Monte Hellman
Monte Hellman | |
---|---|
Born | Monte Jay Himmelbaum July 12, 1929 New York City, U.S. |
Died | April 20, 2021 Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. | (aged 91)
Education | Los Angeles High School |
Alma mater | Stanford University |
Occupation(s) | Film director, writer, producer, editor |
Spouse | Barboura Morris (1954–1958)[1] |
Monte Hellman (
He would later gain critical recognition for the Westerns The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind (both 1966) starring Jack Nicholson, and the independent road movie Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) starring James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. His later directorial work included the 1989 slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! and the independent thriller Road to Nowhere (2010).
Early life
Monte Hellman was born on July 12, 1929, in
Hellman graduated from Los Angeles High School, and attended Stanford University, graduating in 1951. He then attended graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles, but did not complete his studies.[6]
Career
Hellman was among a group of directing talent mentored by Roger Corman, who produced several of the director's early films. Hellman began by working on "low budget exploitation films with a personal slant," yet learned from Corman the art of producing commercially viable films on a tight budget while staying true to a personal vision.[7] Hellman's most critically acclaimed film is considered to be Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), a road movie that was a box-office failure at the time of its initial release but, according to Danny Peary in 1981, it has become a perennial cult favorite.[8]
Hellman's two
In addition to his directorial career, Hellman worked on several films in different capacities.He was the dialogue director for Corman's
In 2006, he directed "Stanley's Girlfriend", a section of the omnibus horror film Trapped Ashes. Hellman's section of the film was presented by the Cannes Film Festival that year out of competition as an "Official Selection," and Hellman was named president of the festival's "Un Certain Regard" jury.[17]
At the 2010 Venice Film Festival, he was awarded a special career prize.[18] Later in the year he completed a new feature film, the romantic noir thriller Road to Nowhere, which competed for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.[19]
As of 2011, he taught with the Film Directing Program at the California Institute of the Arts.[20]
Death
Hellman sustained a fall at his home on April 19, 2021. In critical condition, he died the next day at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 91.[21]
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Notes[13] |
---|---|---|
1959 | Beast from Haunted Cave | |
1964 | Flight to Fury | also co-storywriter and editor |
Back Door to Hell | ||
1966 | Ride in the Whirlwind | also co-producer |
The Shooting | also co-producer | |
1971 | Two-Lane Blacktop | also editor |
1974 | Cockfighter | |
1978 | China 9, Liberty 37 | also known as Amore piombo e furore, co-producer |
1981 | Inside the Coppola Personality | documentary short[22] |
1988 | Iguana | |
1989 | Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! | also co-storywriter |
2006 | Trapped Ashes | segment: "Stanley's Girlfriend" |
2010 | Road to Nowhere | also co-producer |
2013 | Vive l'amour | short, for Venezia 70 Future Reloaded initiative |
Other film work
- The Terror (1963) (location director, uncredited; with Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Hill, and Jack Nicholson, under direction of Roger Corman)
- The Killer Elite (1975; co-editor)
- A Fistful of Dollars (ABC TV version prologue,1977)
- The Greatest (1977; finished film on behalf of Tom Gries, post-production supervisor)
- RoboCop (1987; uncredited second-unit director, he directed several action scenes)
- Reservoir Dogs (1992; executive producer)
References
- ISBN 9780393313789. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ "MONTE HELLMAN". Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
- ^ "Monte Hellman (1932–)". Film Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ Dixon 2007, p. 98.
- ^ a b Dixon 2007, p. 100.
- ISBN 978-0-8135-4077-1
- ^ OCLC 1148816096.
- ^ Savlov, Marc (June 1, 2018). "Gary Kent Is One of the Last of the Dangerous Men". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ Wells, Ron. "China 9, Liberty 37". Film Threat. Retrieved September 21, 2006.
- ^ "Cockfighter". DVD Beaver. Retrieved September 21, 2006.
- ^ Thompson, Nathaniel. "The Films of Monte Hellman". Mondo Digital. Retrieved September 21, 2006.
- ^ a b c "Monte Hellman". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ "Monte Hellman". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
- ^ "Monte Hellman". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (September 2015). "Quentin Tarantino: The Complete Syllabus of His Influences and References". Slate. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ^ "Monte Hellman". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
- ^ "Official Awards of the 67th Venice Film Festival". La Biennale. November 3, 2021.
- ^ "Venezia 67". labiennale.org. July 29, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
- ^ "Cult filmmaker Monte Hellman talks about 'Two-Lane Blacktop' and 'Road to Nowhere' in exclusive Indie Ethos interview". Independent Ethos. June 20, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ Gray, Tim (April 20, 2021). "Monte Hellman, 'Two-Lane Blacktop' Director, Dies at 91". Variety. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
- ISBN 9780786481880.
Bibliography
- Dixon, Wheeler Winston (2007). Film Talk: Directors at Work. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4078-8.
External links
- Monte Hellman at IMDb
- Interview: Monte Hellman on Roger Corman and Cockfighter
- Monte Hellman on La furia umana