Peter Sykes (director): Difference between revisions
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'''Peter Sykes''' (June 17, 1939 - March 1st, 2006) was an Australian television and film director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom.<ref>http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/191712</ref> |
'''Peter Sykes''' (June 17, 1939 - March 1st, 2006) was an Australian television and film director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom.<ref>http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/191712</ref> |
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==Biography== |
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| ⚫ | He was born in [[Melbourne]] and worked as a dancer, then as an assistant director on documentaries and children's shows on Australian television. He moved to [[London]] in 1963, where he did an 18-month training cadetship with the [[BBC]], and then moved into documentaries.<ref>Basil Gilbert, "Peter Sykes", ''Cinema Papers'', July 1977 p 34-36, 95</ref> |
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He worked with [[Peter Brook]] on a number of projects, including ''[[Tell me Lies]]''. He made a series of documentaries and commercials, including the documentary ''Walking to Cornwall''. |
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===Features=== |
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He was asked by Max Steuer to direct ''The Committee''. According to ''Sight and Sound'' the film "had a fairly successful if controversial art house career" and while being "top heavy with rather pretentious theatrical dialogue... contained good sequences and was put together with some flair."<ref name="sight">New Blood |
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Pirie, David. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 40, Iss. 2, (Spring 1971): 73. |
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</ref> [[Kenneth Tynan]] called it "admirable".<ref>SHOUTS AND MURMURS KENNETH TYNAN |
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The Observer (1901- 2003); London (UK) [London (UK)]09 June 1968: 30. </ref> |
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On the strength of this, Sykes was asked to direct some episodes of ''The Avengers''. Sykes recalled they told him, "Look, we've seen this film. We don't understand it, but it looks fantastic, the atmosphere is amazing. Would you come and direct ''The Avengers?'' He says "It was a passport for me to do something completely different."<ref name="letter">Last Word: Letters |
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Anonymous. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 17, Iss. 4, (Apr 2007): 96</ref> |
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One of his ''Avengers'' episodes, "Noon Doomsday", was much praised. |
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Sykes was set to direct a war film, ''The Rules of War'', but that fell through and instead he directed ''Venom'' which he called "a romantic fantasy with horror overtones".<ref name="sight"/> |
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===Hammer=== |
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Sykes was hired by Hammer to direct ''Blood Will be Blood'' which became ''Demons of the Mind''. |
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He did two comedies, ''[[The House in Nightmare Park]]'' with Frankie Howerd, and ''[[Steptoe and Son Ride Again]]'' for Hammer. |
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Sykes returned to television for ''[[Orson Welles Great Mysteries]]''. He wrote ''Beware the Darkness'' and directed ''Eddie and the Lucky Salt Peanut'' (1974).<ref name="ham">{{cite magazine|first=Keith|last=Dudley|title=Who Were Hammer? Peter Sykes|url=https://archive.org/details/Hammer_Horror_005_1995.Marvel/page/n46?q=%22peter+sykes%22|magazine=Hammer Horror|year=1995|page=46-47}}</ref> |
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He directed the last of the Hammer horror films, ''[[To the Devil a Daughter]]'' (1976). |
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===Later Career=== |
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Sykes went to France in 1977 to direct the series ''Magicians of the Future''. He went to Israel to direct ''Jesus''.<ref name="ham"/> |
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Sykes went to Greece to make ''The Search for Alexander the Great'' and then to Ireland for the second series of ''[[The Irish R.M.]]''. |
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He did ''The Lost Secret'' for the BBC and ''The Defectors'' for Video Arts<ref name="ham"/> |
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In the 1990s he taught scriptwriting at Winchester University while also directing for Danish television. |
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He died in 2006. |
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==Selected filmography== |
==Selected filmography== |
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*''South Bank'' (1964) (documentary) - assistant editor |
*''South Bank'' (1964) (documentary) - assistant editor |
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Revision as of 12:52, 11 April 2019
Peter Sykes (June 17, 1939 - March 1st, 2006) was an Australian television and film director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom.[1]
Biography
He was born in Melbourne and worked as a dancer, then as an assistant director on documentaries and children's shows on Australian television. He moved to London in 1963, where he did an 18-month training cadetship with the BBC, and then moved into documentaries.[2]
He worked with Peter Brook on a number of projects, including Tell me Lies. He made a series of documentaries and commercials, including the documentary Walking to Cornwall.
Features
He was asked by Max Steuer to direct The Committee. According to Sight and Sound the film "had a fairly successful if controversial art house career" and while being "top heavy with rather pretentious theatrical dialogue... contained good sequences and was put together with some flair."[3] Kenneth Tynan called it "admirable".[4]
On the strength of this, Sykes was asked to direct some episodes of The Avengers. Sykes recalled they told him, "Look, we've seen this film. We don't understand it, but it looks fantastic, the atmosphere is amazing. Would you come and direct The Avengers? He says "It was a passport for me to do something completely different."[5]
One of his Avengers episodes, "Noon Doomsday", was much praised.
Sykes was set to direct a war film, The Rules of War, but that fell through and instead he directed Venom which he called "a romantic fantasy with horror overtones".[3]
Hammer
Sykes was hired by Hammer to direct Blood Will be Blood which became Demons of the Mind.
He did two comedies, The House in Nightmare Park with Frankie Howerd, and Steptoe and Son Ride Again for Hammer.
Sykes returned to television for Orson Welles Great Mysteries. He wrote Beware the Darkness and directed Eddie and the Lucky Salt Peanut (1974).[6]
He directed the last of the Hammer horror films, To the Devil a Daughter (1976).
Later Career
Sykes went to France in 1977 to direct the series Magicians of the Future. He went to Israel to direct Jesus.[6]
Sykes went to Greece to make The Search for Alexander the Great and then to Ireland for the second series of The Irish R.M..
He did The Lost Secret for the BBC and The Defectors for Video Arts[6]
In the 1990s he taught scriptwriting at Winchester University while also directing for Danish television.
He died in 2006.
Selected filmography
- South Bank (1964) (documentary) - assistant editor
- Walkabout to Cornwall (1966) (documentary about surfers) - director
- Britain Around the World (1967) (17 short documentaries) - director
- The Avengers (1967–68) (TV series) - director
- Tell Me Lies (1968) - documentary about the play US - executive producer
- The Committee (1968) - director, writer
- Venom (aka The Legend of Spider Forest) (1971) - director
- Demons of the Mind (1972) - director
- The House in Nightmare Park (1973) - director
- Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973) - director
- Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (1973-74) (TV series) - director
- To the Devil a Daughter (1976) - director
- Les magiciens du futur (1978) (TV movie) - director
- Jesus (1979) - director
- Emmerdale (1980) (TV series) - director
- The Search for Alexander the Great (1981) (TV series) - director
- The Irish R.M. (1984) (TV series) - director
References
- ^ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/191712
- ^ Basil Gilbert, "Peter Sykes", Cinema Papers, July 1977 p 34-36, 95
- ^ a b New Blood Pirie, David. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 40, Iss. 2, (Spring 1971): 73.
- ^ SHOUTS AND MURMURS KENNETH TYNAN The Observer (1901- 2003); London (UK) [London (UK)]09 June 1968: 30.
- ^ Last Word: Letters Anonymous. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 17, Iss. 4, (Apr 2007): 96
- ^ a b c Dudley, Keith (1995). "Who Were Hammer? Peter Sykes". Hammer Horror. p. 46-47.
External links
- Peter Sykes at IMDb
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