Film World Mourns Minghella
Film Director Anthony Minghella Dies Suddenly at the Age of 54
The world of film was saddened March 18, 2008 at the news that Anthony Minghella, Oscar winning director of “The English Patient”, died at the age of 54. The British filmmaker had made a name for himself in British TV and on the big screen. Reports indicate he had died of a brain haemorrhage* after an operation on his neck.
TV Beginnings
Minghella, born on the Isle of Wight, began his writing career on British television. Highlights included the Children’s TV drama “Grange Hill”, writing several episodes of the series (as well as being a long-running script editor), and with police drama “Morse”, starring the late John Thaw. In 1990 he created a series in America called “The Storyteller: Greek Myths”, a spin-off from Jim Henson’s “Storyteller” series.
The British Are Coming
In the early 1990s, Minghella began directing movies. His first effort was the 1990 movie “Truly, Madly, Deeply”, starring Alan Rickman and Juliet Stephenson. The film was a big success domestically and won three BAFTA awards. A so-so effort followed in his first American movie, “Mr. Wonderful” starring Matt Dillon, but it wasn’t long before he was back to his award-winning ways.
1996 saw the release of his career-defining epic, “The English Patient”. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott Thomas, it was one of the finest films of the decade and established the British film industry as worthy contenders during the awards season. It won a staggering nine Oscars, including Best Film, Best Director for Minghella and Supporting Actress for Binoche. It remains the benchmark by which all fine British films set themselves, and is remembered as one of the great Oscar-winning films of recent times. It won six BAFTA awards, including Best Film.
The Talented Mr. Minghella
The shadow “The English Patient” loomed large over a lot of Minghella’s work afterwards, but rather than shy away from that pressure he directed yet more successful, award-winning movies. His long-awaited follow up to “The English Patient” was 1999’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, an adaptation of the novel by Patricia Highsmith. The movie was a success at the Box Office, and earned another Oscar nomination for Minghella (for his screenplay).
One of the film’s stars, Jude Law, would rejoin Minghella for two more movies. Firstly, opposite Nicole Kidman & Renee Zellweger in “Cold Mountain”. Whilst not a massive commercial success, it did win Zellweger a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Law starred again in Minghella’s “Breaking & Entering” in 2006, Minghella’s last directorial effort before his death this morning.
2008 has seen another talent of the film world tragically pass away too soon. Sadly, his last feature film, a TV movie adaptation of the book “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency”, was due to air on the BBC in the UK next Monday (24th March). He has recently stepped down as Chairman of the BFI. He leaves behind a glittering legacy of classic films that will always have a place in the history of both British and World Cinema.
*source: Variety.com
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