
Directing
John Mackenzie
Born — Died
1932-08-16 — 2011-06-08
Place of birth
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Known for
Directing
Credits
38 titles
John Mackenzie was a Scottish film director perhaps best known for the 1980 gangster film The Long Good Friday. Born in Edinburgh, Mackenzie worked in British film from the late 1960s, first as an assistant director to Ken Loach on productions such as Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home, before becoming an independent director himself, going on to work in both the UK and the US.
Known for
7.2In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
The Long Good Friday
1980
5.5Running for seven weeks from July 2007, each week focused on a different genre, examining British film by genre. Presented by Jessica Stevenson the series featured over 200 exclusive interviews with leading actors and directors including Sir Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Kate Winslet.
British Film Forever
2007
6.3Led by Kim Philby, Plan Aurora is a plan that breaches the top-secret Fourth Protocol and turns the fears that shaped it into a living nightmare. A crack Soviet agent, placed under cover in a quiet English country town, begins to assemble a nuclear bomb, whilst an MI5 agent attempts to prevent its detonation.
The Fourth Protocol
1987
6.5In the early 1990s, an Israeli freelance journalist travels to Germany and uncovers a dangerously pervasive underground Neo-Nazi faction intent on bringing Nazism back to the forefront in Germany.
The Infiltrator
1995
5.8Set in a small politically unstable Latin American country, the story follows the half English and half Latino Dr. Eduardo Plarr, who left his home to find a better life. Along the way he meets an array of people, including British Consul Charley Fortnum, a representative in Latin America who is trying to keep Revolution from occurring. He is also a remorseful alcoholic. Another person the doctor meets is Clara, whom he immediately falls in love with, but there is a problem: Clara is Charley's wife.
The Honorary Consul
1983
6.7A young Yorkshire boy struggles to come to grips with squabbling parents, a doctor who wants to institutionalize him because of his epilepsy, and a mother who refuses to accept that he is different in any way – and that is only the half of it. The boy, Tim, also acts as a go-between for his friend Carns, who is having an affair with a married woman. Eventually, things start to sort themselves out, and Tim sees life getting more interesting when he and his friend Win slowly get a relationship going.
The Innocent
1985
Film credits
Series credits
5.5Running for seven weeks from July 2007, each week focused on a different genre, examining British film by genre. Presented by Jessica Stevenson the series featured over 200 exclusive interviews with leading actors and directors including Sir Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Kate Winslet.
British Film Forever
2007
3.8The Late Show is a British television arts magazine programme that was broadcast on BBC Two weeknights at 11.15pm—directly after Newsnight—often referred to as the "graveyard slot" in terms of television scheduling. The series was commissioned by BBC Two Controller Alan Yentob, who had a background in serious arts documentaries, but the production team — led by Michael Jackson. The series combined a number of format elements from earlier BBC arts magazine programmes such as Monitor and Late Night Line-Up. With the cancellation of The Old Grey Whistle Test the series became one of the few spaces on BBC television for live music performances. The series originally featured a round-table discussion hosted by Clive James on Friday nights. However this format was dropped after the second season. The show pulled in heavyweight popular music acts live or pre-recorded, including Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Public Enemy, Joni Mitchell, The Stone Roses, Dick Dale, and Jeff Buckley.
The Late Show
1988
Behind the camera
7.2In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
The Long Good Friday
1980
6.3Led by Kim Philby, Plan Aurora is a plan that breaches the top-secret Fourth Protocol and turns the fears that shaped it into a living nightmare. A crack Soviet agent, placed under cover in a quiet English country town, begins to assemble a nuclear bomb, whilst an MI5 agent attempts to prevent its detonation.
The Fourth Protocol
1987
6.5In the early 1990s, an Israeli freelance journalist travels to Germany and uncovers a dangerously pervasive underground Neo-Nazi faction intent on bringing Nazism back to the forefront in Germany.
