Sidney J. Furie

Toronto-born 'Sidney J. Furie' (qv) has enjoyed an incredibly distinguished career that has spanned more than five decades. Having dabbled in every genre, Furie has directed films starring 'Marlon Brando' (qv), 'Frank Sinatra' (qv), 'Robert Redford' (qv), 'Diana Ross' (qv), 'Michael Caine' (qv), 'Peter O'Toole' (qv), 'Rodney Dangerfield' (qv), 'Barbara Hershey' (qv), 'Gene Hackman' (qv), 'Donald Sutherland' (qv), 'Laurence Olivier' (qav) and countless others.He directed the first two feature-length fiction films ever made in English Canada, _A Dangerous Age (1957)_ (qv) and _A Cool Sound from Hell (1959)_ (qv), both independently financed, before emigrating to London in 1960. In 1961 he directed five feature films in a single year, before finally scoring his first box-office success with _Wonderful to Be Young! (1961)_ (qv), starring the "British 'Elvis Presley' (qv)", 'Cliff Richard' (qv). The critical and commercial success of Furie's 1963 British New Wave film _The Leather Boys (1964)_ (qv), a kitchen-sink drama starring 'Rita Tushingham' (qv) and 'Dudley Sutton' (qv), delivered him to the attention of high-powered producer 'Harry Saltzman' (qv), who hired him to direct the groundbreaking film _The Ipcress File (1965)_ (qv), which won the BAFTA award for Best Picture. 'Michael Caine' (qv) became an overnight star because of the film's success. The film also screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.Furie then emigrated to Hollywood to direct 'Marlon Brando' (qv) in _The Appaloosa (1966)_ (qv) and 'Frank Sinatra' (qv) in _The Naked Runner (1967)_ (qv) for Universal and Warner Brothers, respectively. Paramount Pictures, then under the aegis of the new Gulf+Western management regime, hired Furie in 1967. He would work as a Paramount filmmaker for the next eight years. Beginning in 1968, he directed five films for the studio. His box-office hit _Lady Sings the Blues (1972)_ (qv) was nominated for five Academy 'Awards' (qv) and was Paramount's second biggest money-maker that year, behind only _The Godfather (1972)_ (qv).In 1981 he directed _The Entity (1982)_ (qv), a cult classic that was named by 'Martin Scorsese' (qv) as the fourth best horror film ever made, ranking ahead of both _The Shining (1980)_ (qv) and _Psycho (1960)_ (qv). Furie was assigned to direct _Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)_ (qv), but was challenged by substantial last-minute budget cuts and a script he could not change (engineered personally by 'Christopher Reeve' (qv)).Throughout the 1990s and 2000s he returned to his native Canada to helm a series of films, often direct-to-video pictures, ranging from the war drama _Going Back (2001)_ (qv) to the Canadian-British co-production _Rock My World (2002)_ (qv), a comedy starring 'Peter O'Toole' (qv) and 'Joan Plowright' (qv). Other career highlights include _The Boys in Company C (1978)_ (qv) (one of the first Vietnam War pictures about combat soldiers, later to provide the basis for _Full Metal Jacket (1987)_ (qv)), the underrated action epic _Hit! (1973)_ (qv), and the "Iron Eagle" series. He has also maintained dual citizenship between the U.S. and Canada. In 2010, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Directors Guild of Canada.::ConFluence-Film (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)