Philip Kaufman Biography
Born: October 23, 1936
Born in Chicago, IL, writer/director Philip Kaufman makes accessible American art films and stays out of the Los Angeles area, preferring the home base of San Francisco, working with his wife, Rose, and his son Peter. After studying at the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School, he taught English in Europe and began work on a novel. He got into filmmaking in the '60s after traveling to California to meet his literary mentor, Henry_Miller. His first two films were satirical comedies: Goldstein, co-directed by Benjamin_Manaster, and Fearless_Frank, starring a young Jon_Voight. During the '70s he reworked several great American genres with the Western The_Great_Northfield,_Minnesota_Raid, the whaling adventure The_White_Dawn, the sci-fi thriller Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and the coming-of-age drama The_Wanderers. During this time, he also received writing credits for the highly successful films The_Outlaw_Josey_Wales and Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the '80s, he turned to literary adaptations and began to craft his signature style of so-called American European films. The_Right_Stuff, adapted from Tom_Wolfe's novel about the astronauts of the U.S. Mercury 7, didn't do that well at the box office but won four Academy Awards and remains a fan favorite. He made his masterpiece in 1988 with The Unbearable Lightness of Being, adapted from the novel by Milan_Kundera and nominated by the Academy for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography. As an intellectual art film embraced by American audiences, it also offers fine performances from leads Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette_Binoche, and Lena_Olin. After a lifelong passion for the work of Henry_Miller, Kaufman adapted autobiographical writings of Anaïs_Nin into the film Henry & June, set in 1930s Paris. Despite fine production values and performances, the erotic drama had the unfortunate first-ever NC-17 rating. Kaufman briefly returned to mainstream commercial appeal with the Michael_Crichton adaptation Rising_Sun before heading out to Asia to help his son Peter_Kaufman with the documentary China:_The_Wild_East. In 2000, he directed the costume drama Quills, based on the play by Doug_Wright depicting the incarceration of the Marquis de Sade. It was nominated for three Oscars and won Best Picture from the National Board of Review. In 2003, he completed The_Blackout_Murders, starring Ashley_Judd as a police detective who finds herself a suspect. Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
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