The Infiltrator
1995
5.8Set in a small politically unstable Latin American country, the story follows the half English and half Latino Dr. Eduardo Plarr, who left his home to find a better life. Along the way he meets an array of people, including British Consul Charley Fortnum, a representative in Latin America who is trying to keep Revolution from occurring. He is also a remorseful alcoholic. Another person the doctor meets is Clara, whom he immediately falls in love with, but there is a problem: Clara is Charley's wife.
The Honorary Consul
1983
6.7A young Yorkshire boy struggles to come to grips with squabbling parents, a doctor who wants to institutionalize him because of his epilepsy, and a mother who refuses to accept that he is different in any way – and that is only the half of it. The boy, Tim, also acts as a go-between for his friend Carns, who is having an affair with a married woman. Eventually, things start to sort themselves out, and Tim sees life getting more interesting when he and his friend Win slowly get a relationship going.
The Innocent
1985
NRDuring Wakes Week in the Potteries, the factory is deserted except for three electricians on an emergency maintenance job.
Shut Down
1973
NRJohn and Helen have moved into a house in Brixton, sourh London. John then gets to know a couple of his neighbours, his next door neighbour, who is black, and a white neighbour and his young leather-clad son.
Talkin' Blues
1977
5.8An elite group of vice cops are fired from the L.A.P.D. for being over-zealous in their war against drugs. It is immediately apparent that some of their superiors are involved in the drug ring. Banded together, four of the banned cops (which quickly becomes three when one is killed early) band together to fight the drug ring undercover. They gain capital for weapons by ripping off minor drug dealers. Then well-armed they go after the kingpin (Boyd).
The Last of the Finest
1990
5.5Fact and fiction are combined in this story about Jack Ruby and a stripper, Candy Cane, and how they become involved in a conspiracy to kill J.F.K.
Ruby
1992
6.5The true story of Jimmy Boyle, who was reputed to be Scotland's most violent man.
A Sense of Freedom
1985
5.6In 1969, an administrator runs against the corrupt president of the United Coal Miners Union, and becomes the target of a murder plot.
Act of Vengeance
1986
A group of children play at being "Apaches" on an English farm, ignoring all safety precautions. One by one they die a variety of gruesome deaths.
Apaches
—
6.2Fact-based story about a 90's espionage case that was chronicled as the worst case of espionage in US history
Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within
1998
5.0The workaholic head of the compliance section of a New York bank flies to Monaco to investigate unusual deposits from an offshore bank and meets a down-on-his-luck international film star who has become embroiled in criminal activities.
Quicksand
2003
9.0Jake lives in the shadow of his dying grandfather, who was once the town's toughest hard man. Despite their hatred of each other, Jake's sole aim is to be as tough as the old man was. One day in Jake's life, as he drifts, drinks and fights, leads to a bleak realisation.
Just a Boys' Game
1979
NRMike comes home on leave from Ulster. After six years in the Army he has to decide whether to sign up again or not. His parents want him to leave the army and come home, but the family flare-ups and bickerings are not conducive to helping him choose.
Taking Leave
1974
5.0Fact-based story about Irish crime-investigating reporter Sinead Hamilton, who invaded the Irish underworld and attempted to expose the illegitimate activities she found. Hampered by the system, a police consort is ineffectual at aiding her despite trying to step outside of the normal bounds. Kevin McNally plays her husband, who hates her activities and the danger in which she places herself. Nonetheless, he grudgingly admires her persistence and encourages her investigation.
When the Sky Falls
2000
6.8A new schoolteacher learns that the previous teacher was killed by his students, and he fears the same fate will befall him.
Unman, Wittering and Zigo
1971
8.0The McCartney Years is a three-DVD set featuring music videos, live performances and other rare footage from Paul McCartney's solo career and Wings. The set spans the years 1970 to 2005 The first two discs comprise promotional films, from "Maybe I'm Amazed" (1970) to "Fine Line" (2005). Additional features include a documentary about his recent album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Creating Chaos at Abbey Road), a film about the Band on the Run album and a feature-length audio commentary from McCartney himself. The third disc includes seven songs from the 1976 Wings concert Rockshow, four songs from McCartney's 1991 appearance on MTV Unplugged, and eleven performances from his 2004 set at Glastonbury Festival. The live footage is also complemented by an optional commentary by McCartney. Other features includes his appearance at Live Aid in 1985, the Super Bowl XXXIX Halftime Show and interviews with Melvyn Bragg and Michael Parkinson.
