Peter Lindsay Weir (born 21 August 1944) is an Australian film director. Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. Born in Sydney, Australia, Weir attended The Scots College before studying art and law at the University of Sydney. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For other schools with a similar name see Scots College. The Scots College is an independent Presbyterian day and Boarding Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society The University of Sydney (informally Sydney Uni or USyd) is the oldest university in Australia His interest in film was sparked by his meeting with fellow students, including Phillip Noyce and the future members of the Sydney filmmaking collective Ubu Films. Phillip Noyce (born 29 April 1950 is an Australian Film director. Ubu Films was an experimental film-making collective based in Sydney Australia that operated from 1965 to around 1970

Early life and career

After leaving university in the mid-1960s he joined Sydney television station ATN-7, where he worked as a production assistant on the groundbreaking satirical comedy program The Mavis Bramston Show. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic ATN is the Sydney Flagship Television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The Mavis Bramston Show was a popular Satirical Sketch comedy TV series broadcast on Australian television. During this period, using station facilities, he made his first two experimental short films, Count Vim's Last Exercise and The Life and Flight of Reverend Buckshotte.

Weir then took up a position with the Commonwealth Film Unit (later renamed Film Australia), for whom he made several documentaries, including a short documentary about young people living in the underprivileged outer suburbs of Sydney, and the short rock music film Three Directions In Australian Pop (1970), which featured rare in-concert colour footage of three major Australian rock acts of the period, Spectrum, The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band and Wendy Saddington. Film Australia was a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia. Film Australia was a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia. For the British band of the same name see Peter Kember Spectrum was an Australian Progressive rock band which formed The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band was an Australian band active throughout the 1970s He also directed one section of the three-part, three-director feature film Three To Go (1970), which won an AFI award. The Australian Film Institute (AFI established in 1958 is an organisation that promotes Australian film and television through the annual AFI Awards, a membership

After leaving the CFU, Weir made his first major independent film, the short feature Homesdale (1971), a black comedy which co-starred actress Kate Fitzpatrick and musician and comedian Grahame Bond, who later became famous as the star of The Aunty Jack Show; Weir also played a small role, but this was to be his last significant screen appearance. Kate Fitzpatrick (born October 1, 1947 in Nedlands Western Australia) is an Australian based Television, Film and The Aunty Jack Show was a Logie -award winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Homesdale and Weir's two aforementioned CFU shorts have recently been released on DVD.

Weir's first full-length feature film was the underground cult classic, The Cars That Ate Paris (1974). The Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 Australian Film. Directed by Peter Weir, it was his first feature film This paved the way for considerable success in Australia and internationally with the atmospheric Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), based on the novel by Joan Lindsay. Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian Mystery Film directed by Peter Weir, adapted from the novel of the same name. Lady Joan Lindsay (born Joan a'Beckett Weigall) ( 16 November 1896 - 23 December 1984) was an Australian author best known Widely credited as a pivotal work in the so-called Australian film renaissance of the mid-1970s, the film also helped launch the career of internationally renowned Australian cinematographer Russell Boyd. Russell Boyd ( April 21, 1944 in Victoria Australia) is an Academy Award winning Australian Cinematographer. It was widely acclaimed by critics, many of whom praised it as a welcome antidote to the so-called "ocker film" genre, typified by The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and Alvin Purple. The Adventures of Barry McKenzie is a 1972 Australian film starring Barry Crocker, telling the story of an Australian ' Yobbo ' on his travels Alvin Purple was a 1973 Australian comedy film starring Graeme Blundell, written by Alan Hopgood and directed by Tim Burstall

His next feature, The Last Wave, which starred American actor Richard Chamberlain, was a pensive, ambivalent film that expanded on the themes of Picnic, exploring the interaction between the native Aboriginal and European cultures. The Last Wave is a 1977 Australian film directed by Peter Weir about a man who experiences Premonitions of disaster This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law It was only moderately successful at the time, but Weir scored a major hit with his next film Gallipoli (1981). Gallipoli is a 1981 Australian Film, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, about several young Scripted by renowned Australian playwright David Williamson, it is regarded as classic Australian cinema. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. David Keith Williamson AO (born 19 February 1942 is one of Australia's most well-known playwrights The cinema of Australia has a long history and has produced many internationally-recognised films actors and filmmakers Gallipoli was instrumental in making Mel Gibson into a major international film star, though Gibson's co-star Mark Lee, who also received high praise for his role, has made only a handful of film appearances since. Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, AO (born January 3 1956 Mark Lee (born 1958 is an Australian actor and director whose most prominent role was the lead in the film Gallipoli (1981 alongside Mel Gibson The cumulative high point of Peter Weir's early career was the international production The Year of Living Dangerously which united Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver in a story about loyalty, idealism, love and ambition intertwined with political and humanitarian themes in the Indonesia of 1965. The Year of Living Dangerously is a 1982 Peter Weir film adapted from the novel of the same name by its author Christopher Koch, Weir and The film brought Linda Hunt an Oscar for best supporting actress. Linda Hunt (born April 2, 1945) is an American film stage and television Actress.

