John Glen (born 15 May 1932) is a retired English film director and editor. He is best known for his work on the James 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, the most by any director.
Life and career
Glen had his start in the film-making industry as a messenger boy in 1945. By the late 1940s, he was working in the visual and sound editorial departments of Shepperton Studios for films produced by Alexander Korda, such as The Third Man (1949) and The Wooden Horse (1950). Moving up the ranks, Glen made his picture editorial debut on a documentary series titled Chemistry for Six Forms in 1961, and his directorial debut on the TV series Man in a Suitcase in 1968 (directing the episode "Somebody Loses, Somebody ... Wins?").
During the 1960s and 1970s, Glen served as a film editor and second unit director, working on such films as Superman (1978) and The Wild Geese (1978); he also contributed to three James Bond films: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). Following the release of Moonraker, Glen was promoted to the rank of official director of the series; he went on to direct all five Bond films of the 1980s. He is the most prolific director of the series to date, with five films, one more than Guy Hamilton.
After Bond, Glen continued to direct, with credits including Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) and The Point Men (2001). He also directed episodes of the science-fiction television series Space Precinct (1994–95). In 2001, he published his memoir, For My Eyes Only.
Directorial style
Glen's films contain a recurring motif in the form of a startled pigeon that makes the actor (as well as the audience) jump;
By far his most frequent acting collaborator was Roger Moore, who worked with Glen on eleven films.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Director
! Editor
! Second unit<br>director
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1969
| style="text-align:left"| Baby Love
|
|
|
|-
| style="text-align:left"| The Italian Job
|
|
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|-
| style="text-align:left"| On Her Majesty's Secret Service
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1971
| style="text-align:left"| Murphy's War
|
|
|
|-
| style="text-align:left"| Catlow
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1972
| style="text-align:left"| Pulp
|
|
|
|-
| style="text-align:left"| Sitting Target
|
|
|
|-
|| 1973
| style="text-align:left"| A Doll's House
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1974
| style="text-align:left"| Gold
|
|
|
|-
| style="text-align:left"| Dead Cert
|
|
|
|-
|| 1975
| style="text-align:left"| Conduct Unbecoming
|
|
|
|-
|| 1976
| style="text-align:left"| Shout at the Devil
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1977
| style="text-align:left"| The Spy Who Loved Me
|
|
|
|-
| style="text-align:left"| Seven Nights in Japan
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1978
| style="text-align:left"| The Wild Geese
|
|
|
|-
| style="text-align:left"| Superman
|
|
|
|-
|| 1979
| style="text-align:left"| Moonraker
|
|
|
|-
||1980
| style="text-align:left"| The Sea Wolves
|
|
|
|-
||1981
| style="text-align:left"| For Your Eyes Only
|
|
|
|-
||1983
| style="text-align:left"| Octopussy
|
|
|
|-
||1985
| style="text-align:left"| A View to a Kill
|
|
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|-
||1987
| style="text-align:left"| The Living Daylights
|
|
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|-
||1989
| style="text-align:left"| Licence to Kill
|
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|-
||1990
| style="text-align:left"| Checkered Flag
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|-
| rowspan="2"| 1992
| style="text-align:left"| Aces: Iron Eagle III
|
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|-
| style="text-align:left"| Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
|
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|-
||2001
| style="text-align:left"| The Point Men
|
|
|
|-
|}
References
External links
- John Glen Biography on the "007 James" website (Retrieved 27 August 2012)
- John Glen Biography on the "MI6 The Home of James Bond 007" website (Retrieved 27 August 2012)
- You Only Live Splice: The Editing of John Glen documentary on John Glen's editing style on the "James Bond Radio" website.