Paul McCartney: The McCartney Years
2007
5.3Morgan and Catherine Norvell have their future plans ready. In Monte Carlo, their sailboat is stocked. From there they are going to sail to Malta and live on the boat for a year. They have bought some real estate with an old ruin of a hotel on it, which they are going to rebuild. A few days before they are about to start, they meet Gil and Ronnie Freeland. They would give anything to join them for a couple of days on the sea, and no sooner said than done, all four of them are enjoying the sweet life on the boat. The Norvells soon discover that it was a big mistake to invite them on board...
Voyage
1993
5.6When stowaways are found on board a Russian cargo ship, some of the officers and crew decide to dispose of them at sea. The last time they had a stowaway on board, the ship was fined heavily and black marks entered into their records, when he made it off the ship into a foreign port.
Deadly Voyage
1996
7.0The commanding officer of a regiment handling nuclear missiles is shocked to see his daughter Sally on television taking part in a student demonstration.
There Is Also Tomorrow
1969
8.4It's the day of the Orange Parade in Glasgow, but for Jon, the thrill of leading the parade and swinging the mace soon turns to horror as he learns the truth behind the costumes and songs.
Just Another Saturday
1975
8.0In their songs, comedy and exuberant music, a travelling theatre company give a fiercely polemic account of Scottish history, from the aftermath of Culloden to the oil boom. Their production before a live audience is intercut with filmed reconstructions of the Highland Clearances and the Victorian obsession with hunting stags.
The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
1974
A short film to warn children of sexual predators.
Say No to Strangers
1981
7.0This compelling emotional drama stars Carol White as a young single mother who finds herself caught between two people – a local priest and a folk singer – each of whom wants to convert her to his own worldview. An elegy to a younger generation looking for something to believe in, Made co-stars hugely influential folk-rock musician Roy Harper in his screen debut. Produced by Joseph Janni – who previously made the astonishingly successful Poor Cow with White – directed by The Long Good Friday's John Mackenzie and featuring new songs specially composed by Harper.
Made
1972
No synopsis available yet.
Paul McCartney - Take It Away
1982
7.2Bunny has told his wife he is working as a postman, but in fact is wandering the hills all day, wondering why he doesn't want to work. He meets Jody, an older man who has told his wife he's working in a factory, but is in fact doing the same thing. The two men spend a day of friendship together, but what does the future offer them? And tonight is supposed to be pay night...
The Elephants' Graveyard
1976
A daughter visits her father after being estranged for 3 years and schemes to destroy his relationship with another woman.
The Black Dog
1973
The life and passions of a speaker at Hyde Park Corner.
The Voices in the Park
1967
NRAnand, his pretty cousin and their sick uncle are stranded in Amsterdam where they receive an offer to take them to England.
A Passage to England
1975
10.0When an elderly woman is hospitalised, the truth behind her illegal adoption of 14 children is revealed.
Mrs. Lawrence Will Look After It
1968
7.5The story deals with the situation of a mature man, his mistress, his daughter and a young girl who comes into their lives.
One Brief Summer
1971
7.7Three men at three different times in history come to Mow Cop hill in search of sanctuary from their troubles. A Roman soldier, a medieval rebel and a 1970s young man. Somehow they seem linked through an energy within the hill and an axe. Is history doomed to repeat itself or can loving another person free them?
Red Shift
1978
NRMartin Ellis (Alan Dobie) is a blocked screenwriter who invites Helen, an actress (Kika Markham), to a hotel in central London to discuss an idea for a play he is writing with her in mind. As they discuss the play, Martin discovers that a businessman and an escort named Carol are sat at a nearby table and appear to be speaking lines from the as yet unwritten piece. Martin becomes anxious at what will eventually become of the girl, already knowing that the play will not have a happy resolution
Double Dare
1976

