James Erskine

Directing

James Erskine

James Erskine is a British screenwriter, film director and producer. The Human Face (2001), which he co-directed, was nominated for the Outstanding Non-Fiction Special (Informational) Emmy Award in 2002.

Known For

MaidenMaiden · 2019
Maiden
★ 7.52019
MovieDocumentary
In a moving portrait of resilience, Alex Holmes chronicles the unprecedented journey of 24-year-old Tracy Edwards and the first all-female sailing crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race.
Skandal! Bringing Down WirecardSkandal! Bringing Down Wirecard · 2022
Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard
★ 7.42022
MovieDocumentary
Upstart payment firm Wirecard wowed the financial industry with its runaway success — until a tenacious team of journalists exposed massive fraud.
The Battle of the SexesThe Battle of the Sexes · 2013
The Battle of the Sexes
★ 6.32013
MovieDocumentary
Tennis star and women’s rights activist Billie Jean King won a total of 12 Grand Slam titles, but the biggest match of her career took place in 1973 against former men’s champion Bobby Riggs, a self-proclaimed male chauvinist pig who declared that, even at the age of 55, he could beat any woman in the world.
Pantani: The Accidental Death of a CyclistPantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist · 2014
Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist
★ 6.92014
MovieDocumentary
In 1998 Marco Pantani, the most flamboyant and popular cyclist of his era, won both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, a titanic feat of physical and mental endurance that no rider has repeated since. He was a hero to millions, the saviour of cycling following the doping scandals which threatened to destroy the sport. However, less than six years later, aged just 34, he died alone, in a cheap hotel room, from acute cocaine poisoning. He had been an addict for five years. This is the story of the tragic battles fought by the most important Italian cyclist of his generation; man verses mountain, athlete verses addiction, Marco Pantani verses himself.
The Flight of BryanThe Flight of Bryan · 2024
The Flight of Bryan
★ 8.02024
MovieDocumentary
Amateur cyclist and debt-ridden father join neuro-diverse team on madcap quest to achieve human-powered flight, winning aviation's top prize through ingenuity, courage and redefining society's outliers.
One Night in TurinOne Night in Turin · 2010
One Night in Turin
★ 6.22010
MovieDocumentary
Before the Premier League and multi-million pound salaries, in England 'football' was a dirty word. The game was in disgrace, the fans, hooligans, the nation, it seemed, were all played out. Then there was Italia '90 - The World Cup - a shot at redemption. But this was no ordinary World Cup and no ordinary time. The manager, Sir Bobby Robson, was under intense media scrutiny, and his team described as 'donkeys'. Yet over six short weeks, through their heroic exploits they united a nation, coming within a heart beat of reaching the World Cup Final. Narrated by Gary Oldman, featuring match action - from Platt's last-gasp winner against Belgium to the silky skills of Gazza and the cool finishing of Lineker - and previously unseen footage, this is the definitive story of England's greatest footballing adventure on foreign soil... so far.
Building JerusalemBuilding Jerusalem · 2015
Building Jerusalem
★ 7.22015
MovieDocumentary
After six weeks of gruelling competition, England battle reigning champions Australia. The two teams are inseparable after eighty minutes. Deep into extra time, there are just two minutes left on the clock. England rumble to within 40 yards of the posts. The ball is sent spiralling back to Jonny Wilkinson, the golden boy of English rugby, in a split second he drop kicks for goal and a chance for sporting immortality. It is an astonishing story of pressure, expectation and courage, tracing the roots of success back to the professionalization of the game in the 90s and culminating in that glorious World Cup campaign of 2003 that turned Woodward’s poisoned chalice into a golden cup.
EMREMR · 2004
EMR
★ 6.12004
MovieThriller
Englishman Adam regains full consciousness after a seizure - tens of thousands of miles from home - only to discover that someone has surgically extracted one of his kidneys. All roads lead to a shady drug company called Phenal, which Adam believes is plotting against him, systematically. As Adam's paranoia builds, he realizes that no one around him can be fully trusted.

Filmography

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One Night in TurinOne Night in Turin · 2010
One Night in Turin
★ 6.22010
MovieDocumentary
Before the Premier League and multi-million pound salaries, in England 'football' was a dirty word. The game was in disgrace, the fans, hooligans, the nation, it seemed, were all played out. Then there was Italia '90 - The World Cup - a shot at redemption. But this was no ordinary World Cup and no ordinary time. The manager, Sir Bobby Robson, was under intense media scrutiny, and his team described as 'donkeys'. Yet over six short weeks, through their heroic exploits they united a nation, coming within a heart beat of reaching the World Cup Final. Narrated by Gary Oldman, featuring match action - from Platt's last-gasp winner against Belgium to the silky skills of Gazza and the cool finishing of Lineker - and previously unseen footage, this is the definitive story of England's greatest footballing adventure on foreign soil... so far.

Director

Gold Diggers: The World's Biggest Bank RobberyGold Diggers: The World's Biggest Bank Robbery · 2006
Gold Diggers: The World's Biggest Bank Robbery
2006
MovieDocumentary
The well-organised gang built a tunnel that was an extraordinary feat of precision civil engineering. The team broke through a reinforced steel and concrete floor and then negotiated a route through the bank that meticulously avoided all security cameras. It was a crime that united all of Brazil, and the robbers became overnight heroes. But the robbery was perhaps too perfect and rival gangs smelled blood. It was the violence that broke out in Sao Paolo, Fortaleza and beyond that led the police closer and closer to the criminal mastermind they so fervently sought. This documentary tells the story of how the robbery was carried out and how the police moved to trap the criminals, ultimately resulting in a vicious and escalating cycle of bloodshed and murder across Brazil.

Director

OmnibusOmnibus · 1967
Omnibus
★ 7.21967
SeriesDocumentary
Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

Director