Filmmaking in the United States

Weir's first American film was the highly successful thriller Witness (1985), which was set in an Amish community. United States cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century Witness is a 1985 American thriller Film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Harrison Ford, Kelly The Amish (ˈɑːmɪʃ are members of an Anabaptist Christian denomination best known for Simple living, Plain dress and resisting modern conveniences It was followed by the darker and less accessible The Mosquito Coast (1986). The article is about the novel and film For the Central American area see Mosquito Coast. Both films starred Harrison Ford and provided him with opportunities to avoid being typecast by his previous roles in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, and to play more subtle and substantial roles. Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an Academy Award - and BAFTA -nominated as well as Golden Globe -winning American Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded Dr (also Col Henry Walton Jones Jr, better known as Indiana Jones or Indy after his pet dog is a fictional Adventurer, Soldier

Both of Weir's next two films, Dead Poets Society (1989), starring Robin Williams, and Green Card (1990), starring Gérard Depardieu, were major box-office hits, and they brought Weir significant critical and commercial success; the latter remains a favourite with many comedy lovers. Dead Poets Society is a 1989 film directed by Peter Weir. Set in 1959 (though not free from anachronisms at a conservative and autocratic Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21 1951 or 1952 is an American television stage and film actor and Comedian who has won an Academy Award for his performance Green Card is a 1990 Romantic comedy directed by Peter Weir. The film stars Gérard Depardieu, Andie MacDowell Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu CQ (born 27 December 1948) is one of France's most prominent actors Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and His next film, Fearless, starred Jeff Bridges as a man who believes he has become invincible after surviving a catastrophic air crash. Fearless is a 1993 film directed by Peter Weir and written by Rafael Yglesias from his novel of the same name. Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is a four-time Academy Award -nominated American Actor and Musician. Though well reviewed and featuring a sterling performance by Bridges, its unsettling subject matter and darker tone was less appealing to audiences than his two preceding films.

But Weir bounced back in 1998 with the hugely successful The Truman Show, a wry satire on the nascent reality TV trend. The Truman Show is a 1998 fantasy Comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. Reality television is a genre of Television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations documents actual events and usually features ordinary It was a box-office smash and won numerous awards and earned three Oscars nominations -- Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Ed Harris), and Best Director for Weir himself. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Edward Allen "Ed" Harris (born November 28 1950 is a four-time Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe -winning American actor writer and director It also gave its star, comedian Jim Carrey, the chance to prove himself in a serious acting role and he received glowing reviews for his performance. James Eugene Redmond "Jim" Carrey (born January 17 1962 is a Canadian-American Film actor and Comedian. The Truman Show also includes a small reference back to the very beginning of Weir's directorial career -- Australian actor Terry Camilleri, who starred in Weir's first feature, The Cars That Ate Paris, appears in a cameo role. Terry Camilleri is an Australian actor born in Malta in 1949 He made his feature film debut in Peter Weir 's 1974 film The Cars That Ate Paris

In 2003 Weir directed Master and Commander, starring Russell Crowe; it was well received by critics, but only mildly successful with mainstream audiences with its slow pace and focus on period detail and characterization, qualities that are characteristic of Weir's work. Master and Commander The Far Side of the World is a 2003 Film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964 is an Academy Award - BAFTA - Golden Globe - and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning New Zealand and Although it won two Academy Awards, it made a moderate (considering the production values and the star power of Crowe) $93 million at the North American Box Office, while overseas it did better with $114 million. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film.

Themes and celebrity

Although Peter Weir's films are extremely varied in subject and locale, all are linked by Weir's enduring thematic interest, that of exploring the reactions and behaviour of characters who find themselves in isolating or alienating situations.

Often his films will involve a juxtaposition between macrocosm and microcosm, with the characters often making the difficult choice of choosing to live within the macrocosm. Macrocosm and microcosm is an ancient Greek schema of seeing the same patterns reproduced in all levels of the Cosmos, from the largest scale (macrocosm or universe-level Examples include the phoney television studio town in The Truman Show and the prep school in Dead Poets Society and its characters' choices to break free from its confines. The Truman Show is a 1998 fantasy Comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. Dead Poets Society is a 1989 film directed by Peter Weir. Set in 1959 (though not free from anachronisms at a conservative and autocratic

Despite his international success and celebrity, Weir has maintained close connections with his home city and on several occasions he has returned to Green Valley, the suburb where his early CFU documentary was set. There he has been closely involved in programs designed to teach filmmaking skills to disadvantaged young people. In April 2005 Weir returned to Sydney and reunited with the stars of Gallipoli to celebrate the film's release on DVD.

Filmography

Feature films

• Homesdale (1971)
• The Cars That Ate Paris (aka The Cars That Eat People) (1974)
• Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
• The Last Wave (1977)
• Gallipoli (1981)
• The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
• Witness (1985)
• The Mosquito Coast (1986)
• Dead Poets Society (1989)
• Green Card (1990)
• Fearless (1993)
• The Truman Show (1998)
• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
• Pattern Recognition (2008)
• Shadow Divers (2009)

Short films

• Three to Go (1971) (segment "Michael")

TV work

• Man on a Green Bike (1969)
• The Plumber (1978)
• Wayside (2005)

References

External links

• Peter Weir at the Internet Movie Database
• Peter Weir Cave (unofficial Peter Weir site)
• Photo of Peter Weir at the 76th Annual Academy Awards
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• Peter Weir at the National Film and Sound Archive