Sam Taylor-Johnson

Directing

Sam Taylor-Johnson

Born March 4, 1967 · London, England, UK (age 59)

Sam Taylor-Johnson (born Samantha Louise Taylor-Wood; 4 March 1967) is an English director and producer. She is best known for directing the films Nowhere Boy (2009), Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), and Love You More (2008).

Known For

Fifty Shades of GreyFifty Shades of Grey · 2015
Fifty Shades of Grey
5.92015
MovieDramaRomance
When college senior Anastasia Steele steps in for her sick roommate to interview prominent businessman Christian Grey for their campus paper, little does she realize the path her life will take. Christian, as enigmatic as he is rich and powerful, finds himself strangely drawn to Ana, and she to him. Though sexually inexperienced, Ana plunges headlong into an affair -- and learns that Christian's true sexual proclivities push the boundaries of pain and pleasure.
Back to BlackBack to Black · 2024
Back to Black
6.72024
MovieMusicHistory
The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.
Nowhere BoyNowhere Boy · 2009
Nowhere Boy
7.22009
MovieDrama
A rebellious teenager, future Beatle John Lennon lives with his Aunt Mimi in working-class mid-1950s Liverpool, England. Mimi's husband suddenly dies, and John spies his mother Julia at the funeral. Despite Mimi's misgivings, John intends to have a real relationship with his mother. Julia introduces him to popular music and the banjo and, though a family conflict looms, young John is inspired to form his own band.
DestrictedDestricted · 2006
Destricted
4.32006
MovieDramaRomance
A compilation of erotic films intended to illuminate the points where art meets sexuality.
A Million Little PiecesA Million Little Pieces · 2019
A Million Little Pieces
6.22019
MovieDrama
A young drug-addled writer approaching the bottom of his descent submits to two months of agonizing detox at a treatment center in Minnesota.
Love You MoreLove You More · 2008
Love You More
5.82008
MovieDrama
Two teenagers are drawn together by the Buzzcocks' single 'Love You More' during the summer of 1978.
James Bond Supports International Women's DayJames Bond Supports International Women's Day · 2011
James Bond Supports International Women's Day
4.42011
MovieDocumentary
This short film is made by 'We Are Equals' to celebrate International Women's Day. James Bond video for international women's day shows 007's feminine side. Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench team up for two-minute film highlighting the need for gender equality. 007 star Daniel Craig undergo a dramatic makeover as he puts himself, quite literally, in a woman's shoes.
Breach (Girl & Eunuch)Breach (Girl & Eunuch) · 2001
Breach (Girl & Eunuch)
2001
Movie
Reminiscent of Warhol, Breach depicts a girl in ever-heightening grief, but with the sound of her tears removed. The person inflicting her agony is also unheard and unseen, but has a tangible presence in the film. As emotion is taken out of context, the viewer is almost placed in the position of the aggressor. The tangible melts into the intangible and the other way around.

Filmography

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SighSigh · 2008
Sigh
2008
Movie
Sigh was made in collaboration with the BBC Concert Orchestra and features a score made especially for it by Academy-Award winning composer Anne Dudley. Dudley comments, 'When I was composing this piece I had in mind Sam's wonderful large photographs from her series Wuthering Heights. This gave me the sense of loss that would transform onto the members of the orchestra as they played without their instruments. I knew that the sound of each section had to come from the right screen and this allowed me to think about the music travelling around the room. Also, I wanted the listener to be able to move around the room and experience a different perspective of sound – very much like strolling through an orchestra. All the sections rely on each other to complete the soundscape and avoid a greater loss.' Eight-screen projection.

Director

Travesty of a MockeryTravesty of a Mockery · 1995
Travesty of a Mockery
1995
Movie
A 10 minute film that depicts a man and a woman having an argument. This domestic drama is enacted simultaneously on two separate projected screens—the man’s space is described by a chair standing against a blank wall, the woman’s by a fridge and a fragment of kitchen sideboard. Each participant is isolated within his and her own screen, the borders from one to the other being crossed by thrown objects such as a glass of milk or a frying pan and, occasionally, by one of the participants, who, unable to contain their rage, launches an attack across the divide. A soundtrack of tuning into a series of different radio stations accompanies the film, seeming to articulate the switching emotional tenor of the scenario as it moves through confusion, anger, sadness and resignation.

Director

Three Minute RoundThree Minute Round · 2008
Three Minute Round
2008
Movie
Three Minute Round depicts the Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, in the moments after defeating their rivals in separate championship boxing matches in Las Vegas and Berlin in 2008. Sam Taylor-Johnson isolated the world-famous Ukrainian boxers, known for their brute strength, speed and athleticism, in their dressing rooms immediately after each fight. She asked them to sit idly while she videoed their still bodies for 3 minutes. The brothers breathe rhythmically and slowly, in an almost meditative state, and we see them away from their public persona as all-conquering fighters. The vulnerability and humanity of the Klitschko brothers is allowed to come through in a way that echoes the depiction of another famous athlete by Taylor-Johnson, David Beckham. Dual screen projection.

Director