Christopher Miles (19 April 1939 – 15 September 2023) was a British film director, producer and screenwriter.

Personal life

Christopher Miles was born in London, England, the eldest of four children to Clarice Remnant (‘Wren’), a councillor, and John Miles, a consulting engineer, whose family had been in the steel industry for several generations. The names of two railway promoters named Miles are on a plaque in

Yarm Yarm-on-Tees, or simply Yarm, is a market town in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on a meander of the River Tees, extending south-east to the River Leven, North Yorkshire, River Leven and south to the village of Kirklevington. A civil parish i ...

commemorating the centenary of the

Stockton and Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near with ...

. At age 16, while still at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

(1953–57), Miles became the first person to show 8mm film on television (6 April 1957), at the invitation of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

’s children’s program '' All Your Own''. During this time he helped produce and write a variety entertainment, ''The Begmilian Show'', in which his sister Sarah Miles first performed publicly. At age 19, under suspicion of being a spy, he was imprisoned in Communist China for filming in

Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao (; zh, s=秦皇岛, link=no) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population d ...

. In fact he was making his first commissioned film for the owner of the Silver Line, and was released from prison after 20 hours of non-stop questioning. Miles' film footage, which was some of the first from behind the ‘Bamboo Curtain', was later sold to Movietone News. After six months at

Stewarts & Lloyds Stewarts & Lloyds was a steel tube manufacturer with its headquarters in Glasgow at 41 Oswald Street. The company was created in 1903 by the amalgamation of two of the largest iron and steel makers in Britain: A. & J. Stewart & Menzies, Coatbridg ...

Steel Works in

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

, he decided to study film direction at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques (1961–62) in Paris. During the summer vacation, he wrote and directed ''A Vol d'Oiseau'' (1962) a half-hour film, which was shown at Studio 28, a Parisian cinema. In 1967 Miles married the painter Suzy Armstrong in Chelsea, where they lived until 1993 when they moved to Wiltshire. Their daughter Sophie is a painter and potter. In 2009 Miles organized and raised funds for the restoration of the 1707 Royal Coat of Arms, in their local church. Miles was Patron of the

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

Society, and helped raise money in 2002 for a window in Westminster Abbey in memory of the great Elizabethan poet and playwright. He was also Vice President of the

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...

Society; as well as a committee member of Marbles Reunited, which was created to reunite the sculptures taken from the Parthenon temple in Athens by Lord Elgin. From her mother Clarice Remnant's father Francis Remnant, Sarah Miles claims to be the great-granddaughter of

Prince Francis of Teck Prince Francis of Teck (Francis Joseph Leopold Frederick; 9 January 1870 – 22 October 1910) was the younger brother of the British queen Mary of Teck, wife of King George V. Family Francis Joseph Leopold Frederick, known as "Frank", was bor ...

and thus a second cousin once removed of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Miles died of cancer in

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

on 15 September 2023, at the age of 84.

Career

Due to ‘''A Vol d’Oiseau''’ Miles was able to persuade the

Boulting Brothers John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...

to part finance his first 35mm project The Six-Sided Triangle (1963), which he wrote, directed and co-produced. The film was nominated for an Academy Award. After joining the Grade Organization,

Leslie Grade Leslie Grade (3 June 1916 – 15 October 1979), born Laszlo (or Lazarus) Winogradsky, was a British theatrical talent agent. In 1943, he co-founded the Grade Organisation (also known as Lew and Leslie Grade Ltd) with his elder brother, the impr ...

asked Miles to write and direct a film for

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

pop group. ''Rhythm ‘n Greens'' (1964) which was distributed as a supporting feature throughout the ABC Cinemas circuit. Grade then offered Miles his first feature film, Up Jumped a Swagman (1965) a surrealist musical comedy. At 26, Miles became the youngest feature director working in England, which position he held for another five years. Attracted to the French attitude to the cinema, and their ways of life, Miles made the Rue Lepic Slow Race (1967), and also filmed an original

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

screenplay A Time for Loving (1971) and later

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

’s ''The Maids'' (1975) for the American Film Theatre. ''The Maids'' was shown out of competition at Cannes in 1975. In 1969 he directed '' The Virgin and the Gypsy'' based on the

novella, which was voted the best film by both the British Critics Circle and the New York Press, and was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1970. It ran for 18 months in London’s West End and broke Box Office records in New York and established his reputation. The film, a

Dimitri de Grunwald Dimitri de Grunwald (born 1914 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, died 26 May 1990 at Hove, England) was a Russian-born British film producer, and the brother of producer Anatole de Grunwald. The two brothers assisted in the production of several films ...

production, was screened at Cannes in 1970, but wasn't entered into the main competition. Christopher Miles directs his sister Sarah Miles in 1980

As their film project on another D.H.Lawrence project 'The Plumed Serpent’ was postponed, Miles and his sister Sarah Miles could commit to do a theatre production in Chicago. The Chicago theatre producer David Lonn asked Miles and his sister Sarah to choose a play; They chose

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

’s comedy ‘''Skin of our Teeth''’ (1972), in which Miles directed both theatre and film-in-the-round. The same year the BBC arts program ''Full House'' asked Miles to join other directors outside the BBC to make half hour films of short stories from

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

. Miles chose Chekhov’s ''Zinotchka'' (1972), which was adapted by

Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg (born 6 October 1939) is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is the editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010, 2012–2023), and the presenter of the BBC Radio 4 documentary series ...

with

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress. An icon of the Swinging London, Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role of Meredith in the 1966 film ''Georgy Girl'', which starred Lynn ...

in the title role.

