Lee Tamahori

Lee Tamahori

Birth : 1950-04-22, Wellington, New Zealand

History

Lee Tamahori, is a New Zealand filmmaker best-known for directing the 1994 film Once Were Warriors and the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.

Profile

Lee Tamahori

Movies

Mahana
Director
It is the 1960s. Two Maori families, the Mahanas and the Poatas, make a living shearing sheep on the east coast of New Zealand. The two clans, who are bitter enemies, face each other as rivals at the annual sheep shearing competitions. Simeon is a 14-year-old scion of the Mahana clan. A courageous schoolboy, he rebels against his authoritarian grandfather Tamihana and his traditional ways of thinking and begins to unravel the reasons for the long-standing feud between the two families. Before long, the hierarchies and established structures of the community are in disarray because Tamihana, who is as stubborn as he is proud, is not prepared to acquiesce and pursue new paths. The story is adapted from Witi Ihimaera's novel Bulibasha: King of the Gypsies.
The Devil's Double
Director
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.
While She Was Out
Thanks
A suburban housewife is forced to fend for herself when she becomes stranded in a desolate forest with four murderous thugs.
Next
Director
Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson has a secret which torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. Sick of the examinations he underwent as a child and the interest of the government and medical establishment in his power, he lies low under an assumed name in Vegas, performing cheap tricks and living off small-time gambling "winnings." But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him to help her stop the cataclysm.
The British Touch: Bond Arrives in London
Documentary short that covers the airplane sequence in the James Bond movie Die Another Day (2002) and its filming at Heathrow Airport.
xXx: State of the Union
Director
Darius Stone's criminal record and extreme sports obsession make him the perfect candidate to be the newest XXX agent. He must save the U.S. government from a deadly conspiracy led by five-star general and Secretary of Defense George Deckert.
Die Another Day: From Script to Screen
Self
A documentary about Die Another Day.
Die Another Day
Director
James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
Shaken and Stirred on Ice
Self
A documentary about Die Another Day.
Along Came a Spider
Director
After the harrowing death of his partner, detective and best-selling author Alex Cross has retreated to the peace of retirement. But when a brilliant criminal kidnaps a senator's young daughter, Alex is lured back into action. Teamed with the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the missing girl, Alex follows a serpentine trail of clues that leads him to a stunning discovery - the kidnapper wants more than just ransom.
The Edge
Director
The plane carrying wealthy Charles Morse crashes down in the Alaskan wilderness. Together with the two other passengers, photographer Robert and assistant Stephen, Charles devises a plan to help them reach civilization. However, his biggest obstacle might not be the elements, or even the Kodiak bear stalking them -- it could be Robert, whom Charles suspects is having an affair with his wife and would not mind seeing him dead.
Mulholland Falls
Director
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
At Sundance
Himself
A group portrait of filmmakers attend the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Featuring Matthew Harrison, Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Todd Haynes, Greg Araki, Abel Ferrara, Atom Egoyan, James Gray, Robert Redford, Haskell Wexler, among many others. Co-directed by Amy Hobby. [Filmed in Pixelvision and blown-up to evocatively grainy 16mm.]
Once Were Warriors
Director
A drama about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.
Thunderbox
Director
Expelled from school for repeating one of his father's very down-to-earth philosophies in an English lesson, Thunderbox Jnr finds himself in the workforce and getting into trouble with the law.
Among the Cinders
First Assistant Director
A teenage boy, Nick, has difficulty coping with the death of a friend. When Nick's grandmother also dies, his grandfather, thinking that the boy will not be able to handle another loss, conceals her death and takes Nick on a journey into the countryside.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
First Assistant Director
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
Making Utu
Self
Making of documentary on the set of New Zealand's first epic Utu (1983), working with little money and dealing respectfully with matters of cultural protocol. Merata Mita discusses complex issues of inter-cultural conflict.
Utu
First Assistant Director
In New Zealand in the 1860s the native Maori people fought the British colonials to keep the land guaranteed to them by treaty. The warrior Te Wheke fights for the British until betrayal leads him to seek utu (revenge). The settler Williamson in turn seeks revenge after Te Wheke attacks his homestead. Meanwhile Wiremu, an officer for the British, seems to think that resistance is futile.
Wildcat: The Struggle for Democracy in the New Zealand Timberworkers' Union
Additional Sound Re-Recordist
Delegates and workers discuss the issues that effect the Timberworkers’ Union, the reasons for the formation of the Combined Council of Timber Workers Delegates (CCD) and their industrial action.
The Convert
Director
A lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement in 1830s. His violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Maori tribes.
Emperor
Director
A young girl seeks revenge against Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, for the death of her father.