Richard Marquand
| Richard Marquand | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 22 April 1938 Llanishen, Cardiff |
| Died | 4 September 1987 (aged 49) Tunbridge Wells, Kent |
| Occupation | Film director |
Richard Marquand (April 22nd 1938 – 4 September 1987) was a Welsh film director best known for directing the 1983 blockbuster Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi. He also directed the critically acclaimed 1981 drama film Eye of the Needle. James Marquand is his son.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Marquand was born in Llanishen, Cardiff, the younger brother of the political writer David Marquand and the son of Rachel E. (née Rees) and Hilary Marquand, who was a Labour member of Parliament.[1] Richard Marquand was educated at Emanuel School, the Université d'Aix-Marseille in Marseille, France and King's College, Cambridge.
[edit] Career
By the late 1960s, Marquand had begun a career writing and directing television documentaries for the BBC, where he worked on projects such as the 1972 series Search for the Nile and an edition of One Pair of Eyes (1968),[2] about the novelist Margaret Drabble who had been a friend of his at Cambridge.[3]
In 1979, Marquand incorporated many of his finely-honed documentary techniques in his dramatized TV movie, The Birth of the Beatles.
On the strength of his direction of the 1981 feature, Eye of the Needle, Marquand was hired by producer George Lucas to direct Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.[4] In his commentary track on the DVD, Lucas explains that Marquand "had done some great suspense films and was really good with actors. Eye of the Needle was the film I'd seen that he had done that impressed me the most, it was really nicely done and had a lot of energy and suspense." Marquand is the only non-American to have directed a Star Wars movie.
Marquand subsequently directed the 1985 courtroom thriller Jagged Edge, starring Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close.
In 1987, Marquand died of a stroke and a heart attack at the age of 49. His last film, Hearts of Fire, starring Bob Dylan, was released posthumously.[5]
His son James Marquand is also a director.
[edit] References
- ^ Richard Marquand Biography (1937-)
- ^ One Pair of Eyes: Margaret Drabble, BBC2, 9 March 1968, BBC Archive site
- ^ Margaret Drabble "Once upon a life: Margaret Drabble", The Guardian, 5 December 2010
- ^ Richard Marquand > Biography - AllMovie, retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ Richard Marquand > Biography - AllMovie, retrieved September 25, 2010.
[edit] External links
- Richard Marquand at the Internet Movie Database
- Richard Marquand at AllRovi
- Richard Marquand at Find a Grave
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
