I always thought Peter Weir was kinda under-rated as a director. He's done plenty of good movies (Fearless is my favorite) but his art really brought a lot to the stories. He'll be coming out with War Magician in 2004.
Complete Filmography:
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Truman Show, The (1998)
Fearless (1993)
Green Card (1990)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Mosquito Coast, The (1986)
Witness (1985)
Year of Living Dangerously, The (1982)
Gallipoli (1981)
Plumber, The (1979) (TV)
Last Wave, The (1977)
"Luke's Kingdom" (1976) (mini) TV Series
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Cars That Ate Paris, The (1974)
Homesdale (1971)
Three to Go (1971) (segment "Michael")
Recently, I have been watching more of Peter Weir's stuff, and I'm increasingly impressed. He has a knack for beautiful visuals and wonderfully human stories. God, it sounds like I ripped that off from somewhere...
Anyhow, my favourites are The Truman Show and Gallipoli. And then The Year of Living Dangerously, The Mosquito Coast and Fearless.
It's a nice filmography, his.
I really liked The Truman Show, but I was unimpressed with Dead Poet's Society. It was too melodramatic and heavy-handed for me. Robin Williams was really good in it, though. He seems to have a very wide spectrum of movies. I have yet to see Fearless and Witness, which I have heard are among his best.
I agree with Gloria on "Dead Poet's Society"; "The Truman Show" is definitely one of the best films to come out in the last ten years. It's really underrated, although many here love it. I find new interesting things in it everytime I watch it.
Also, is "Picnic at Hanging Rock" good? I've been meaning to see it for a long time. Is it worth the time?
Yeah, Picnic at Hanging Rock is very good. It's one of Weir's earlier films and has a lot of atmosphere that really drives that whole movie. Some say the film takes place in a type of dream where not everything is reality sorta like Eyes Wide Shut.
Picnic At Hanging Rock is by far my favorite -- see it ASAP. As far as my tastes go, it is followed by Gallipoli and then The Truman Show, but I need to see his Harrison Ford movies. I also think Dead Poets Society is not very good.
Quote from: GloriaI was unimpressed with Dead Poet's Society. It was too melodramatic and heavy-handed for me. Robin Williams was really good in it, though.
Quote from: GhostboyI also think Dead Poets Society is not very good.
All this time I always thought I was the only one who felt this way.
I think Dead Poets Society is good. Hell, it's even referenced in Red.
Truman Show should have been a Best Picture nominee. It's a film without faults.
Quote from: MacGuffinQuote from: GloriaI was unimpressed with Dead Poet's Society. It was too melodramatic and heavy-handed for me. Robin Williams was really good in it, though.
Quote from: GhostboyI also think Dead Poets Society is not very good.
All this time I always thought I was the only one who felt this way.
You are not alone.
I love Weir movies, that one just doesn't do it for me. I seriously love 'Picnic,' was lucky enough to catch it during the brief re-release years back.
My favorite has to be 'Fearless.' What a strange, wonderful movie, I've never seen anything like it.
Quote from: Weak2ndActQuote from: MacGuffinQuote from: GloriaI was unimpressed with Dead Poet's Society. It was too melodramatic and heavy-handed for me. Robin Williams was really good in it, though.
Quote from: GhostboyI also think Dead Poets Society is not very good.
All this time I always thought I was the only one who felt this way.
You are not alone.
I wasn't too fond of it either.
GIBSON'S PATTERN RECOGNIZED
3.31.04
By Dave Davis
Contributing sources: LA Times, Arkady
Although cinematic adaptations of cyberpunk author William Gibson's works haven't turned out too hot (Johnny Mnemonic, New Rose Hotel), it's always good to hear that someone out there is at least trying to get his stories turned into films.