’s The Maids (1975) was directed by Miles who co-wrote the screenplay and filmed it in 10 days with

Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (9 May 1936 – 15 June 2023) was an English actress and politician. Over the course of her distinguished career she received List of awards and nominations received by Glenda Jackson, numerous accolades including two Academy ...

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...

and

Vivien Merchant Ada Brand Thomson (22 July 1929 – 3 October 1982), known professionally as Vivien Merchant, was an English actress. She began her career in 1942, and became known for dramatic roles on stage and in films. In 1956 she married the playwright Ha ...

for the American Film Theatre. It was shown out of competition in the newly created ‘Yeux Fertiles’ section at Cannes in 1975. A satire on the Common Market brought Miles and

together again for ''That Lucky Touch'' (1976) which was fully financed from European sources with de Grunwald's European Film Consortium.

David Ambrose David Edwin Ambrose (born 21 February 1943) is a British novelist, playwright and screenwriter. His credits include at least twenty films, four stage plays, and many hours of television, including the controversial mockumentary '' Alternative 3' ...

the writer, decided with Miles to re-work the plot of a script he had with

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

as if it was a documentary. ''Alternative 3'' (1977) caused a scandal with its supposed landings on Mars and prescient climate-change forebodings and was banned in the USA. Anglia's chairman Sir John Woolf, after the success of the film's worldwide sales, offered Miles the first of the ''Tales of the Unexpected'', then introduced by

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

. In "Neck" (1978) Sir

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

was cast as a butler for the first time. Eager to return to his idea for a film on the life of D.H.Lawrence, Miles collaborated again with writer

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. He is best known for the sitcom ''Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt'' and th ...

. Eventually a financier was found to back the project which had

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

in the lead. ‘''Priest of Love''’ (1981) was filmed in Cornwall, Nottingham, Oaxaca, Florence, and France in the houses where Lawrence actually wrote, painted and died. The film opened the London and the San Diego Film Festivals in 1981. While waiting for

Melina Mercouri Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a prominent political family for multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination and won a F ...

and ERT/Greek National Television to give him the go-ahead for his script on how Lord Elgin acquired the marbles from the Parthenon, he made three documentaries with Greek connections. ''Daley’s Decathlon''’ (1982) in which

Daley Thompson Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson, (born 30 July 1958) is an English former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times. He was unbeaten in competit ...

not only won the event, but broke the World Record enabling Miles to get the best film existing of the first athlete in history to hold European, Commonwealth and Olympic Gold medals simultaneously. Then Miles co-wrote and directed the ‘''Marathon''’ (1983) for Channel 4, and ‘''Aphrodisias - city of Aphrodite''’ (1984). Finally Jules Dassin, (Melina Mercouri’s husband) cleared the way for the docu-drama of ‘''Lord Elgin and Some Stones of No Value''’ (1985) to begin shooting on the Acropolis. On condition that Miles could continue making films, he accepted the Royal College of Art's invitation to run the Film and Television courses as ''Professor of Film and Television'' (1989–1993). However the promise proved unworkable, but the talented post-graduate students' films won the Fuji Prize twice during this period and were also televised. In 1997 Miles embarked on a 3-hour television series ‘''Love in the Ancient World''’ (1998), for which he also wrote a book on the subject, illustrated with his own photographs, as well as directing and co-producing the series. Filming took place over most of the Mediterranean basin, and in many European museums. Plato’s ‘Symposium’ was also enacted. This section was only broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk in Germany, but not in the US by A&E, where Kathleen Turner hosted a 2-hour version of the program. The 18th-century Stanway House in Gloucestershire provided the setting for Miles’ film version of the David Garrick and George Coleman's comedy of the ′''Clandestine Marriage''’ (2000) to a successful finale, which was completed in six weeks despite the producers' momentary lapse in funding. On 4 and 5 June 2010 the oldest cinema in Paris, Studio 28 in Montmartre, had a retrospective “Un Anglais de Paris" of 4 of Miles’ films with French connections. To celebrate the 28th Olympiad in Athens, Miles teamed up with ERT TV in Greece again, to examine the myths and truths of the modern Games in ‘''Fire from Olympia''’ (2004), which was re-edited and distributed as a DVD in 2012 for the London Olympics.British Video Association – Soda 117 - 2 July 2012

