Personal Info
Birth date
1930-10-28 (94 Years)
Day of death
2016-12-22
Gender
Male
Known for
Directing
Place of birth
London, UK
Also known as
-Philip Saville
Biography
Philip Saville (sometimes credited as Philip Savile, born 28 October 1930, London) is a British actor who turned to television direction and screenwriting in the late 1950s. During the 1960s he directed several important television plays, such as Harold Pinter's A Night Out (1960) for ABC's Armchair Theatre anthology series, and the lost Madhouse on Castle Street (1963) for the BBC. The later production became famous as the first acting appearance of the American folk singer Bob Dylan, whom Saville had flown over to the UK specifically to take part in the play. Other notable programmes on which Saville worked included Out of the Unknown (1965) and the Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) for which Saville received a BAFTA to add to his earlier BAFTA for Hamlet. In film Saville directed The Fruit Machine (1988, released as Wonderland in the USA), Metroland (1997) and The Gospel of John (2003). Saville has been called one of the UK's top 100 directors of all time. He is active in film and television as of 2006, and has a masterclass studio in London specializing in dramatic improvisation. Philip Saville has recently completed a special documentary on Harold Pinter Pinter's Progress for Sundance international television channels and UK's Sky Arts. Saville is currently developing further arts programming with Sundance and British TV company 3DD Productions including Discovering Hamlet now in production. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nina Axelrod, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
The Wednesday Play
4.5
Overview:
An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.Playhouse
7
Overview:
A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.Play for Today
6.333
Overview:
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.BBC Play of the Month
5
Overview:
A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.The Buccaneers
6.063
Overview:
Because of their "new money" background, four American girls have difficulty breaking into the upper-crust society of New York. Laura Testvalley, the governess of one of the girls, suggests a London season and thus the young women set sail for England and the unsuspecting English aristocracy. In England, all the girls soon find eligible husbands and the youngest girl, Nan, seems to land the best husband of them all: the handsome and very wealthy Julius, Duke of Trevennick. The girls soon discover that English upper-class men are not at all what they expected and hoped for.Out of the Unknown
7
Overview:
Out of the Unknown is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Each episode was a dramatisation of a science fiction short story. Some were written directly for the series, but most were adaptations of already published stories. The first three years were exclusively science fiction, but that genre was abandoned in the final year in favour of horror/fantasy stories. A number of episodes were wiped during the early 1970s, as was standard procedure at the time. A large number of episodes are still missing but some do turn up from time to time; for instance, Level Seven from series two, originally broadcast on 27 October 1966 was returned to the BBC from the archives of a European broadcaster in January 2006.First Born
6
Overview:
First Born is a British television serial produced by the BBC in 1988. Charles Dance starred as genetic researcher Edward Forester, whose work leads him to create a man-gorilla hybrid, using sperm from an unknown sperm donor and cells taken from a female gorilla.Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale
7.2
Overview:
The only child in a wretchedly poor family in the Danish village of Odense, Hans Christian Andersen lives in a fantasy world. His hand carved dolls and puppets, his father's bedtime stories, and his own natural flair for fantastic tales brings the child temporary escape. It takes him all the way to Copenhagen where, he's been told, dreams can really come true.Boys from the Blackstuff
7.7
Overview:
Alan Bleasdale's five-part series relates the further experiences of unemployed Liverpudlian tarmac layers Dixie, Chrissie, Loggo and Yosser, and their revered older friend, retired longshoreman and union leader, George Malone. As they struggle to make ends meet in a depressed economy, and to hold together their financially battered families, they are harrassed by the petty bureaucrats of the DHSS. But the lumbering investigational juggernaut is, both comically and tragically, guided by drivers with only a provisional license.The Gospel of John
7.5
Overview:
A word for word depiction of the life of Jesus Christ from the Good News Translation Bible as recorded in the Gospel of John.My Uncle Silas
7
Overview:
In 1901, a middle-class schoolboy whose parents are working abroad spends his summer in Bedfordshire with his great-uncle Silas. Though 60 years old, Silas relishes life—he’s a womanizer, drinker, and a poacher. At the prompting of his long-suffering housekeeper, Mrs. Betts, he takes on the occasional odd job.Metroland
5.763
Overview:
In late-1970s suburban London, Chris and Marion have settled into a comfortable yet all-too-predictable middle-class existence. Chris receives an unexpected visit from his free-spirited friend Toni, a reunion that reminds him of a more carefree time in 1960s Paris. Now, with lingering doubts about his marriage bubbling up, Chris must make the choice between revisiting his youthful abandon with Toni or facing the here and now with Marion.Count Dracula
8.8
Overview:
Count Dracula is a British television adaptation of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It first aired 22 December 1977. It is among the more faithful of the many adaptations of the original book. Louis Jourdan played the title role.The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
6.8
Overview:
Ruth has everything. A large, warty body, a standard house in the suburbs, two whiney children, a dog, a cat and a guinea pig. She also has Bobo, her unfaithful accountant husband who resents her very existence. Bobo wants, and is wanted by, Mary Fisher. Mary Fisher lives in a lighthouse by the sea and writes about love. When Bobo leaves Ruth for the novelist, she decides that Mary Fisher doesn't know the first thing about love. Ruth intends to teach her.Count Dracula
7
Overview:
Jonathan Harker visits the Count in Transylvania to help him with preparations to move to England. Harker becomes Dracula's prisoner and discovers Dracula's true nature. After Dracula makes his way to England, Harker becomes involved in an effort to track down and destroy the Count, eventually chasing the vampire back to his castle.Fellow Traveller
