Roger Christian

Roger Christian

Birth : 1944-02-25, London, England, UK

History

Roger Christian (born 25 February 1944) is an English set decorator, production designer and feature film director. He won an Academy Award for his work on the original Star Wars and was Oscar-nominated for his work on Alien. Christian directed the second unit on both Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as well as feature films including The Sender and Nostradamus. He also directed the 2000 film Battlefield Earth which is regarded as one of the worst films ever made.

Profile

Roger Christian

Movies

Memory: The Origins of Alien
Self
The untold origin story behind Ridley Scott's Alien - rooted in Greek and Egyptian mythologies, underground comics, the art of Francis Bacon, and the dark visions of Dan O'Bannon and H.R. Giger. A contemplation on the symbiotic collaborative process of movie-making, the power of myth, and our collective unconscious.
The Galaxy Britain Built: The British Force Behind Star Wars
Himself
Superfan David Whiteley celebrates the unsung British heroes behind the first film in the Star Wars’ franchise, 1977’s eponymously titled Star Wars. The Star Wars saga ends with the release of The Rise of Skywalker in December 2019. This documentary celebrates where it all began. It includes previously unheard stories from the people who made one of the most successful movies of all time, with additional interviews and previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage. The presenter, Star Wars superfan David Whiteley, who has his own connection to the original film (he was born on May the 4th), tracks down the often modest British talent who brought the galaxy to life. David explores the contribution of the London Symphony Orchestra and meets Ann Skinner, who was in charge of continuity. As well as seeing her original stills from the set, Ann reveals how she helped Sir Alec Guinness with one of the most famous speeches in Star Wars.
Joseph and Mary
Director
When loved ones are murdered, Elijah’s beliefs are compromised as he considers revenge. But a visit with Joseph and Mary may offer a new perspective.
Prisoners of the Sun
Director
A multinational expedition discovers a lost city beneath a pyramid, where they must stop the reawakened gods of ancient Egypt from initiating the apocalypse
Dangerous Intuition
Director
Kate Aldrich, a successful career woman is devastated when her husband leaves her for stay at home mom, Laura, with whom she is forced to share custody of her beloved daughter, Izzy. But Kate's despair soon turns to terror as she begins to have intense visions that Izzy is in mortal danger -- and becomes convinced that Laura is the threat
Stranded
Writer
The Lunar Base Ark explores ore and unexpectedly is hit by a meteor shower and has severe damages. Colonel Gerard Brauchman sends the crewwoman Ava Cameron to repair a wing that is full of CO2. Dr. Lance Krauss warns that the gas may cause paranoia and hallucinations. Ava brings a sample of the meteor for analysis and Dr. Krauss finds that there are spores attached to the meteor. Ava accidentally cuts her finger in a sample but she hides the cut from the doctor. Soon Ava gets pregnant and delivers an alien offspring. However, neither Col. Brauchman nor Dr. Kraus believes in her words and they believe that Ava is delusional. He offspring bites the crewman Bruce Johns and the crew discovers that Bruce has been cloned by the alien. Soon they find how dangerous the clone is.
Stranded
Director
The Lunar Base Ark explores ore and unexpectedly is hit by a meteor shower and has severe damages. Colonel Gerard Brauchman sends the crewwoman Ava Cameron to repair a wing that is full of CO2. Dr. Lance Krauss warns that the gas may cause paranoia and hallucinations. Ava brings a sample of the meteor for analysis and Dr. Krauss finds that there are spores attached to the meteor. Ava accidentally cuts her finger in a sample but she hides the cut from the doctor. Soon Ava gets pregnant and delivers an alien offspring. However, neither Col. Brauchman nor Dr. Kraus believes in her words and they believe that Ava is delusional. He offspring bites the crewman Bruce Johns and the crew discovers that Bruce has been cloned by the alien. Soon they find how dangerous the clone is.
13 Eerie
Executive Producer
Forensics students arriving an isolated, island "body farm" get to try out their CSI skills on a bunch of corpses under the watchful eye of their grumpy professor. The island used to house a state penitentiary where the authorities were experimenting on death row inmates and now the bodies won't stay still.
Riddle of the Black Cat
Producer
The horrifying 150-year-old mystery of Edgar Allan Poe's perverse masterpiece--solved at last! Legendary detective C. Auguste Dupin matches wits with mastermind Prisoner X. After several brutal crimes have been committed, Dupin must reveal whether the perpetrator is an insane victim of the supernatural--or a psychotic genius. Elegant visuals and haunting melodies intertwine to breathe new life into an eerie tale of rotting flesh.
Bandido
Production Design
When legendary thief Max Cruz is framed by the CIA, he has no choice but to help them with a top-secret mission in the Yucatan.
Bandido
Producer
When legendary thief Max Cruz is framed by the CIA, he has no choice but to help them with a top-secret mission in the Yucatan.
Bandido
Director
When legendary thief Max Cruz is framed by the CIA, he has no choice but to help them with a top-secret mission in the Yucatan.
American Daylight
Director
A young Indian woman works as an operator for a US bank that outsourced its call center to India. The bank's young local manager becomes interested in her and offers her to help him game the system and make some real money.
The Beast Within: Making 'Alien'
Self
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Alien,” the terrifying classic about a spaceship crew trapped with a hideous monster that's hunting them one by one.
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: My First Adventure
Second Unit Director
