John Korty

Birth : 1936-06-22, Lafayette, Indiana, USA

Death : 2022-03-09

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Korty (born July 22, 1936) is an American film director and animator, best known for the television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and the documentary Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, as well as the theatrical animated feature Twice Upon a Time. He has won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (for Who Are the DeBolts?) and several other major awards. He is described by the film critic Leonard Maltin as "a principled filmmaker who has worked both outside and within the mainstream, attempting to find projects that support his humanistic beliefs". Description above from the Wikipedia article John Korty,licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies

The Blues Broads
Camera Operator
Dorothy Morrison, Tracy Nelson, Annie Sampson and Angela Strehli, all highly regarded vocalists in their own rights, have joined forces as The Blues Broads. Their self-titled debut CD/DVD set includes both familiar songs associated with their respective august careers, as well as newly written material that underscores the creative might of these four remarkable women. Reflecting more than two centuries of collective experience in blues, country, gospel and rock, this awesome aggregation is nothing less than a roots music "supergroup" of the first order.
The Blues Broads
Director
Dorothy Morrison, Tracy Nelson, Annie Sampson and Angela Strehli, all highly regarded vocalists in their own rights, have joined forces as The Blues Broads. Their self-titled debut CD/DVD set includes both familiar songs associated with their respective august careers, as well as newly written material that underscores the creative might of these four remarkable women. Reflecting more than two centuries of collective experience in blues, country, gospel and rock, this awesome aggregation is nothing less than a roots music "supergroup" of the first order.
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn
Cinematography
The restoration of a Steinway becomes a lyrical meditation on following the heart's true passion in this beautifully crafted documentary. A wonderful Bay Area tale, the film traces the path of a 1927 grand piano owned by a music teacher who bequeathed her treasure to her alma mater, UC Berkeley, with the stipulation that the university ultimately reward it to "a worthy student of piano." Before it can be given away, however, it must be restored, and here the essence of the story unfolds, as Korty follows the piano's rebirth under the masterful care of Oakland's venerable Callahan Piano Service. - from IMDB
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn
Producer
The restoration of a Steinway becomes a lyrical meditation on following the heart's true passion in this beautifully crafted documentary. A wonderful Bay Area tale, the film traces the path of a 1927 grand piano owned by a music teacher who bequeathed her treasure to her alma mater, UC Berkeley, with the stipulation that the university ultimately reward it to "a worthy student of piano." Before it can be given away, however, it must be restored, and here the essence of the story unfolds, as Korty follows the piano's rebirth under the masterful care of Oakland's venerable Callahan Piano Service. - from IMDB
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn
Director
The restoration of a Steinway becomes a lyrical meditation on following the heart's true passion in this beautifully crafted documentary. A wonderful Bay Area tale, the film traces the path of a 1927 grand piano owned by a music teacher who bequeathed her treasure to her alma mater, UC Berkeley, with the stipulation that the university ultimately reward it to "a worthy student of piano." Before it can be given away, however, it must be restored, and here the essence of the story unfolds, as Korty follows the piano's rebirth under the masterful care of Oakland's venerable Callahan Piano Service. - from IMDB
A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope
Self
A fascinating chronicle of the birth and rise of the radically different independent studio founded by director Francis Ford Coppola.
Artifact from the Future: The Making of 'THX 1138'
Self
The Making of feature for the George Lucas movie 'THX 1138'.
A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story
Director
All his life, teenager Daniel Huffman and his grandma have dreamed of Daniel playing college football. After Daniel is cut from his high school team, his grandmother's encouragement and coaching get him a second chance at that dream. He works hard and becomes so good his coach believes he has a shot at making a top-ranked college team. But now Daniel faces a heart-wrenching choice that could force him to forever give up his dream.
Oklahoma City: A Survivor's Story
Director
The story of the rescue and recovery of an Oklahoma City bomb survivor.
