born April 17, 1923, Bangalore, India
died Aug. 30, 1994, near Angoulême, Fr.
English critic and director.
He was a founding editor of the film magazine Sequence , and from 1948 he directed a series of documentaries, including Thursday's Children (1955, Academy Award). He coined the term "Free Cinema" for the British cinematic movement inspired by John Osborne 's play Look Back in Anger . His first feature film, This Sporting Life (1963), is a classic of the British social realist cinema. He directed several theatrical productions before making his next film, If... (1968). After directing the premieres of David Storey's plays, he went on to make such films as O Lucky Man! (1973) and The Whales of August (1987).