Reisz, Karel

▪ 2003

      Czech-born British film and stage director (b. July 21, 1926, Ostrava, Czech.—d. Nov. 25, 2002, London, Eng.), made only 11 movies during his career but was instrumental in the creation of British new wave cinema in the 1960s. After working on the film journal Sequence and authoring a book on film editing, Reisz began making documentaries on working-class life. His first feature, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), the story of a jaded young factory worker, brought fame to him and his star, Albert Finney. Isadora (1968), a biography of dance pioneer Isadora Duncan, met with little success, however, and resulted in a hiatus in filmmaking for Reisz. Reisz's Hollywood ventures included The Gambler (1974) and The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981). In the 1990s he turned to the stage, collaborating with Harold Pinter and winning critical praise for his rendition of Terence Rattigan's drama The Deep Blue Sea.

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