Ms. Scrooge
Director
Television movie updating Charles Dickens' story, "A Christmas Carol." Businesswoman Ebenita Scrooge treats her employees and customers poorly. She has no time for Christmas or the holiday spirit. On Christmas Eve, she is visited by the ghost of her dead partner Maude Marley and then by other spirits who remind her of her happy past and chronicle the bitterness and greed that have taken over her life. At last, she is shown her own death and funeral. No one is there to mourn her. This revelation shocks her into opening her heart and her checkbook.
Redwood Curtain
Director
Geri Riordan is adopted, half-Vietnamese, eighteen, and a piano prodigy. She also feels as if she doesn't know who she really is, and when her adopted father dies, she begins to search for her biological father.
A Son's Promise
Director
An iron-willed Georgia boy accepts the burden of a man on his young shoulders. Fifteen-year-old Terry O'Kelly is fatherless and his remaining parent, his mother, is dying. Anguished, the soon-to-be orphan makes a surprising grown-up decision: Terry promises to care for his six brothers and vows to keep the family together. Steadfast to his word, Terry takes on the struggles of parenthood, which yields some difficult and unpleasant surprises.
Getting Out
Director
Breaking out of prison with a child in her womb and a dream of a normal existence, Arlene Holsclaw (Rebecca De Mornay) resolves to get a job and lead a good, Christian life. But the ghosts from her past -- including an ex-boyfriend (Rob Knepper) who wants to pimp her out and a sadistic mother (Ellen Burstyn) who plots to take away Arlene's baby -- have other plans. This made-for-TV drama is based on Marsha Norman's off-Broadway play.
They
Director
A father experiences strange apparitions after his daughter is killed in a car accident.
Jack Reed: Deadly Matrimony
Director
Alan Masters is a despicable businessman with his hands in organized crime. He marries Diane, a kind and gentle woman, and abuses and batters her viciously. Sergeant John Reed has had enough of his city's organized crime and, against the wishes of his dirty-cop superiors, tries to get evidence against Alan Masters. After Alan finds out that Diane has been helping Reed, he beats her to death...and its up to John Reed to put him away for it, and clean up the dirty cops that want to stop him. Part I starts with Diane's death and then, in a flashback, details her struggles against abuse and Reed's struggles as he coaches her to gather evidence against Alan. Part II deals with Reed's struggles with intimidating cops.
Long Road Home
Director
A drama depicting the trials of a family of share croppers.
Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story
Director
This is the story of Morris Dees, a civil rights lawyer, who's being threatened, so he has to have an armed bodyguard.
Keeping Secrets
Director
Based on Suzanne Somer's autobiography, the film tells of her troubled childhood, her affairs, her abortion anad her arrest for writing bad cheques and posing nude.
Cast the First Stone
Director
After Diane Martin is raped by a hitchhiker and becomes pregnant, she must face the pious faculty at the school where she teaches who condemn her "loose morals" and ostracize her. Based on a true story.
Slaying the Dragon
A highly critical documentary about the history of Asian-American actresses in Hollywood. Features interviews with pioneering Asian-American actresses and clips from classic films such as "The Thief of Bagdad", "The Good Earth", and "The World of Suzie Wong", interspersed with Asian/feminist sociological commentary.
Winnie
Director
Based on a true story about a woman who is institutionalized as mentally retarded for 30 years while struggling to reach the outside world through her writing.
Eye on the Sparrow
Director
True story of a blind couple who fought the authorities to acquire the right to adopt a child.
Angry Annie
Director
A small girl vents her rage at the world, frustrated by the problems of everyday life, until her younger brother offers her part of his orange.
Baby Girl Scott
Director
The story of the Scotts, a young couple whose first child is born dangerously early, weighing less than a pound and a half. As they endure the anguish and struggle to help keep their baby alive, they discover what real love, courage and triumph are in the face of tragedy.
