Norman J. Warren
Norman J. Warren | |
---|---|
Born |
London, England, United Kingdom | 25 June 1942
Occupation | Film director, editor, producer |
Years active | 1959 – 1987 |
Notable work |
Satan's Slave (1976) Prey (1977) Terror (1978) Spaced Out (1979) Inseminoid (1981) |
Style |
Horror Science fiction Sex comedy |
Norman John Warren (born 25 June 1942 in London, England) is an English film director best known for such 1970s horror films as Satan's Slave (1976), Prey (1977) and Terror (1978).[1] Warren is also known for sex comedies such as Spaced Out (also known as Outer Spaced and Outer Touch, 1979).[2][3][4][5]
Along with Peter Walker, Warren's films are sometimes dubbed "New Wave" British horror, on the basis that they upped the ante in terms of explicitness, were set in modern-day 1970s Britain and centred on young protagonists of ages between 20 and 30, distinguishing them from the period piece horrors of Hammer Films that had appeared before.
Career
An avid film fan from childhood, Warren entered the film industry as a runner on The Millionairess (1960) and as an assistant director (The Dock Brief, 1962) before directing the short film Fragment in 1965. Calcutta-born Bachoo Sen (1934–2002), owner of the Astral Cinema in Brewer Street, London, who had an interest in film production, saw Fragment and subsequently hired Warren to direct two feature-length sex films, Her Private Hell (1968) and Loving Feeling (1969). Both were successes, but Warren saw little of the profits.
Not wanting to be typecast as a director of sex films, Warren turned down a third directing offer from Sen (which would have been 1970's Love is a Splendid Illusion) and had to wait several years to raise the money required to make Satan's Slave (1976), the first of a series of horror films that he would direct. Warren's final two films, Bloody New Year and Gunpowder (both 1987), were hampered by low budgets imposed by producer Maxine Julius.
Although Warren has not directed a feature film since 1987, he continues to work in the industry directing music videos and educational short films such as Person to Person, a BBC film designed for students of English. His horror films have developed a cult following, culminating in the making of Evil Heritage, a 1999 documentary about his work, and the release of a DVD box set in 2004.
In 2007 Warren worked on the supplementary features for the Region 1 DVD releases of Corridors of Blood (1958), The Haunted Strangler (1958) and First Man into Space (1959). He is a regular guest at Manchester's Festival of Fantastic Films.
Filmography
- Incident (1959, completed 2007) (director, editor)
- The Millionairess (1960) (runner)
- The Dock Brief (1962) (third assistant director)
- Shellarama (1965) (assistant editor)
- Fragment (1965) (director, editor)
- Night of the Generals (1966) (third assistant director)
- The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967) (third assistant director)
- Her Private Hell (1968) (director, editor)
- Loving Feeling (1969) (director, editor)
- Rod the Mod (1970) (assistant editor)
- Oink! (1970) (editor)
- Satan's Slave (1976) (director, editor)
- Prey (1977)
- Terror (1978) (director, sound editor)
- Spaced Out (a.k.a. Outer Touch and Outer Spaced, 1979)
- Inseminoid (a.k.a. Horror Planet, 1981)
- Warbirds Air Display (1984) (director, editor)
- Person to Person (1985)
- Gunpowder (1986)
- Bloody New Year (1987)
- Meath School (1992) (producer, director)
- Buzz (1993) (director, editor)
- Doing Rude Things (1995) (interviewee)
- Evil Heritage (1999) (interviewee, subject)
- Christopher Lee: a Life in Films (2003) (post-production supervisor)
- Corridor Gossip (2007)
- Haunted Memories (2007)
- Making Space (2007)
- Horror Icon (2007) (interviewee)
- Into the Dark: Exploring the Horror Film (2008) (interviewee)
- Norman J. Warren Presents: Horrorshow (2008) (host)
- Grave Tales (2009) (promotional director)
- Slice and Dice: The Slasher Film Forever (2010) (interviewee)
- Daddy Cross (2011) (voice-over)
Bibliography
- Gods In Polyester, or, a Survivors' Account of 70's Cinema Obscura (2004, Succubus Press) (contributed pieces on Satan's Slave, Prey, Terror and Inseminoid)
- Gods In Spandex, or, a Survivors' Account of 80's Cinema Obscura (2007, Succubus Press) (contributed pieces on Bloody New Year and Gunpowder)
References
- ↑ "The New York Times Profile". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
- ↑ "Spaced Out, a Comedy". The New York Times. 1981-12-12. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
- ↑ Sheridan, Simon (2007). Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema (3rd edition) (Reynolds & Hearn). ISBN 1-903111-92-7
- ↑ McGillivray, David (1992). Doing Rude Things: the History of the British Sex Film, 1957-1981 (Sun Tavern Fields).
- ↑ Fenton, Harvey (2001). Ten Years of Terror: British Horror Films of the 1970s (FAB Press, Guildford).
External links
- Norman J. Warren at the Internet Movie Database
- Norman J. Warren at AllMovie
- Blood, Breasts, Beasts and British Cinema: an Interview with Cult Film Director Norman J. Warren at Rock! Shock! Pop!
- Interview at Fangoria.com, Part 1
- Interview at Fangoria.com, Part 2
- Norman J. Warren Interviewed At Rock! Shock! Pop!
- Interview at CinemaNocturna.com
- Interview at EatMyBrains.com
- Interview at HollywoodInvestigator.com
- Article about Inseminoid
- Article about Gunpowder
- Podcast (MP3)
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