Already accustomed to weirdness, producer Steve Golin (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) is diving into the odd pool again with the rights to Gibson's latest novel Pattern Recognition. The story follows a modern-day marketing expert trying to learn the origins of a mysterious film and finding herself in the middle of a puzzle involving terrorists, spies and gangsters. Word has it that Master and Commander director Peter Weir is interested in bringing the book to screens.
this would so make a great movie.
the film bits especially could be fun, and the chick's a nice character, oh and her director-friend is so Cunningham with the All is Full of Love robot bodies lying around.
tho it could suffer from "boring depiction of computer usage" syndrome, which seems almost inevitable.
Weir Recognizes a Pattern at Warner Bros.
Source: Variety
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World director Peter Weir is attached to direct Pattern Recognition, a thriller at Warner Bros. Weir will co-write the script with David Arata.
The film follows the adventures of a marketing expert who finds herself in a dangerous puzzle when she's hired to track down the source of a strange collection of video footage on the Internet.
William Gibson published the novel last year through Penguin Putnam.
that kind of makes me think that if "The Ring" and "Nick of Time" had a baby, this would be it.
Quote from: El Duderinothat kind of makes me think that if "The Ring" and "Nick of Time" had a baby, this would be it.
Yeah, two movies having sexual intercourse and one of the movies (you know, the one with a uterus attached to one of the reels) giving birth to a child. Exactly.
you think too.......realistically.
i think that Weir makes very good movie, but not exceptional. That's not a shame. (unless one ruins an exceptional story). Dead Poets Society dealed with teenagers, and they are a bit melodramatic by default, so cut him some slack.(have i said this the right way?)
I saw Picnic at Hanging Rock for the first time just recently and was ultimately very impressed. It's the sort of film that, as an Australian, I didn't particularly see myself liking too much beforehand [and thus I had avoided it], but when all is said and done, I was glad to be proven wrong. It's so often cited as [one of] the film that kicked-off the Renaissance period of Australian cinema back in the 1970s and I always find it difficult to approach these so-called "important" pictures without feeling as though I'd be wrong if I wasn't to like them as much as, perhaps, I "should".
To my delight, however, that didn't happen with Picnic at Hanging Rock at all. The film is very engaging and very hypnotic. Weir's construction of the picture's atmosphere is really quite extraordinary. The film just bubbles, I think, with something that I can't really describe. It's frightening, dangerous and seductive all at once.
Ultimately, it's the sort of film that can inspire a physical reaction to it as much as it can an emotional or intellectual one. To me, that's really quite something. You feel very light-headed as you watch it and it's easily one of Weir's masterworks.
Anyone know if Fearless is ever going to get a proper DVD? I'd settle for a nice transfer and correct aspect ratio.
I went back and watched Fearless again today. I've seen it many times but it's been a while since I last saw it. It's so perfect with it's ideas, metaphors and emotional build up. It has the most emotional final minutes I've ever seen in a movie. I never cried at the end on my previous viewings, but this time I did as soon as the credits started. One of the best endings ever filmed. I think Fearless as a whole is one of the most under rated masterpieces of the 90's.
Indeed. My thoughts on it are in another thread (http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?t=5798&highlight=fearless), but yes, Fearless is a wholly underrated film in league with the likes of Limbo and Lantana as unsung masterpieces of the 90s (well, Lantana is from 2001, but who's counting?). All three are similar in tone, in theme, and in style (but more tone/mood than anything).
Quote from: onobotopoeiaFearless is ...in league with the likes of Limbo and Lantana. All three are similar in tone, in theme, and in style (but more tone/mood than anything).
i don't exactly agree with this; maybe i don't really understand. could you elaborate on their similarity?
also: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0409138/
Yeah I don't really see the similiarity between those movies either
Australia's Peter Weir to direct Johnny Depp in 'Shantaram'
"The Year of Living Dangerously" filmmaker Peter Weir will reportedly direct the movie version of Gregory David Roberts' novel "Shantaram" that will star movie heartthrob Johnny Depp.
