Walter Hill
Tribute in his presence, Thursday 3 April.
Director, screenwriter and producer - notably of the ALIEN saga - Walter Hill put his stamp on the thriller genre as a cineaste with an economy of narration and filming, much to the delight of the spectator. This he demonstrated with EXTRÈME PRÉJUDICE during HARD TIMES, in the DRIVER (THE DRIVER) and LES GUERRIERS DE LA NUIT (THE WARRIORS), on STREETS OF FIRE for 48 HRS., and with SOUTHERN COMFORT.
Over the course of his career, Walter Hill has been a writer, director and producer on projects ranging from classic westerns to action-packed thrillers and buddy comedies, all marked with his unique visceral style.
A veteran director of 20 feature films, he has also made a successful foray into television, working on a variety of projects for HBO, receiving both the Emmy and DGA Awards for the 2004 pilot of the groundbreaking neo-western Deadwood. He has been praised by both critics and audiences for his work on films ranging from intimate character studies to full-blown blockbusters.
In 2006, Hill directed AMC’s acclaimed Emmy Awardwinning debut television movie Broken Trail. Hill received the DGA Award for his work – which was nominated for 16 Emmy Awards and won for Outstanding Miniseries, Lead Actor, Supporting Actor and Casting –, received an Emmy Award for producing and was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Directing for a miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special.
Hill’s career began in the early 1970s with screenplay credits for The Getaway and The Drowning Pool. In 1975, he made his directorial debut with Hard Times. From there, Hill chose a succession of projects that found both cult and mainstream audiences.
In 1979, Hill was a producer on the science fiction blockbuster Alien and served as producer or executive producer on the three sequels of the legendary film series. Among his other credits, Hill directed the smash hits 48 Hrs. and Another 48 Hrs. Those hits, together with such films as The Warriors, Southern Comfort, Last Man Standing and Johnny Handsome, established Hill as one of the foremost action filmmakers in Hollywood.
Hill began his exploration of the American Western in 1980, when he directed The Long Riders, selected in the Festival de Cannes’ Competition. This film marked the beginning of Hill’s Western trilogy, which continued with Geronimo : An American Legend and ended in 1995 with Wild Bill. Hill most recently directed the action thriller Bullet to the Head.
For his worldwide contributions to film culture, Hill has received retrospectives at La Cinémathèque française in Paris (2005), the Torino Film Festival (2005), the British Film Institute (1991), and the Pacific Film Archives at the University of California (Berkeley, 2007). He was also honored with film retrospectives by the San Sebastian Film Festival (2011), the American Cinematheque (2006), and at the 9th Annual Maine International Film Festival, which also presented Hill with a Lifetime Achievement Award in July 2005. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award and mini retrospective at the Savannah Film Festival (2006).
Hill won the Critics’ Prize as Best Director at the Cognac Film Festival in 1983 for 48 Hrs. The Torino Film Festival honored Hill and Broken Trail for Best Film and Best Director with the Film Critica Bastone Bianco Prize in 2007. Hill was the recipient of two Golden Boot Awards, one on behalf of Broken Trail and the other for lifetime achievement, and he has twice won the Western Heritage Wrangler Award, for his work on Geronimo : An American Legend and Broken Trail. His other awards include a Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy (1979), a Cable ACE Award for Best Director of a Series for his work on the Tales From the Crypt episode Deadline (1992), and a Best Director of the Year Award – Motion Picture, Kinema Jumpo (1983, Japan).
Hill was most recently honored with the Maverick Director Award at the 2012 Rome Film Festival.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
Director
2012
DU PLOMB DANS LA TÊTE (BULLET TO THE HEAD)
2006
BROKEN TRAIL - TV
2002
UNDISPUTED*
1996
DERNIER RECOURS (LAST MAN STANDING) *
1995
WILD BILL*
1993
GERONIMO
1992
TRESPASS
1990
ANOTHER 48 HRS.*
1989
JOHNNY HANDSOME
1988
RED HEAT *
1987
EXTRÈME PRÉJUDICE
1986
CROSSROADS
1985
BREWSTERS’ MILLIONS
1984
STREETS OF FIRE *
1982
48 HRS.*
1981
SOUTHERN COMFORT*
1980
THE LONG RIDERS*
1979
LES GUERRIERS DE LA NUIT (THE WARRIORS)*
1978
DRIVER (THE DRIVER)*
1975
HARD TIMES*
* Also screenwriter
Producer
2012
PROMETHEUS by Ridley Scott
2007
ALIENS VS PREDATOR : REQUIEM by Colin & Greg Strause
2006
BROKEN TRAIL by Walter Hill - TV
2004
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR by Paul W.S. Anderson
2002
UNDISPUTED by Walter Hill
1997
ALIEN : RESURRECTION by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
1996
LAST MAN STANDING by Walter Hill
1993
GERONIMO by Walter Hill
1992
ALIEN 3 by David Fincher
1988
RED HEAT by Walter Hill
1986
ALIENS by James Cameron
BLUE CITY by Michelle Manning
1985
RUSTLERS’ RHAPSODY by Hugh Wilson
1979
ALIEN by Ridley Scott
LES GUERRIERS DE LA NUIT (THE WARRIORS) by Walter Hill