Resting Place
Director
A television movie set in Rockville, Georgia, in 1972. Major Kendall Laird, a Survival Assistance Officer, arrives in this sleepy little town with the body of Lieutenant Dwyte Johnson, a Vietnam war hero. It's Laird's job to help Johnson's parents bury their son. But since the dead hero was black, his parents are turned away by the white racists who maintain the town's "all-white" cemetery.
A Deadly Business
Director
The Ewok Adventure
Director of Photography
The Towani family civilian shuttlecraft crashes on the forest moon of Endor. The four Towani's are separated. Jermitt and Catarine, the mother and father are captured by the giant Gorax, and Mace and Cindel, the son and daughter, are missing when they are captured. The next day, the Ewok Deej is looking for his two sons when they find Cindel all alone in the shuttle (Mace and Cindel were looking for the transmitter to send a distress call), when Mace appears with his emergency blaster. Eventually, the four-year old Cindel is able to convince the teenage Mace that the Ewoks are nice. Then, the Ewoks and the Towani's go on an adventure to find the elder Towanis.
The Ewok Adventure
Director
The Towani family civilian shuttlecraft crashes on the forest moon of Endor. The four Towani's are separated. Jermitt and Catarine, the mother and father are captured by the giant Gorax, and Mace and Cindel, the son and daughter, are missing when they are captured. The next day, the Ewok Deej is looking for his two sons when they find Cindel all alone in the shuttle (Mace and Cindel were looking for the transmitter to send a distress call), when Mace appears with his emergency blaster. Eventually, the four-year old Cindel is able to convince the teenage Mace that the Ewoks are nice. Then, the Ewoks and the Towani's go on an adventure to find the elder Towanis.
Bark in the Dark
Director
Two people think they hear a BARK in the DARK.
Second Sight: A Love Story
Director
Alexandra McKay is a woman who's been blind for twenty years and is afraid that people will just try to get close to her because of her condition, so she ultimately stays to herself and her trusty guide dog, Emma. When Richard Chapman enters her life, a romance develops and McKay begins to let the outside world in to her private world. The prospect of an operation arises that will restore McKay's eyesight, but the fear of what it will do to her relationship with Chapman and the concern over the fate of her guide dog weigh heavily upon her decision to do the procedure.
The Haunting Passion
Director
Dan and Julie Evans are looking for a fresh start after Dan is cut from his pro football team due to age. They move into a palatial, coastal house and Dan starts a new career as a sportscaster, but the loss of his career has stirred up a deep vulnerability and it has spilled over into his sex life with his wife. With no outlet for her desires, Julie begins to fantasize, but it seems alarmingly real. Soon, the fantasy man is haunting her every waking moment and coming between her and Dan, and Julie comes to fear that their home may be haunted.
Twice Upon a Time
Character Designer
In the world of the Murwoks where nightmares are made, the evil Botch hatches a scheme to make bad dreams real. Only Ralph and Mumford, misfits from the cheery land of Frivoli, can stop him.
Twice Upon a Time
Screenplay
In the world of the Murwoks where nightmares are made, the evil Botch hatches a scheme to make bad dreams real. Only Ralph and Mumford, misfits from the cheery land of Frivoli, can stop him.
Twice Upon a Time
Story
In the world of the Murwoks where nightmares are made, the evil Botch hatches a scheme to make bad dreams real. Only Ralph and Mumford, misfits from the cheery land of Frivoli, can stop him.
Twice Upon a Time
Director
In the world of the Murwoks where nightmares are made, the evil Botch hatches a scheme to make bad dreams real. Only Ralph and Mumford, misfits from the cheery land of Frivoli, can stop him.
The Animators
Himself
A PBS documentary from around 1982 about San Francisco bay area animators. It features Marcy Page, Jeff Hale, Sally Cruikshank, Bud Luckey, Rudy Zamora, John Korty, Vince Collins, Drew Takahashi
A Christmas Without Snow
Producer
A divorced woman (Michael Learned) moves to San Francisco from Omaha with her young son. She's trying to re-build her life after her divorce, she leaves her son with his grandmother. She joins the choir of a local church. She has some issues with the choirmaster (John Houseman) who tries to get the choir into shape before the Christmas concert. The choir overcome some personal setbacks as they all deal with personal issues. Zoe (Michael Learned) thinks of quitting the choir all together when push comes to shove.
