John Glen (born 15 May 1932) is a retired English film director and editor. He is best known for his work on the ''James Bond'' series, firstly by editing a number of earlier James Bond films and then later moving on to direct a further five Bond films in the franchise.

Life and career

Glen had his start in the film-making industry as a messenger boy in 1945. By the late 1940s, he was working in the visual and sound editorial departments of Shepperton Studios for films produced by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten ...

'' (1949) and '' The Wooden Horse'' (1950). Moving up the ranks, Glen made his picture editorial debut on a documentary series titled ''Chemistry for Six Forms'' in 1961, and his directorial debut on the TV series '' Man in a Suitcase'' in 1968 (directing the episode "Somebody Loses, Somebody ... Wins?"). During the 1960s and 1970s, Glen served as a film editor and second unit director, working on such films as '' Superman'' (1978) and '' The Wild Geese'' (1978); he also contributed to three ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

'' films: '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969), '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Following the release of ''Moonraker'', Glen was promoted to the rank of official director of the series; he went on to direct all five ''Bond'' films of the 1980s. He holds the record for directing the most number of films in the series to date, just one film more than Guy Hamilton. The films are: *'' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981) *'' Octopussy'' (1983) *''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

'' (1985) *'' The Living Daylights'' (1987) *'' Licence to Kill'' (1989) After ''Bond'', Glen continued to direct, with credits including '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' (1992) and '' The Point Men'' (2001). He also directed episodes of the science-fiction television series '' Space Precinct'' (1994–95). In 2001, he published his memoir, ''For My Eyes Only''.

Directorial style

Glen's films contain a recurring motif in the form of a startled

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that makes the actor (as well as the audience) jump; it is especially noticeable in his five ''James Bond'' films. Variations exist; in some cases, the animal is a cat (''

'') or a monkey ('' The Living Daylights''). As editor of '' Moonraker'', Glen was responsible for creating the "double-taking pigeon", an editing trick that makes it appear as if a bird in St Mark's Square in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

cannot believe its eyes when Bond's ( Roger Moore)

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transforms into a hovercraft. In addition, all of Glen's ''Bond'' films feature a character who dies by falling from a height, in a sequence commonly accompanied by the same "male scream" sound effect. Glen often re-used actors in his films. In his autobiography, he states that he wanted to cast Timothy Dalton in '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' but that Dalton left the project before shooting commenced; Glen wonders whetherfollowing an argument at the end of shooting on '' Licence to Kill''Dalton did not wish to appear in any more of his films. Several other cast members from the Glen ''Bond'' films appear in ''Christopher Columbus: the Discovery''; among them are

Robert Davi Robert John Davi (born 1953) is an American actor, singer and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing heavy Jake Fratelli in ''The Goonies'' (1985), ...

(who played Franz Sanchez in ''Licence to Kill''), Benicio del Toro (who played Dario in ''Licence to Kill''), and

Michael Gothard Michael Alan Gothard (24 June 19392 December 1992) was an English actor, who portrayed Kai in the television series '' Arthur of the Britons'' and the mysterious villain Emile Leopold Locque in the 1981 James Bond film '' For Your Eyes Only''. ...

(who played Emile Leopold Locque in ''For Your Eyes Only''). By far his most frequent acting collaborator was Roger Moore, who worked with Glen on eleven films.

Filmography

References

External links

*
John Glen Biography
on the "007 James" website (Retrieved 27 August 2012)
John Glen Biography
on the "MI6 The Home of James Bond 007" website (Retrieved 27 August 2012)
You Only Live Splice: The Editing of John Glen
documentary on John Glen's editing style on the "James Bond Radio" website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Glen, John 1932 births Living people Action film directors English film directors English film editors English-language film directors English male non-fiction writers English memoirists English television directors English television editors People from Sunbury-on-Thames