John Dahl (born December 11, 1956) is an American film and

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, best known for his work in the

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

genre.

Life and career

John Dahl was born in

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

, the second of four children (his brother is filmmaker Rick Dahl). Dahl spent his young life in and around Montana all the way up through his college years. His interest in film began at the age of seventeen, when he first saw ''A Clockwork Orange'', as told to Robert K. Elder in an interview for '' The Film That Changed My Life''. He first attended the Montana State University, and then transferred to Montana State University'
School of Film and Photography
where he received a degree in film. While at MSU, Dahl was a student of

Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. He made his film debut in ''R ...

. His first feature film at MSU was titled ''The Death Mutants'' made for $12,000. While at Montana State he played guitar in the punk rock band "The Pugs". He also met his wife, Beth Friedberg at MSU, and after graduation they both left Montana to attend the AFI Conservatory in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He entered the directors program and she entered the cinematography program. Dahl started his career as a

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and mark ...

and assistant director. He continued through the eighties making short films and directing

music videos A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...

and

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". '' AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

. Dahl's first two films were ''Kill Me Again'' and ''Red Rock West''. His third feature film was the crime thriller, '' The Last Seduction'' starring

Linda Fiorentino Clorinda "Linda" Fiorentino (born March 9, 1958 or 1960) is an American former actress. Fiorentino made her screen debut with a leading role in the 1985 coming-of-age drama film ''Vision Quest'', followed that same year with a lead role in the ac ...

. Fiorentino's performance in the film, although critically acclaimed, was not eligible to receive an Oscar nomination because it aired on cable television before its theatrical release. ''The Last Seduction'' also starred Dahl's former college professor,

Filmography

As Director

Film

Television

As Writer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahl, John 1956 births American male screenwriters American storyboard artists American television directors Living people Montana State University alumni AFI Conservatory alumni Writers from Billings, Montana University of Montana alumni Film directors from Montana Screenwriters from Montana