A Christmas Without Snow
Teleplay
A divorced woman (Michael Learned) moves to San Francisco from Omaha with her young son. She's trying to re-build her life after her divorce, she leaves her son with his grandmother. She joins the choir of a local church. She has some issues with the choirmaster (John Houseman) who tries to get the choir into shape before the Christmas concert. The choir overcome some personal setbacks as they all deal with personal issues. Zoe (Michael Learned) thinks of quitting the choir all together when push comes to shove.
A Christmas Without Snow
Director
A divorced woman (Michael Learned) moves to San Francisco from Omaha with her young son. She's trying to re-build her life after her divorce, she leaves her son with his grandmother. She joins the choir of a local church. She has some issues with the choirmaster (John Houseman) who tries to get the choir into shape before the Christmas concert. The choir overcome some personal setbacks as they all deal with personal issues. Zoe (Michael Learned) thinks of quitting the choir all together when push comes to shove.
Oliver's Story
Screenplay
Oliver Barrett IV is emotionally devastated by the death of his wife Jenny, and, while he tries to lose himself in his work as a lawyer, the long hours don't ease his pain, especially when he finds that his leftist views conflict with those of the senior partners at the firm. Eventually, Oliver's inconsolable grief begins to alienate those around him, until he finds new love with Marcie Bonwit, the wealthy and beautiful heiress to the Bonwit Teller fortune. Despite his affection for her, Oliver finds it difficult to leave the memory of Jenny behind, which causes major problems in their relationship.
Oliver's Story
Director
Oliver Barrett IV is emotionally devastated by the death of his wife Jenny, and, while he tries to lose himself in his work as a lawyer, the long hours don't ease his pain, especially when he finds that his leftist views conflict with those of the senior partners at the firm. Eventually, Oliver's inconsolable grief begins to alienate those around him, until he finds new love with Marcie Bonwit, the wealthy and beautiful heiress to the Bonwit Teller fortune. Despite his affection for her, Oliver finds it difficult to leave the memory of Jenny behind, which causes major problems in their relationship.
Forever
Director
Romantic drama about a teenage girl's first love and the perennial adolescent dilemma of whether to give herself to him in order to hang on to him. Based on the novel by Judy Blume.
Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?
Producer
Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? is a 1977 documentary film about Dorothy and Bob DeBolt, an American couple who adopted 14 children [12 at the start of filming], some of whom are severely disabled war orphans -- in addition to raising Dorothy's five biological children and Bob's biological daughter. The film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1978.
Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?
Director
Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? is a 1977 documentary film about Dorothy and Bob DeBolt, an American couple who adopted 14 children [12 at the start of filming], some of whom are severely disabled war orphans -- in addition to raising Dorothy's five biological children and Bob's biological daughter. The film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1978.
Alex & the Gypsy
Director
A bail bondsman falls in love with one of his "customers" — a gypsy girl, who's been accused of attempted murder.
Farewell to Manzanar
Director
Fact based drama about one of the internment camps used by the American military during World War II to detain some 100,000 Japanese Americans (most of them U.S. born) following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
Farewell to Manzanar
Writer
Fact based drama about one of the internment camps used by the American military during World War II to detain some 100,000 Japanese Americans (most of them U.S. born) following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
Silence
Director
Barbara and Al adopt Eric, who is deaf and mute, and take him camping in Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Eric becomes lost and is found by a hermit named Crazy Jack, who teaches him how to survive in the woods.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Director
In February, 1962, as the civil rights movement reaches Bayonne, Louisiana, a New York journalist arrives to interview Jane Pittman, who has just turned 110. She tells him her story dating back to her earliest memories before slavery ended. In between the chapters of her life, the present-day struggles of Blacks in Bayonne, urged on by Jimmy, are dramatized.
