![[Bald, worried]](lester.jpg)
NEW: Steven 'sex lies & videotape' Soderbergh has published a Lester bio called "Getting Away With It, Or: The Further Adventures of the Luckiest Bastard You Ever Saw -- also Starring Richard Lester as the Man Who Knew More Than He Was Asked" Salon
Born: 19 November 1932 in Philadelphia, PA
1934: Can spell 250 words
1948: Enters University of Pennsylvania age 15
1950: Plays piano in bar, sings backup on radio
1951-53: WCAU-TV, Philadelphia
1953: Relocates to Europe
1956: Directs 'Idiot Weekly' for BBC-TV with Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan
1950s: 'A Show Called Fred', 'Son of Fred'
1959: 'The Running, Jumping, and Standing Still Film' wins Oscar nomination
1965: Cannes Palm d'Or for 'The Knack'
1990: Tribute at Sundance Festival
Now: retired w/ wife Deirdre in Petersham, England
Sources: Indispensible Salon profile; IMDb, EOnline
Detailed critique of Lester's use of music: (8 pages) http://the-fringe.com/flicker/lester/
Pop Goes the Musical: The Use and Abuse of Music in Six Films by Richard Lester
Other Richard Lesters on the Web include a biker lawyer, an MIT economist, and a cellist.
Credited as: Director, Actor ("Painter"), Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor, Composer
Cast: Richard Lester (Painter), Peter Sellers (Photographer), Spike Milligan, Leo McKern
Length: 11 minutes
Salon: "...a cheapie about the resurgent traditional jazz movement... Lester improvised by hiring Chubby Checker to do a twist number near the end."
Sequel to Peter Sellers hit "The Mouse That Roared". Lester meets producer and Beatles fan Walter Shenson.
1999 re-release announced; review
IMDb includes trivia and quotes
Fanpage with pix and info. Another
CD-ROM version. Now avail for $9.99
Long analysis of the filmmaker's art
Some background wrt restoration of HDN and Help
Sundance tribute: http://www.sundancechannel.com/festival99/filmguide/sundance_collection/hardd.tin
Anecdote about bad continuity:
http://www17.geocities.com/Hollywood/2549/slipsh.html
Cannes Palm d'Or
Fanpage: http://www.clas.berkeley.edu/~110info/Cinema/knack.html
John Barry's score backgrounder: http://www.auracle.com/pia/nffiles/barry1.html
Longish review of score: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/9045/theknack-review.html
Not the origin of the band's name:
http://www.knack.com/20Questions.htm
Working title: Eight Arms to Hold You
Detailed backgrounder
Lots of quotes about making the movie
Fanpage with pix and info
I adore everything about this movie.
About.com page: http://ancienthistory.tqn.com/library/weekly/aa101497.htm
Sondheim's page:
http://www.sondheim.com/shows/forum.html
Credited as Producer
I can never remember the plot of this, half an hour after seeing it.
Screenshot: http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue04/features/georgecscott3.htm
Dave Kehr capsule: http://onfilm.chireader.com/MovieCaps/P/PE/07061_PETULIA.html
"...romantic comedy tells the story of the relationship between a recently divorced surgeon (George C. Scott) and an unhappily married San Francisco socialite (Julie Christie) and takes deft, unexpected turns into the tragic and terrifying..."
John Barry's score backgrounder:
http://www.auracle.com/pia/nffiles/barry1.html
Credited as Producer
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Gorgeous, hilarious, clever. Don't miss the antique technology vignettes.
An okay disaster flick.
Fan review:
http://leonardo.spidernet.net/Artus/2386/juggernaut.htm
Scandalous because the actors hadn't known they were making two movies at once. Every bit as good as part one.
Sweet.
John Barry's score backgrounder (a brouhaha):
http://www.auracle.com/pia/nffiles/barry3.html
Okay.
The first 'prequel'
Backgrounders: http://www.angelfire.com/sd/Sdwars/Superman.html http://members.xoom.com/dsupermanc/tidbits.htm
"Richard Lester actually stated his distaste for Superman publicly. Apparently he filmed this movie as a favor to his friends, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind."
Screenshot: http://www.jment.com/jmfindkp.htm
Juggling scene:
http://www.juggling.org/movies/title/Finders_Keepers.html
Roy Kinnear killed by fall from horse
McCartney tour documentary
AmazonThe Prince and the Pauper
AmazonVarsity Blues
AmazonVarsity Blues
AmazonVarsity Blues DVD
Appears in:
Richard Lester!
(1998)
The Making of 'A Hard Day's Night' (1995 video)
Review: http://www.shoestring.org/mmi_revs/makhrday.html
Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987 TV)
Richard Lester (1973)
Commentary and clips from the director of "A Hard Day's Night," "The Knack (And How To Get It)," and more.
Biography of Richard Lester:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D1556113900/
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Artist profiles:
Robert Stone Damascus Gate |
Peter Dickinson |
Lindsey Davis |
Iris Murdoch |
John le Carre |
Tom Wolfe |
Harold Brodkey |
Blanche McCrary Boyd |
William Wharton |
Joseph McElroy |
Ward Just |
G Spencer Brown
music:
Joni Mitchell |
Marta Sebestyen |
Mary Coughlan |
Jane Siberry |
Hal Willner |
Michael Hurley |
Incredible String Band |
Van Dyke Parks
film:
Richard Lester |
Mike Leigh |
Jacques Rivette
misc:
J Krishnamurti |
Stephen Gaskin |
Hero Joy Nightingale
One-layer portals: James Joyce | Thomas Pynchon
Autobiographical:
general |
musical |
internet
Odds and ends:
jazz |
rock |
Nabokov |
Jesus |
Wilde |
Picasso |
Gibbon |
1899
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