John Mackenzie

Directing

John Mackenzie

Born August 16, 1932 · Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Died June 8, 2011 · aged 78

John Mackenzie was a Scottish film director perhaps best known for the 1980 gangster film The Long Good Friday. Born in Edinburgh, Mackenzie worked in British film from the late 1960s, first as an assistant director to Ken Loach on productions such as Up the Junction and Cathy Come Home, before becoming an independent director himself, going on to work in both the UK and the US.

Known For

The Long Good FridayThe Long Good Friday · 1980
The Long Good Friday
★ 7.21980
MovieCrimeThriller
In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
The Fourth ProtocolThe Fourth Protocol · 1987
The Fourth Protocol
★ 6.31987
MovieActionThriller
Led by Kim Philby, Plan Aurora is a plan that breaches the top-secret Fourth Protocol and turns the fears that shaped it into a living nightmare. A crack Soviet agent, placed under cover in a quiet English country town, begins to assemble a nuclear bomb, whilst an MI5 agent attempts to prevent its detonation.
The Honorary ConsulThe Honorary Consul · 1983
The Honorary Consul
★ 5.81983
MovieActionDrama
Set in a small politically unstable Latin American country, the story follows the half English and half Latino Dr. Eduardo Plarr, who left his home to find a better life. Along the way he meets an array of people, including British Consul Charley Fortnum, a representative in Latin America who is trying to keep Revolution from occurring. He is also a remorseful alcoholic. Another person the doctor meets is Clara, whom he immediately falls in love with, but there is a problem: Clara is Charley's wife.
The Last of the FinestThe Last of the Finest · 1990
The Last of the Finest
★ 5.81990
MovieCrime
An elite group of vice cops are fired from the L.A.P.D. for being over-zealous in their war against drugs. It is immediately apparent that some of their superiors are involved in the drug ring. Banded together, four of the banned cops (which quickly becomes three when one is killed early) band together to fight the drug ring undercover. They gain capital for weapons by ripping off minor drug dealers. Then well-armed they go after the kingpin (Boyd).
The InfiltratorThe Infiltrator · 1995
The Infiltrator
★ 6.51995
MovieTV MovieThriller
In the early 1990s, an Israeli freelance journalist travels to Germany and uncovers a dangerously pervasive underground Neo-Nazi faction intent on bringing Nazism back to the forefront in Germany.
Act of VengeanceAct of Vengeance · 1986
Act of Vengeance
★ 5.61986
MovieDramaCrime
In 1969, an administrator runs against the corrupt president of the United Coal Miners Union, and becomes the target of a murder plot.
Unman, Wittering and ZigoUnman, Wittering and Zigo · 1971
Unman, Wittering and Zigo
★ 6.81971
MovieMysteryThriller
A new schoolteacher learns that the previous teacher was killed by his students, and he fears the same fate will befall him.
The InnocentThe Innocent · 1985
The Innocent
★ 6.71985
MovieDramaTV Movie
A young Yorkshire boy struggles to come to grips with squabbling parents, a doctor who wants to institutionalize him because of his epilepsy, and a mother who refuses to accept that he is different in any way – and that is only the half of it. The boy, Tim, also acts as a go-between for his friend Carns, who is having an affair with a married woman. Eventually, things start to sort themselves out, and Tim sees life getting more interesting when he and his friend Win slowly get a relationship going.

Filmography

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The Late ShowThe Late Show · 1988
The Late Show
★ 3.81988
Series
The Late Show is a British television arts magazine programme that was broadcast on BBC Two weeknights at 11.15pm—directly after Newsnight—often referred to as the "graveyard slot" in terms of television scheduling. The series was commissioned by BBC Two Controller Alan Yentob, who had a background in serious arts documentaries, but the production team — led by Michael Jackson. The series combined a number of format elements from earlier BBC arts magazine programmes such as Monitor and Late Night Line-Up. With the cancellation of The Old Grey Whistle Test the series became one of the few spaces on BBC television for live music performances. The series originally featured a round-table discussion hosted by Clive James on Friday nights. However this format was dropped after the second season. The show pulled in heavyweight popular music acts live or pre-recorded, including Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Public Enemy, Joni Mitchell, The Stone Roses, Dick Dale, and Jeff Buckley.