Publications

''Alternative 3'' - based on the TV film by David Ambrose & Christopher Miles written by Leslie Watkins First published Sphere Books Ltd (UK) - (1978) Reprinted (1980) Subsequently, published in Athens, Greece by Konidarin Press (1978) -USA Avon Books (1979) - Spain Ediciones Martinez Roca SA (1980) - Japan by Tama Publishing Co. Ltd., (1981) Reprinted (1990) – also see ‘Casebook on Alternative 3’ by Jim Keith ‘''Love in the Ancient World''’ written by Christopher Miles with John Julius Norwich First published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson UK (1997) Subsequently, published by St Martin's Press New York (1997) ‘Liebe in der Antike’ -VGS, Cologne,Germany (1997) Reprinted in paperback by Seven Dials UK (1998)

Filmography

* ''A Vol d'Oiseau'' (1962) * '' The Six-Sided Triangle'' (1963) * '' Rhythm 'n' Greens'' (1964) * '' Up Jumped a Swagman'' (1965) * ''Rue Lepic Slow Race'' (1967) * '' The Virgin and the Gypsy'' (1970) * '' A Time for Loving'' (1971) * '' Zinotchka'' - TV (1972) * ''

The Maids ''The Maids'' ( ) is a 1947 play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed. The play has been revived in Fr ...

'' (1974) * '' That Lucky Touch'' (1975) * ''

Alternative 3 ''Alternative 3'' is a 1977 British television mockumentary concerning government conspiracies. It inspired much speculation and interest by proponents of fringe ideas. Premise Purporting to be an investigation into the UK's contemporary " br ...

'' - TV (1977) * ''Neck'' TV (1978) * ''

Priest of Love ''Priest of Love'' is a 1981 British biographical film about D. H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda (née Von Richthofen) played by Ian McKellen and Janet Suzman. It was a Stanley J. Seeger presentation, produced and directed by Christopher Miles ...

'' (1981) * '' Daley's Decathlon'' - TV (1982) * ''Marathon'' - TV (1983) * ''Aphrodisias - City of Aphrodite'' - TV (1984) * '' Lord Elgin and Some Stones of No Value'' - TV (1986) * ''Cyclone Warning Class 4'' - TV (1994) * '' Love in the Ancient World'' - TV 3x1hr (1997) * ''

The Clandestine Marriage ''The Clandestine Marriage'' is a comedy by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick, first performed in 1766 at Drury Lane. It is both a comedy of manners and a comedy of errors. The idea came from a series of pictures by William Hogarth entit ...

'' (2000) * '' Fire from Olympia'' - TV (2004)

Awards

* '' San Francisco Film Festival USA'' - Best Live Action Short (nom) 1963 '' - A Vol d’Oiseau’'' * '' Academy Awards USA'' - Best live action short (nom) 1963 '' - Six-sided Triangle'' * '' Taormina International Film Fest'' - Best Film (nom) 1970 '' - The Virgin & The Gypsy'' * '' British Film and Television Press Guild'' - Won Best Film 1971 '' - The Virgin & The Gypsy'' * '' 29th Golden Globe Awards USA '' - Best English Language Foreign Film (nom) 1971 '' - The Virgin & The Gypsy'' * '' National Board of Review USA'' - Won Best film for 1971 '' - The Virgin & The Gypsy'' * ''

Laurel Awards The Laurel Awards were American cinema awards that honored films, actors, actresses, producers, directors, and composers. This award was created by the ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' magazine, and ran from 1948 to 1971 (with the exception of 196 ...

- Stars of Tomorrow (nom) Joanna Shimkus'' 1971 '' - The Virgin & The Gypsy'' * ''

- Stars of Tomorrow (nom)

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), which made him a pop cul ...

'' 1971 '' - The Virgin & The Gypsy'' * '' UK Video Awards'' - (Runner Up) - 1983 '' - Dailey's Decathlon'' * ''

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival had permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival bega ...

'' - Won Best Cinematography 2000 '' - The Clandestine Marriage''

Theatre

* '' Skin of Our Teeth'' (1973)

Related books

* ''The English Novel and the Movies'' - Gontarski, S.E. (Ed. Michael Klein & Gilian Parker) Frederick Ungar Publishing Co /New York - "The Virgin and the Gypsy" - An English Watercolor * ''D.H.Lawrence - Fifty Years on Film'' - Greiff, Louis K. (Southern Illinois University Press) 'Foxes and Gypsies on Film' * ''30 Ans de Cinéma Britannique'' - Raymond Lefevre & Roland Lacourbe, (presse de la Sipe) - editions cinema 76 * ''Cinema in Britain'' - Butler, Ivan (South Brunswick and New York: A.S.Barnes & Company London: The Tantivy Press) * ''Young Meteors'' - Aitkin, Jonathan (Martin Secker & Warburg (1967) Pages 241, 242)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Christopher 1939 births 2023 deaths Film directors from London People educated at Winchester College Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni