Peter Weir

December 2, 1996

Australian director Peter Weir was born in Sydney, on August 8, 1944. He started in cinema as an assistant cameraman and production designer. His pictures from Austrailia during the 1970's and early 1980's have broken new ground in international cinema. His first feature was the black comedy, The Cars That Ate Paris (1974), followed by the Gothic period tale, Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). By the time he did The Last Wave (1977), he was already gaining American attention. With the war film Gallipolli (1981) and the Oscar winning The Year of Living Dangerously (1983), Weir grabbed the attention of Hollywood producers.

In Hollywood, his critically acclaimed-box office hit, Witness (1985), earned him a chance to make more ambitious productions. The Paul Theroux adaptation, The Mosquito Coast (1986); the popular poetic film, Dead Poets Society (1989); and the semi-popular cult comedy, Green Card (1990). During the first half of Weir's career, he introduced the cinema world to the wilderness and dirty secrets of Australia, it's culture and it's politics. The second half has been based on making good Hollywood entertainment while sticking to his Australian roots.

My rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 7

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