In the first film in the series, in May 1908, famed Professor Henry Jones Sr. is invited to give lectures all over the world. He takes along his wife and son, and invites his former tutor Miss Helen Seymour to teach Henry Jr. during the trip. Their first stop is Cairo, Egypt. When Junior, who prefers to be called 'Indy' and Miss Seymour visit the pyramids, they are invited by T.E. Lawrence (another former student of hers) to join an archaeological dig. When the mummy disappears and a priceless headpiece is stolen, young Indy gets his first taste of adventure. On their next stop in Tangiers, the family stays with Professor Jones' former class mate Walter Harris. Indy befriends a young slave named Omar who belongs to Emily Keen. The two of them get into trouble when they Indy insists on visiting the market place to see a salted head displayed on a pole. Caught by slave traders, they are end up at an auction from which only Harris can attempt to rescue them.
Battlefield Earth
Director
In the year 3000, man is no match for the Psychlos, a greedy, manipulative race of aliens on a quest for ultimate profit. Led by the powerful Terl, the Psychlos are stripping Earth clean of its natural resources, using the broken remnants of humanity as slaves. What is left of the human race has descended into a near primitive state. After being captured, it is up to Tyler to save mankind.
Battlefield Earth: Evolution & Creation
Director
Travolting (unfortunately I can't take credit for this brilliant insult)!!! One of the worst movies I have ever seen; yet you(might) have to give Travolta credit for sticking it out with this obvious train-wreck, which most likely was quite evident even during the filming. One of the most infuriating things about this movie is the complete lack of any creativity in order to explain the inconsistencies and conflicts of logic in the plot and story, like using 1000 year old weapons and airplanes!; either the creators of this film think that anyone who would watch this movie are completely retarded (which may be true, and that includes me!), or the people who made this movie are freaking delusional- both are obviously true! (by n-reynolds (United States))
Battlefield Earth: Evolution & Creation
Self
Travolting (unfortunately I can't take credit for this brilliant insult)!!! One of the worst movies I have ever seen; yet you(might) have to give Travolta credit for sticking it out with this obvious train-wreck, which most likely was quite evident even during the filming. One of the most infuriating things about this movie is the complete lack of any creativity in order to explain the inconsistencies and conflicts of logic in the plot and story, like using 1000 year old weapons and airplanes!; either the creators of this film think that anyone who would watch this movie are completely retarded (which may be true, and that includes me!), or the people who made this movie are freaking delusional- both are obviously true! (by n-reynolds (United States))
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Second Unit Director
Anakin Skywalker, a young slave strong with the Force, is discovered on Tatooine. Meanwhile, the evil Sith have returned, enacting their plot for revenge against the Jedi.
Masterminds
Director
A rebellious teen uses his talent for pranks to outwit the security consultant who has taken the students at his prestigious private school hostage.
Underworld
Director
A crook sets out to get revenge on the thugs who hurt his father in this bloody noir-style crime drama. After being released from prison, Johnny Crown (Denis Leary) goes after Frank (Joe Mantegna), one of the mobsters involved in a series of Father's Day killings. But Johnny isn't certain Frank is responsible for his father's injuries and seeks help from a sex therapist (Annabella Sciorra) to make sure he's got the right man.
The Final Cut
Director
A former bomb squad leader comes out of retirement to investigate a series of bombings plaguing Seattle.
Nostradamus
Story
A dramatic retelling of the life of Michel de Nostredame, from his early work as a plague doctor to his time at the court of Catherine de Medici, after he became famed for his prophetic almanacs. Stars Rutger Hauer and Julia Ormond.
Nostradamus
Director
A dramatic retelling of the life of Michel de Nostredame, from his early work as a plague doctor to his time at the court of Catherine de Medici, after he became famed for his prophetic almanacs. Stars Rutger Hauer and Julia Ormond.
Starship
Writer
Jowitt, a mercenary without recluse institutes a totalitarian regime in a small mining city of an arid planet, Ordessa, helped in that by androids incapable of any emotion. The young Lorca and his android professor, Kid, are both in this tended situation. To find the liberty, they must at any costs seize a spaceship, the "Red Star", but they quickly have to face an android killer...
Starship
Director
Jowitt, a mercenary without recluse institutes a totalitarian regime in a small mining city of an arid planet, Ordessa, helped in that by androids incapable of any emotion. The young Lorca and his android professor, Kid, are both in this tended situation. To find the liberty, they must at any costs seize a spaceship, the "Red Star", but they quickly have to face an android killer...
Return of the Jedi
Second Unit Director
Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, while the Emperor seeks to destroy the Rebellion once and for all with a second dreaded Death Star.
The Sender
Director
A disturbed telepathic man is able to transmit his dreams and visions into the minds of the people around him.
The Dollar Bottom
Director
Light-hearted tale about an enterprising Edinburgh boarding school boy who sets up an insurance scheme for fellow pupils in 1953 against getting caned, which quickly earns him a small fortune
Black Angel
Writer
A knight returns home from the Crusades to find his village devastated by disease and his family gone. He roams the forest searching for them, until he finds a mysterious maiden who is being held prisoner by a black knight. In order to free her, he must confront her captor.
Black Angel
Director
A knight returns home from the Crusades to find his village devastated by disease and his family gone. He roams the forest searching for them, until he finds a mysterious maiden who is being held prisoner by a black knight. In order to free her, he must confront her captor.
Life of Brian
Art Direction
Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.
Alien
Art Direction
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
Set Decoration
Digby Geste joins his brother, Beau, in the Foreign Legion following the theft of a priceless family heirloom.
Star Wars
Set Decoration
Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.
Akenfield
Art Direction
As a young man, Tom, prepares to leave the Suffolk village of his birth, voices and experiences from his family's past crowd in on his mind, weaving a poetic tapestry of the love of home and the longing to get away from it.