Martin Rosen (director)

Martin Rosen
Born	1936 (age 87–88)
Nationality	British/American
Occupation(s)	Producer, film director, screenwriter, theater producer
Years active	1968-2001

Martin Rosen (born 1936) is an American-born British filmmaker and theater producer. Rosen is known for having directed the animated film adaptations of Watership Down (1978) and The Plague Dogs (1982), both from the Richard Adams novels.

Career

Rosen originally worked as a theater agent and talent scout, before he moved with his wife to the United Kingdom.

He first produced the Canadian feature A Great Big Thing (1968) and later co-produced Ken Russell's film version of Women in Love (1969), which won Academy Awards for Glenda Jackson and Billy Williams (cinematography).

Rosen was originally the producer of Watership Down but took over as director after John Hubley died. He also wrote the screenplay for it. This was the first of two novels by Richard Adams he adapted. In 1982 he also produced, directed and wrote the screenplay for another animated feature based on an Adams novel, The Plague Dogs (1982). Rosen produced Smooth Talk (1986), which won the Sundance Grand Prize. His last film as director was Stacking (1987). His last project as producer was the animated Watership Down TV series in 1999.

Rosen has also contributed on theater production. He was the originating producer of Michael Weller's Moonchildren, first presented at London's Royal Court Theater before transferring to the US. He was the originating producer of Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior", presented in association with The Berkeley Rep, Boston's Huntington Theater, and the Doolittle Theater in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Rosen is married to Elisabeth Payne Rosen, an author and ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church.

Credits

Films

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer	Other	Notes
1968	A Great Big Thing		Yes
1969	Women in Love		Yes		Yes	Presenter
1978	Watership Down	Yes	Yes	Yes		Directorial debut
1982	The Plague Dogs	Yes	Yes	Yes
1985	Smooth Talk		Yes
1987	Stacking	Yes	Yes			Short film

Television

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Notes
1987	American Playhouse	Yes	Yes	Segment: "Stacking"
1999-2001	Watership Down: The Series		Yes	Executive producer

Theater

• I, Frederick'
• The Women Warrior
• China Men'
• Hallam's War

Critical reception

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	IMDb
Watership Down	82%	7.7/10
The Plague Dogs	60% Audience Score 90%	7.9/10

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1978	Gold Hugo	Best Feature	Watership Down	Nominated
1979	Hugo Award	Best Dramatic Presentation	Watership Down	Nominated
1986	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Feature	Smooth Talk	Nominated

External links

• Martin Rosen at IMDb
• Nepenthe Productions