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The death of famed, some would say notorious, British producer-director Michael Winner was announced today. His early comedies - including You Must Be Joking, The Jokers, I'll Never Forget Whatsisname - were promising enough, but come the seventies he had settled into a pattern of overblown thrillers which only served to offer him a cult status somewhere between being admired by trash fans and rejected as a purveyor of meretricious works.
Of these, Death Wish was a huge hit, and Winner directed two similar sequels, including the so bad it's good over the top fun of Death Wish 3. Other films included horrors (The Nightcomers, The Sentinel), Westerns (Lawman, Chato's Land), thrillers (Scorpio, Dirty Weekend) and disastrous comedies (Bullseye, Parting Shots - his final film). Also a restaurant critic and friend to the stars, as he was wont to remind many an interviewer. He may have been divisive, contradictory even, but he was one of a kind and many cult movie fans will mourn his passing. |
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