The Music School
Cinematography
This drama is based on a John Updike story and is narrated by the author. It is the tale of an angst-filled hero attending music school.
The Music School
Writer
This drama is based on a John Updike story and is narrated by the author. It is the tale of an angst-filled hero attending music school.
The Music School
Director
This drama is based on a John Updike story and is narrated by the author. It is the tale of an angst-filled hero attending music school.
T for Typewriter, Toe
Director
A purple/red figure plays around with a typewriter, until he stubs his toe with the letter T on it.
Class of '63
Director
A jealous husband uses a college reunion to gauge whether or not his wife is still in love with her old flame.
Pat the Pilot
Writer
Pat talks about the letter P.
Pat the Pilot
Director
Pat talks about the letter P.
Go Ask Alice
Director
A 14-year-old girl in late 1960's America is inadvertently sucked into an odyssey of sex and drugs. She eventually seeks help.
Q for Quiet
Director
The letter Q keeps the rest of her word QUIET in silence.
The People
Director
A young woman is assigned to teach school in a secluded valley whose inhabitants appear stern, secretive and anti-pleasure. Following two children who disappear to play in the woods, she finds that this is actually a community of extraterrestrials with mild paranormal powers who are attempting to repress and deny their heritage for fear of arousing prejudice and hatred in their human neighbors. Based on a series of novels by the late Zenna Henderson.
Imogen Cunningham, photographer
Screenplay
A fascinating insight into the life and works of photographer Imogen Cunningham. Coming into public attention around 1910, she was celebrated in the late sixties through awards, honorary degrees and exhibitions. Her photos are looked at from three focal points: nature, portraits and figure studies.
Imogen Cunningham, photographer
Director
A fascinating insight into the life and works of photographer Imogen Cunningham. Coming into public attention around 1910, she was celebrated in the late sixties through awards, honorary degrees and exhibitions. Her photos are looked at from three focal points: nature, portraits and figure studies.
Riverrun
Cinematography
Independent film by early New Hollywood figure John Korty
Riverrun
Writer
Independent film by early New Hollywood figure John Korty
Riverrun
Director
Independent film by early New Hollywood figure John Korty
Funnyman
Animation
An improvisational comedian, working with The Committee improv group in San Francisco, struggles to be taken seriously.
Funnyman
Director of Photography
An improvisational comedian, working with The Committee improv group in San Francisco, struggles to be taken seriously.
Funnyman
Writer
An improvisational comedian, working with The Committee improv group in San Francisco, struggles to be taken seriously.
Funnyman
Director
An improvisational comedian, working with The Committee improv group in San Francisco, struggles to be taken seriously.
The Crazy-Quilt
Writer
A man with no illusions marries a young woman who is brimming with idealism. She attempts to remake her husband with her overflowing optimism, but the marriage is severely strained when her first pregnancy ends in miscarriage. They separate, and the woman has a number of affairs, but eventually she returns to her husband. They have a daughter, then settle down to a life that is a blend of the husband's worldliness and the wife's idealism.
The Crazy-Quilt
Director
A man with no illusions marries a young woman who is brimming with idealism. She attempts to remake her husband with her overflowing optimism, but the marriage is severely strained when her first pregnancy ends in miscarriage. They separate, and the woman has a number of affairs, but eventually she returns to her husband. They have a daughter, then settle down to a life that is a blend of the husband's worldliness and the wife's idealism.
Breaking the Habit
Director
Breaking the Habit is a 1964 American animated short documentary film directed by John Korty about cigarette smoking and lung cancer. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
The Language of Faces
Director
Pacifist plea sponsored by a Quaker group. To a voice-over commentary describing the arms race, Language of Faces presents a montage of human faces and activities that culminates in a silent vigil at the Pentagon.