Hugh Hudson facts for kids

Hugh Hudson (born August 25, 1936 – died February 10, 2023) was a famous English film director. He was part of a group of British directors who started their careers by making documentaries and TV commercials. Later, they became very successful in making movies.

Hudson directed the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. This movie won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Picture. It's even ranked among the Top 100 British films by the British Film Institute. Even after making movies, he kept directing commercials, like the well-known British Airways face advertisement from 1989.

Early Life and Education

Hugh Hudson was born in London, England, on August 25, 1936. He was the only child of Michael Donaldson-Hudson and Jacynth Mary Ellerton. When he was six years old, he went to boarding school. He later studied at Eton College, a famous school in England. After his education, he served in the military for a few years.

Career Highlights

Starting in Film (1960s)

In the 1960s, Hugh Hudson spent three years editing documentaries in Paris. After that, he started his own documentary film company with partners Robert Brownjohn and David Cammell. Their company made several successful documentaries, including A for Apple and The Tortoise and the Hare. These films won awards and were known for their new and exciting visual style.

Hudson then moved into the world of advertising. He produced and directed many television commercials. He worked with other well-known directors like Alan Parker and Ridley Scott at a company called Ridley Scott Associates (RSA). His first job in feature films was helping to direct parts of Alan Parker's movie Midnight Express in 1978.

Big Movies (1970s–1980s)

Between 1973 and 1975, Hudson wrote and directed Fangio, A life at 300 km/h. This was a documentary about the famous race car driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

His first and most famous feature film was Chariots of Fire, which he directed from 1979 to 1980. Released in 1981, the movie tells the true story of two British runners preparing for the 1924 Olympic Games. One runner was a strong Christian, and the other was an ambitious Jew. The film was a huge success and is often credited with helping the British film industry become popular again. It won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Hugh Hudson himself was nominated for Best Director. His friend, the musician Vangelis, created the amazing music for the film, which also won an Academy Award.

A film critic from The New York Times said in 1981 that Chariots of Fire was "romantic and commonsensical, lyrical and comic." It was called an "exceptional film." Years later, in 2017, the film was shown again at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival to support Paris's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

After the success of Chariots of Fire, Hudson directed Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes in 1984. This movie also received four Oscar nominations and was popular with both audiences and critics.

In 1985, Hudson directed Revolution, a film about the American War of Independence. Later, in 2008, Hudson re-edited Revolution and added narration by actor Al Pacino. Many critics felt the new version was much better.

His next film was Lost Angels (1989), which was nominated for an award at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. This drama starred Donald Sutherland and Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys, and it was about troubled young people in California.

Later Work (1990s Onward)

In 1999, Hugh Hudson directed My Life So Far. A famous writer, Jean-Claude Carrière, described it as a "delightful bittersweet film" about a boy growing up. Hudson then directed I Dreamed of Africa (2000), which was the final film shown at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival that year.

In 2016, Hudson directed Altamira, a historical drama. It was about the discovery of the famous Spanish cave paintings. The film starred Antonio Banderas and Rupert Everett. The New York Times gave the film a very good review.

Hugh Hudson also helped produce Chariots of Fire, a stage play based on his famous film. This play was created for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In 2016, he also directed an opera called The Crucible.

Famous Advertisements

Hugh Hudson was also very well-known for directing commercials. In 1988, he directed a long advert for British Rail, which was a fun tribute to an old documentary. It even featured the voice of Sir Tom Courtenay.

Some of his other famous commercials include the 1989 British Airways "Face" advert, which was seen in over 80 countries for almost ten years. He also made adverts for Fiat Strada, Benson & Hedges, and Cinzano. In 2007, he even made a commercial for Silverjet that was a funny copy of his own British Airways advert! He also directed a political broadcast for the British Labour Party in 1987.

Personal Life and Passing

Hugh Hudson married painter Susan Michie in 1977, and they had a son. In November 2003, he married actress Maryam d'Abo, who is known for playing Kara Milovy in the James Bond film The Living Daylights.

Hugh Hudson passed away in London on February 10, 2023, at the age of 86.

Honours and Recognition

In 2003, Hugh Hudson received a special award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. This award is given to directors who have won the Grand Prix award more than once. Hudson won Grand Prix awards for his 1972 Levi's "Walking Behinds" and 1978 Coty L'Aimant "French Lesson" adverts.

In August 2007, a festival in France called "Un Realisateur dans la Ville" celebrated Hugh Hudson's work. They showed eight of his films over five days. In October 2008, his work was also honoured at the Dinard Festival of British Film, where five of his movies were shown.

Filmography

International Awards

• 1981: Cannes Golden Palm – nominated for Chariots of Fire
• 1981: Toronto Audience Award – Chariots of Fire
• 1982: Academy Awards – Chariots of Fire – Won Best Picture; nominated as Best Director
• 1982: Golden Globe – Won Best Foreign Film
• 1982: BAFTA – Won Best Picture for Chariots of Fire
• 1985: Academy Awards – Greystoke received 4 nominations
• 1985: BFI – Technical achievement award – Greystoke
• 1985: Cesar Awards – nominated for Best Foreign Film – Greystoke
• 1985: Venice Film Festival Lion d'Or – nominated for Greystoke
• 1989: Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival – nominated for Lost Angels
• 2000: Cannes Festival 2000 – I Dreamed of Africa was the closing film
• 2005: Taormina Festival – Award for Cinematic Art
• 2007: Cairo Film Festival – Silver Pyramid Award
• 2009: Prague Film Festival - Special award for contribution to cinematic art
• 2014: Bulgaria Sofia Film Festival - Award for contribution to cinema
• 2017: Serbia Film Festival - Victor award for cinematic art

Member of Jury

Hugh Hudson was also asked to be a judge (jury member) at many film festivals around the world, showing how respected he was in the film industry.

• Tokyo Film Festival (president) 1995
• Istanbul Film Festival (president) 2001
• Athens Film Festival (president) 2002
• San Sebastian Film Festival 2003
• Taormina (president and recipient of Arte award) Film Festival 2005
• Mar del Plata Festival 2005
• Tbilisi Film Festival (president) 2005
• Sarajevo Film Festival 2006 and 2008
• São Paulo Film Festival October 2008
• Marrakesh Film Festival November 2008
• Siberian Film Festival of Light (president) 2009
• Vologda Independent Cinema from European Screens Festival (VOICES Festival)(President) July 2011
• Bombay International Film Festival (president) 2011
• Tlibisi Film Festival 2016
• Lumiere Institution Lyon, France. Chariots of Fire and Fangio shown in weekend of sport in film
• Yerevan international festival ( president) 2017

See also

In Spanish: Hugh Hudson para niños