Anthony Minghella 1954-2008

19-03-2008 14:45

The movie world is once again coming to terms with an untimely death after British filmmaker Anthony Minghella passed away aged just 54.The director suffered a haemorrhage just days after undergoing surgery for cancer of the neck and tonsils.He began his career in the theatre during the mid seventies working on the stage version of Mobius the Stripper before moving into television. During the eighties he worked on Magpie, a teen based show to rival Blue Peter, before going on to become script editor on long running drama Grange Hill.He made his full length feature debut in 1990 with Truly, Madly, Deeply, a drama he directed and wrote starring Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson, for the BBC.The film kick started his career as he received a BAFTA award for Best Original Screenplay.

1993 saw him move from television to cinema with his debut, a romantic comedy, Mr Wonderful starring Matt Dillon and Annabella Sciorra.

But it was his work on 1996's The English Patient that grabbed the attention of Hollywood, and the film he is perhaps best known for.

Set in World War Two horribly scarred, amnesiac mapmaker (Ralph Fiennes) is found by Bedouins in the desert and then transported to Italy.

When Allied nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche) devotes herself to caring for the mysterious patient in an abandoned monastery, his story of a intense love affair with a colleague's wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) begins to unfold in a series of flashbacks.

Hana, meanwhile, faces her own demons and explores her attraction to a Sikh bomb expert (Naveen Andrews).

Tensions escalate at the monastery following the appearance of Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), a thumbless thief who knows the identity of the mysterious patient.

The film received critical acclaim, re-establishing British filmmaking in America, and was nominated for twelve OScars.

It went on to win nine including Best Picture and Best Director for Minghella.

More success followed with The Talented Mr Ripley in 1999 with a stellar cast of Jude Law, Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett it too gained Oscar recognition with five nominations including Best Adapted Screenplay for the director.

Minghella was to team up again with Jude Law in 2003 on American Civil War epic Cold Mountain, a movie which won Renee Zellweger an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as well as a second nomination for Law.

A third Minghella/Law collaboration came with 2006's Breaking and Entering which was shot in King's Cross.

As well as directing Minghella was also heavily involved in the producing of several movies, taking on the executive role on Iris, The Quiet American, The Interpreter and Michael Clayton.

Away from the big screen he was a keen lover of music and went on to direct an operatic production of Madame Butterfly at the English National Opera.

For what has proved to be his final project Minghella has returned to television with an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel The No1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which is due to be screened this weekend.

Over the years Anthony Minghella has cemented himself as one of the most talented and visionary British filmmakers. A man who had so much more to give has had his career cut tragically short.

Anthony Minghella is survived by his wife Carolyn Choa, daughter Hannah and son Max.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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