One of the most underrated directors of all time, IMO. He made only about 40-odd films, but most of them were truly fantastic. A lot of my favorites of the golden years have come from the direction of this guy.
Although he won Oscars for The Sound of Music and West Side Story, and was nominated for his superb editing of Citizen Kane, his works in the horror genre are no less than legendary. A no-nonsense filmmaker, his films were mostly story-driven, hence they were such huge entertainers. No wonder he was the first choice to direct the first ever motion picture of Star Trek, after it enjoyed such a huge popular run on TV through the 70s.
I recently revisited one of my all-time faves, The Andromeda Strain, and it made me very nostalgic about Wise. Even though today most newbies in the genre have very little idea about who he is, Robert Wise is a legend. A real milestone in our genre, if there ever was one.
Let's take a minute out to salute the very excellent, very under-the-radar, wonderful filmmaker - Robert Wise.
(Selected Works)
- The Curse of the Cat People
- The Body Snatcher
- The Day The Earth Stood Still
- The Haunting
- The Andromeda Strain
- Audrey Rose
My favorite work of his would be undoubtedly, The Haunting. Followed closely by The Day The Earth Stood Still, with The Body Snatcher coming in a close third.