is saved from the flames burning his family's home, he believes God has chosen him for a higher mission. He grows up to become a minister in the Church of England but disapproves of concern within the church over the social position of the clergy. He concerns himself more with the common people and with individual religious experiences. He tries to accomplish his purposes by remaining within the church but the methodical way in which he and his followers go about their duties soon sets them apart as a special group jeeringly called Methodists.
All Hallowe'en
Clapper Loader
A woman falls in love with a ghost on All Hallows Eve.
Cosh Boy
Focus Puller
Roy Walsh is a brash and enterprising thug who bullies his friends into subservience. He and his gang assault and rob people on the street, but things get increasingly dangerous when their behavior escalates to larger crimes.
Circumstantial Evidence
Focus Puller
Long after being deserted by her husband, Linda Harrison will soon be free to marry her lover, Michael Carteret. But when her husband suddenly reappears, he attempts to blackmail the couple with a threat of ruining Michael's career. When her husband is murdered, Michael appears to be the only obvious suspect - but will the circumstantial evidence be enough to sentence him to death?
Calling Bulldog Drummond
Assistant Camera
Bulldog Drummond leaves retirement to help a Scotland Yard Sergeant catch thieves armed with radar.
Nothing As It Seems: The Films of Nicolas Roeg
Self
Documentary on Nicolas Roeg