Cana genius also be a hack? In a commerce-driven society, the answer is obvious:yes, sometimes hackwork is a necessity. Director Sidney J. Furie, who gave theworld The Ipcress File as well as Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, speakscandidly about this in his new biography. As the author, Daniel Kremer,describes the director’s oeuvre, “a large portion of it was written for foodand shelter.”
InSidney J. Furie: Life and Films (University Press of Kentucky), Kremer laborshard to tie the strings together in a cinematic career as long as it wasvaried. During the 1950s Furie was Canada’s indie feature film pioneer. Movingto London in the ‘60s, he knocked out schlock (Doctor Blood’s Coffin) andsensitive human-scale films (During One Night). The success of his innovativespy movie, The Ipcress File, brought him to Hollywood, where he made Lady Singsthe Blues. But hanging around Hollywood led him to Iron Eagle II. Kremercatalogs the ways Furie has been described by film critics and historians:“wizened old hack,” “journeyman,” “industry stalwart on a woeful losingstreak,” “visual virtuoso,” “auteur” and “marginalized film artistunaccountably neglected by cineastes.” It’s all true.
Kremeradmits to being a fan of Furie. His book, the first full-length account of theaging director, was an opportunity to meet the man and his colleagues. IfKremer’s fandom sometimes causes him to rationalize fluff, it also led him tocompile an ultimately fascinating portrait of a gifted filmmaker in an industrywith slight patience for gifted artists. Movies gave meaning to Furie’s life.He will probably die while shooting his final film.