Australian Weir, 61, director of such films as war drama "Gallipoli" (1981), "The Truman Show" (1998) and "Dead Poets Society" (1989), last directed Russell Crowe in 2002's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World."
Depp, 42, signed on last year for the lead role in Warner Bros' adventure-packed dramatic tale of an Australian heroin addict who escapes a maximum-security prison and reinvents himself in India as a doctor.
Roberts' autobiographical novel tells how he set up shop in the slums of Bombay, becomes entangled with organised crime, becomes a forger and gun-runner and then winds up fighting with the mujaheddin forces in Afghanistan.
In one of the biggest film rights deals of last year, Warner Bros studios and several partners acquired the rights to the novel for two million dollars, and immediately signed Depp to lead the cast.
The 1,000-page book published in 2003 was the first that Roberts has written and is based on his own amazing experiences.
It was hailed by some as a new "Papillon," the 1969 true-life prison adventures on Devil's Island, off Guyana, of author Henri Charriere, which was also turned into a movie blockbuster.
Production on the movie version of "Shantaram" is due to begin late next year, according to industry staple Daily Variety.
Weir has lost out on four Oscar nominations for best director for his hit films "The Truman Show" and 1985's "Witness," and on best original screenplay nod for 1990's "Green Card" and "Master and Commander."
"Shantaram" will be produced by Depp's Infinitum Nihil production company, along with Brad Pitt through his Plan B company and Initial Entertainment Group's Graham King, Variety said.
Depp was nominated for an Oscar for his lead role in 2004's "Finding Neverland" and for his 2003 turn as a sea dog in "Pirates of the Caribbean."
He starred this year in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and his voice was used for the animated film "Corpse Bride", by Tim Burton.
Shantaram Sans Weir
Helmer Peter Weir has dropped out of Shantaram, a Warner Bros. adaptation of the Gregory David Roberts novel that is to star Johnny Depp. Reports indicate that Weir (The Truman Show, Witness) and Depp had been having trouble agreeing on the direction of the project.
The move follows the submission to the studio of a script rewrite by Eric Roth which was supervised by Weir, reports Variety. Still, a Warner Bros. spokesman claims that the split was the result of differences between the helmer and the studio, and that it wasn't a conflict with Depp that drove Weir to leave.
The studio plans to find a new director for the project, which is about an Australian drug addict who escapes from prison and winds up India, where he becomes a (sort of) doctor, before taking on the job of gunrunner and counterfeiter who battles the Russians in Afghanistan. Your basic renaissance man.
Weir dives into Fox's 'Shadow'
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Director Peter Weir is coming aboard Fox 2000's "Shadow Divers."
The Australian director, who most recently directed "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" for 20th Century Fox, is in negotiations to helm the film based on Robert Kurson's best-selling nonfiction book "Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Discovered Hitler's Lost Sub."
"Shadow Divers" revolves around two of the world's foremost deep-sea wreck divers who discover a sunken U-boat 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey. Despite considerable danger, the young divers risk their lives in their obsession to identify the submarine over the period of six years.
Bill Broyles ("Cast Away") wrote the script and is executive producing. Weir also is in final negotiations to produce the film.
Elizabeth Gabler and Rodney Ferrell are overseeing for Fox 2000.
Before "Master," Weir helmed "The Truman Show," starring Jim Carrey.
Weir is in development on the Warner Bros. Pictures project "Pattern Recognition," based on the novel from William Gibson.
Peter Weir finds his 'Way Back'
Australian helmer to write, direct fact-based film
Source: Variety
Peter Weir is set to direct "The Way Back," the fact-based story of the escape of soldiers from a Siberian gulag in 1940.
Production begins in March in Bulgaria.
The highly selective Australian helmer last directed the 2003 film "Master and Commander" for Fox, and developed but dropped out of "Shantaram," the Warner Bros. project which was to star Johnny Depp.
