John Glen | |
|---|---|
_in_2012.png) Glen in 2012 | |
| Born | (1932-05-15)15 May 1932 (age 92) Sunbury-on-Thames, England |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1948–2015 |
John Glen (born 15 May 1932) is a retired English film director and editor. He is best known for his work on theJames Bond series, firstly by editing a number of earlier James Bond films and then later moving on to direct a further five Bond films in the franchise.
Glen had his start in the film-making industry as a messenger boy in 1945.[1] By the late 1940s, he was working in the visual and sound editorial departments ofShepperton Studios for films produced byAlexander Korda,[2] such asThe Third Man (1949) andThe Wooden Horse (1950). Moving up the ranks, Glen made his picture editorial debut on a documentary series titledChemistry for Six Forms in 1961, and his directorial debut on the TV seriesMan in a Suitcase in 1968 (directing the episode "Somebody Loses, Somebody ... Wins?").[3]
During the 1960s and 1970s, Glen served as a film editor andsecond unit director, working on such films asSuperman (1978) andThe Wild Geese (1978); he also contributed to threeJames Bond films:On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969),The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) andMoonraker (1979). Following the release ofMoonraker, Glen was promoted to the rank of official director of the series;[4] he went on to direct all fiveBond films of the 1980s. He holds the record for directing the most number of films in the series to date, just one film more thanGuy Hamilton. The films are:
AfterBond, Glen continued to direct, with credits includingChristopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) andThe Point Men (2001). He also directed episodes of the science-fiction television seriesSpace Precinct (1994–95). In 2001, he published his memoir,For My Eyes Only.
Glen's films contain a recurringmotif in the form of a startledpigeon that makes the actor (as well as the audience) jump;[4] it is especially noticeable in his fiveJames Bond films. Variations exist; in some cases, the animal is a cat (A View to a Kill) or a monkey (The Living Daylights). As editor ofMoonraker, Glen was responsible for creating the "double-taking pigeon", an editing trick that makes it appear as if a bird inSt Mark's Square inVenice cannot believe its eyes when Bond's (Roger Moore)gondola transforms into a hovercraft. In addition, all of Glen'sBond films feature a character who dies by falling from a height, in a sequence commonly accompanied by the same "male scream" sound effect.
Glen often re-used actors in his films. In his autobiography, he states that he wanted to castTimothy Dalton inChristopher Columbus: The Discovery but that Dalton left the project before shooting commenced; Glen wonders whether – following an argument at the end of shooting onLicence to Kill – Dalton did not wish to appear in any more of his films. Several other cast members from the GlenBond films appear inChristopher Columbus: the Discovery; among them areRobert Davi (who played Franz Sanchez inLicence to Kill),Benicio del Toro (who played Dario inLicence to Kill), andMichael Gothard (who played Emile Leopold Locque inFor Your Eyes Only).
By far his most frequent acting collaborator was Roger Moore, who worked with Glen on eleven films.
| Year | Film | Director | Editor | Second unit director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Baby Love | Yes | ||
| 1969 | The Italian Job | uncredited | ||
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1971 | Murphy's War | Yes | uncredited | |
| Catlow | Yes | |||
| 1972 | Pulp | Yes | ||
| Sitting Target | Yes | |||
| 1973 | A Doll's House | Yes | ||
| 1974 | Gold | Yes | Yes | |
| Dead Cert | Yes | |||
| 1975 | Conduct Unbecoming | Yes | ||
| 1976 | Shout at the Devil | Yes | ||
| 1977 | The Spy Who Loved Me | Yes | Yes | |
| Seven Nights in Japan | Yes | |||
| 1978 | The Wild Geese | Yes | Yes | |
| Superman | Yes | |||
| 1979 | Moonraker | Yes | Yes | |
| 1980 | The Sea Wolves | Yes | ||
| 1981 | For Your Eyes Only | Yes | ||
| 1983 | Octopussy | Yes | ||
| 1985 | A View to a Kill | Yes | ||
| 1987 | The Living Daylights | Yes | ||
| 1989 | Licence to Kill | Yes | ||
| 1990 | Checkered Flag | Yes | ||
| 1992 | Aces: Iron Eagle III | Yes | ||
| Christopher Columbus: The Discovery | Yes | |||
| 2001 | The Point Men | Yes |
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