Silvio Narizzano (8 February 192726 July 2011) was a Canadian 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 pro ...

who worked primarily in the United Kingdom. His directorial credits included the critically acclaimed films ''

Georgy Girl ''Georgy Girl'' is a 1966 British romantic comedy-drama, starring Lynn Redgrave in the titular role, with Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, and James Mason. Directed by Silvio Narizzano, the film was based on the 1965 novel by Margaret Forster. ...

'' (1966) and ''

Loot Loot may refer to: Film *''Loot'' (1919 film), a film by William C. Dowlan * ''Loot'' (1970 film), a British film by Silvio Narizzano * ''Loot'' (2008 film), a documentary * ''Loot'' (2011 film), an Indian film * ''Loot'' (2012 film), a Nepali fil ...

'' (1970), which brought Narizzano several accolades, and television dramas like ''

ITV Play of the Week ''Play of the Week'' is a 90-minute British television anthology series produced by a variety of companies including Granada Television, Associated-Rediffusion, ATV and Anglia Television. Synopsis From 1955 to 1967 approximately 500 episodes a ...

, Zero One,

Court Martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of me ...

, Come Back, Little Sheba, Staying On,'' and ''The Body in the Library''. He was nominated for four

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

(including once for Best British Film), winning once for Best Drama Series.

Life and career

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

to a family of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

background, Narizzano was educated at

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, who ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. His cinematic influences included

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and '' Help!'' (1965), and the superhero films ' ...

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Tom Jones''. Earl ...

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films (''Darling'' an ...

, and the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of icono ...

. He initially worked for the Mountain Playhouse in Montreal and the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governme ...

(CBC). He then emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he directed various TV series and his first film,

Hammer Horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

's '' Fanatic'' (1965). Narizzano's most successful film was ''

'' (1966), which received four

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

nominations as well as a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film, and was entered into the

16th Berlin International Film Festival The 16th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June – 5 July 1966. The Golden Bear was awarded to the British film '' Cul-de-sac'' directed by Roman Polanski. Jury The following people were announced as being on the ju ...

. His other work included ''The Glass Menagerie'' for Granada TV (1963), ''

'', the 1970 film of

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

's play of the same name, the comedy-drama ''

Why Shoot the Teacher? ''Why Shoot the Teacher?'' is a 1977 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Silvio Narizzano and starring Bud Cort, Samantha Eggar, Kenneth Griffith, and Chris Wiggins. It is based on a book of the same name by Max Braithwaite. Plot The pl ...

'' (1977),

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the B ...

's debut film ''Choices'', and the

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

films '' Staying On'' (1980, adapted from Paul Scott's novel of the same name), "Young Shoulders" 1984 Play for Today for BBC from John Wain's novel and ''

The Body in the Library ''The Body in the Library'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1942 and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in May of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.00 ...

'' (1984, adapted from the

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

murder mystery Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

). His '' Come Back, Little Sheba'' (1977), a TV version of the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

William Inge William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...

, was broadcast as part of the anthology series ''

Laurence Olivier Presents ''Laurence Olivier Presents'' is a British television anthology series made by Granada Television which ran from 1976 to 1978. The plays, with the exception of '' Hindle Wakes'', all starred Laurence Olivier. Some of the plays were based on pr ...

''. In 1990 Narizzano directed a pilot for a British detective series: ''Inspector Alleyn Mysteries'' based on the novels by Dame Ngaio Marsh written in the 1930s. The pilot, titled "Artists in Crime", was first aired 23 December 1990 on BB1. From the 1960s, Narizzano divided his time between

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Mojácar,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. He suffered from recurring depression in adulthood, which worsened in the 1980s following the death of a long-term friend and collaborator, the scriptwriter Win Wells. Toward the end of his life, Narizzano was referred to a psychiatric unit which was part of a voluntary inpatient facility for complex depression and anxiety which provided practical and emotional support as part of St. Pancras Hospital.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Bibliography

*''The Macmillan International Film Encyclopedia'' *''Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Narizzano, Silvio 1927 births 2011 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Bishop's University alumni Canadian expatriates in England Canadian expatriates in Spain Canadian film producers Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian television directors Canadian television producers English-language film directors Film directors from London Film directors from Montreal