Carroll Ballard

Directing

Carroll Ballard

Born 1937-10-14 · Los Angeles, California, USA

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Carroll Ballard (born October 14, 1937, in Los Angeles) is an American film director. He started out making documentaries for the U.S. information agency, Beyond This Winter's Wheat (1965) and Harvest (1967); the latter was nominated for an Academy Award. He also made the documentaries The Perils of Priscilla (1969), and Rodeo (1970). He was second unit director on George Lucas' Star Wars for which he handled many of the outdoor desert scenes. His first solo directing job came when Francis Ford Coppola, a former UCLA classmate, offered him the job of directing The Black Stallion (1979), an adaptation from the novel of the same name by Walter Farley. He went on to direct Never Cry Wolf (1983), a film based on Farley Mowat's autobiographical book of the same name, detailing his experiences with Arctic wolves. He also directed the film Wind (1992). He later directed the film Fly Away Home (1996), which was nominated for an Academy Award for best cinematography. His most recent film is Duma (2005), about a young South African boy's friendship with an orphaned cheetah. Most of Ballard's films deal with man and his relation to nature and have a strong poetic streak. Description above from the Wikipedia article Carroll Ballard, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Fly Away Home poster
7.0

Amy is only 13 years old when her mother is killed. She goes to Canada to live with her father, an eccentric inventor whom she barely knows. Amy is miserable in her new life... until she discovers a nest of goose eggs that were abandoned when a local forest was torn down. The eggs hatch and Amy becomes "Mama Goose". When winter comes, Amy and her dad must find a way to lead the birds South.

Fly Away Home

1996

The Black Stallion poster
7.1

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

The Black Stallion

1979

Never Cry Wolf poster
7.0

A scientific researcher, sent on a government study: The Lupus Project, must investigate the possible "menace" of wolves in the north. To do so, he must survive in the wilderness for six months on his own. In the course of these events, he learns about the true beneficial and positive nature of the wolf species.

Never Cry Wolf

1983

Duma poster
7.4

An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.

Duma

2005

Wind poster
6.2

In 1983, yacht sailor Will Parker leads an American crew financed by millionaire Morgan Weld to defeat during the America's Cup race against an Australian crew. Determined to get the prize back, Will convinces Morgan to finance an experimental boat designed by his ex-girlfriend Kate's new beau, Joe Heisler. When the boat is completed, the Americans head to Australia to reclaim the cup.

Wind

1992

Nutcracker: The Motion Picture poster
6.6

In this Pacific Northwest Ballet performance, it is Christmas Eve and festivities are underway. Clara is excited when her godfather arrives with a bag full of gifts, one of which is an intriguing wooden nutcracker. That night, while the household sleeps, Clara visits the Christmas tree to inspect her nutcracker and soon finds herself immersed in a dream world both dark and enchanting.

Nutcracker: The Motion Picture

1986

Rodeo poster
6.1

Shot in four days during the 1968 National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma City, this lyrical documentary takes you inside the arena atop a 2800 lb bull. Watch Freckles Brown, a legendary cowboy, conferring with a young Larry Mahan, the previous year's champion and see crowd favorite Myrtis Dightman trying to hold his own in a dramatic ride. "Rodeo" shows the classic struggle of man against beast, a matter of life and death. Dick Rosmini's hypnotizing folk-fusion soundtrack and an intricate sound mix add to the climatic result.

Rodeo

1969

Harvest poster
7.5

A beautifully photographed record of the yearly cycle of planting and growth which culminates in bountiful harvests across the farmlands of the United States. Panoramic in its treatment, the film shows something of the diversity of farming and harvesting techniques, rapid transport to the distant consumer, university research to increase crop yields and industrial ingenuity in devising improved machinery to lighten the farmer's task and increase the productivity of the land.

Harvest

1967

Harvest poster
7.5

A beautifully photographed record of the yearly cycle of planting and growth which culminates in bountiful harvests across the farmlands of the United States. Panoramic in its treatment, the film shows something of the diversity of farming and harvesting techniques, rapid transport to the distant consumer, university research to increase crop yields and industrial ingenuity in devising improved machinery to lighten the farmer's task and increase the productivity of the land.

Harvest

1967

Harvest poster
7.5

A beautifully photographed record of the yearly cycle of planting and growth which culminates in bountiful harvests across the farmlands of the United States. Panoramic in its treatment, the film shows something of the diversity of farming and harvesting techniques, rapid transport to the distant consumer, university research to increase crop yields and industrial ingenuity in devising improved machinery to lighten the farmer's task and increase the productivity of the land.

Harvest

1967

Crystallization poster
7.0

Award-winning filmmaker Carroll Ballard’s cinematic science excursion into microcinematography and electronic music.

Crystallization

1974

The Perils of Priscilla poster
4.5

The adventures of a cat who endures the indignation of a busy family and the dangers of being lost in a big city.

The Perils of Priscilla

1969

Seems Like Only Yesterday poster
7.0

Interviews with a dozen California centenarians against a montage of present day media reportage.

Seems Like Only Yesterday

1971

The Hello Machine poster
NR

The Hello Machine is a short, wordless film-poem, in which the assembly of an electronic switching system is shown. It is a poetic musing on the connections between handwork and the act of communicating. The film chronicles the act of making and building the mainframe with human hands so carefully that it becomes a handcraft, like weaving or sewing.

The Hello Machine

1974

The Hello Machine poster
NR

The Hello Machine is a short, wordless film-poem, in which the assembly of an electronic switching system is shown. It is a poetic musing on the connections between handwork and the act of communicating. The film chronicles the act of making and building the mainframe with human hands so carefully that it becomes a handcraft, like weaving or sewing.

The Hello Machine

1974

Pigs! poster
6.4

Color UCLA Student Film, Preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Documentary sans commentary featuring only natural sounds of pigs feeding, scratching, fighting, snorting, digging, sleeping. Named Best Educational Film of 1967.

Pigs!

1967

No artwork available
NR

Color UCLA Student Film, Preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. A "non synch narrative poem" in which Ballard visualizes the life of a young woman, now in old age, left on a park bench with her memories.

Waiting for May

1963