He wrote the script for "The Way Back" and based it on several sources, most notably the Slavomir Rawicz book "The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom." Book is Rawicz's account of being captured by the Red Army in 1939 and his journey to freedom with other inmates. The group crossed the Siberian arctic, the Gobi desert and the Himalayas, finally settling in Tibet and India.
Financing for the pic comes via Spitfire Pictures through its Cyrte Investments-backed holding company, HS Media.
HS Media, which encompasses both Spitfire and Hammer Films, has just formed the sales and distribution company Exclusive Film Distribution, which will sell offshore territories on the Weir film at AFM. Exclusive is headed by Guy East, the Majestic Films founder who was co-chairman of Intermedia with current Spitfire head Nigel Sinclair.
Weir will produce with Joni Levin, Duncan Henderson and Sinclair. Keith Clarke, John Ptak and East will be executive producers with Simon Oakes and Jonathan Schwartz.
Cast on 'Way' to Weir
Farrell, Harris in final talks to star in film
Source: Variety
Director Peter Weir will find "The Way Back" with Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess and Saoirse Ronan.
The thesps are in final negotiations to star for Weir in the fact-based story of a group of soldiers who engineered a grueling escape from a Siberian gulag in 1942.
Weir wrote the script, based on the memoir by Slavomir Rawicz. Farrell plays a tough, tattooed Russian; Harris an American; and Sturgess portrays a young Polish inmate. Ronan will play a Russian on the run who meets up with the fugitives.
The film will begin production in March in Bulgaria, financed by producer Spitfire Pictures through its Cyrte Investments-backed holding company HS Media. The film is the first Weir has directed since 2003's "Master and Commander."
Weir is producing with Joni Levin, Duncan Henderson, Spitfire's Nigel Sinclair and Scott Rudin. Keith Clarke, John Ptak and Guy East are executive producers along with Simon Oakes and Jonathan Schwartz.
Farrell, who is Golden Globe-nominated for his performance in "In Bruges," most recently completed the Neil Jordan-directed "Ondine," the Terry Gilliam-directed "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" and the Danis Tanovic-directed "Triage." Harris, who directed and starred in "Appaloosa," just starred in the Ash Adams-directed "Once Fallen.
Sturgess, who most recently toplined "21," will next be seen in the Wayne Kramer-directed "Crossing Over." Ronan just starred in the Peter Jackson-directed "The Lovely Bones."
Weir's 'Way Back' to open in January
Newmarket to release pic on Jan. 21
Source: Variety
Newmarket Films has slotted Peter Weir's prison escape drama "The Way Back" for domestic release on Jan. 21.
Exclusive Media Group and Newmarket made the announcement Thursday, a day before Weir's honored with a tribute at the Telluride Film Festival as part of the world premiere for "The Way Back."
Pic will face competition during the Jan. 21 frame from Paramount's untitled romantic comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman and Miramax thriller "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark."
"The Way Back" stars Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong and Colin Farrell. Pic chronicles the escape of a small group of multinational prisoners from a Siberian gulag in 1940.
"The Way Back: is the first film produced under the Exclusive Films label to be distributed through its Newmarket Films subsidiary. National Geographic Entertainment and Imagenation Abu Dhabi co-produced the film as part of their joint production agreement. Producers are Joni Levin, Peter Weir, Duncan Henderson and Nigel Sinclair. "The Way Back" has 11 executive producers -- Keith Clarke, John Ptak, Guy East, Simon Oakes, Tobin Armbrust, Jake Eberts, Edward Borgerding, Mohamed Khalaf, Adam Leipzig, Scott Rudin and Jonathan Schwartz.
Recorded The Cars That Ate Paris off of TCM last week. Wow. The title is weird, so I had to check it out, but I wasn't expecting much. Looking up info on it, it appears to have a Criterion connection, so I hope that means a release soon.
I need to see Fearless. I get it and Falling Down confused and I'm not even sure why.