British director
and cinematographer Nicolas Roeg is an exceptional artist whose work combines
deep psychological insight with a stunning visual sense. One of a small number
of directors who have achieved true auteur status, Roeg creates films noted
for their technical mastery, striking visual and experimental cinematic style,
and frequent blurring of reality and fantasy.Born in London in 1928, Roeg entered the British film industry in 1947 at the bottom rung, with a job making tea. After a short stint in the airborne division of the military, he found employment as a clapper-loader, loading film into motion picture cameras and handling the board that is loudly "clapped" at the beginning of every shot. Over the next ten years, he moved steadily up the studio ranks and distinguished himself as the director of photography for Roger Corman's The Masque of the Red Death (1964), Richard Lester's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1965), François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 (1966), John Schlesinger's Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), and Richard Lester's Petulia (1968).
He made a sensational directorial debut with Performance (1968), codirected by the writer and painter Donald Cammell.
During the 1970s he produced a major body of work-Walkabout (1970), Don't Look Now (1973), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), and Bad Timing (1980)-that revealed his remarkable view of the world, often expressed through disjointed images and a highly original approach to narrative. Among his other films are Eureka (1983), Insignificance (1985), Castaway (1986), Track 29 (1988), Witches (1990), Cold Heaven (1991), Heart of Darkness (1993), and Two Deaths (1996).
Roeg, a decorated Commander of the British Empire, is also a Fellow in the British Film Institute. In 1999 he won the British Independent Film Lifetime Achievement Award.
In recognition of his achievements as one of the most original and accomplished directors of his generation, Brooklyn College awards Nicolas Jack Roeg the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.