4
Overview:
In the Golden Age of Hollywood, two men had it all; one was a top screenwriter, the other a film idol. But when the witch hunts of McCarthyism swept into Tinseltown, it drove one out of the country and the other to suicide.Discovering Hamlet
7
Overview:
Journey into "Hamlet"-the play and the man-through the experiences of some of the major actors and directors who have brought Shakespeare's great tragedy to life. Christopher Plummer, David Tennant, John Nettles, John Simm, Sir Trevor Nunn, Franco Zeffirelli, Philip Saville, and others explore the enduring appeal of the Prince of Denmark more than 400 years after his stage debut.To the Public Danger
6.1
Overview:
Four people with very different backgrounds meet by chance at an English pub and gradually become carried away in a bout of thrill-seeking. When their spree gets out of hand, each person faces a moral choice with lasting consequences.First Born
7
Overview:
Edward Forester is a genetic researcher, intent on breeding primate hybrids. But his experiments take a strange turn when he succeeds in breeding a human/gorilla hybrid. He hides the results of the experiment, adopting the child, and helps Gor to speak and blend into society. But Gor can't help being what he is, and tragedy and revelations are the ultimate result.Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501
6.2
Overview:
Diane and Greg Halstead were once happily married, even deciding to try and have a baby in later years, despite the fact that she had already suffered two miscarriages. She has no luck in becoming pregnant and this leads to an estrangement from her husband. On his latest flight, Greg, a professional pilot, finds out about a bomb threat. The person carrying the bomb supposedly wants to kill another passenger, a politician with an outspoken opinion on abortion. Unknown to the killer, however, the politician has already left the plane because it had an hour and a half delay. Greg decides to make an emergency landing in Dayton, Ohio, but during the heavy weather, the plane crashes, killing almost everyone on board.Max and Helen
6
Overview:
In trying to bring a former concentration camp commandant to justice, Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal uncovers the tragic story of two lovers separated by the war.The Fox Trot
NYR
Overview:
The first in a series of new plays. Arthur and Gwen, a cosy middle-aged couple, remember with nostalgia the pre-Motorway Britain of their youth. When Tom, an old friend, returns from voyaging the world their life takes a strange new turn.Family Pictures
7
Overview:
Nina Eberlin comes home to visit her now-divorced parents and while looking through a collection of pictures taken by her father and herself, she reflects on how the pictures illustrate the nature of families. She begins to tell the story of how her parents discovered their son Randall was autistic and how each reacted to that. Her mother had three more kids, all daughters, "the perfect children." The controversy over that and Randall's treatment pulls the parents apart. It also forces Nina and her older brother Mack to re-evaluate their relationship with each other and each parent.Contraband Spain
5.7
Overview:
An FBI agent goes to the French-Spanish border to round up some smugglers and counterfeiters after his brother is murdered.A Night Out
NYR
Overview:
Against the wishes of his domineering mother, Albert Stokes attends a work party. But the evening is not the escape he was hoping for.Wall of Silence
NYR
Overview:
A corpse is fished out of a north London canal with stab wounds through the eyes. The victim was a prominent member of the Hasidic Jewish community, and the cause of death one reserved by the Hasidim to punish "moysers" or informers.Shadey
4.4
Overview:
A young man discovers that not only does he have the ability to read minds, but that if he holds a camera next to his head he can transmit the thoughts he sees onto film.Hamlet at Elsinore
7.8
Overview:
The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. An historic BBC production taped on location in and around Kronborg castle in Elsinore (Denmark), in which the play is set.Little White Lies
3.5
Overview:
The tragic, unexpected death of David in a car-crash causes the cozy, safe life of gardener Beth to be thrown into complete chaos. In the aftermath, as Beth begins to pick up the pieces, worrying facts come to light about David's illegal deals with Oliver, the family solicitor, and his apparent long-running, illicit affair with Julia, Oliver's wife. In her distress and disbelief Beth digs deeper into her husband's private affairs and uncovers another layer of lies and deceit concerning Julia's mental stability and her friends' hollow, loveless marriage. Beth's anger and desperation for the truth about the husband she loved drives her ever on toward the truth behind tragic events of the past which lead inevitably towards further tragedy to come.Acting
1981The Journal of Bridget Hitler as Self
1960An Honourable Murder as Mark Anthony
1959The Great Van Robbery as Chase
1958Three Crooked Men as Seppy
1957The Betrayal as Bartel
1955Contraband Spain as Martin Scott
1954Bang! You're Dead as Ben Jones
1954The Night of the Full Moon as Dale Merritt
1954The Mirror and Markheim as Markheim
1953The Straw Man as Link Hunter
1953Murder at 3am as Edward "Teddy" King / Jim King
1948A Piece of Cake as Dinner Guest
1948The Blind Goddess as Mainwaring's Junior
1948To the Public Danger as Man in pub watching billiards game (uncredited)
1948Penny and the Pownall Case as Slim, Police Car Driver
Directing
2011Discovering Hamlet ... Director
2009Pinter's Progress ... Director
2003The Gospel of John ... Director
2002Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale (2 Episodes) ... Director
2002The Biographer ... Director
2001My Uncle Silas (12 Episodes) ... Director
1998Little White Lies ... Director
1997Metroland ... Director
1997Deacon Brodie ... Director
1995The Buccaneers (5 Episodes) ... Director
1993Wall of Silence ... Director
1993Family Pictures ... Director
1992Angels ... Director
1992The Cloning of Joanna May ... Director
1990Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501 ... Director
1990Max and Helen ... Director
1989Fellow Traveller ... Director
1988The Fruit Machine ... Director
1988First Born ... Director
1988First Born (3 Episodes) ... Director
1987Mandela ... Director
1986The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (4 Episodes) ... Director
1985Shadey ... Director
1983Those Glory Glory Days ... Director
1982Boys from the Blackstuff (5 Episodes) ... Director
1981The Journal of Bridget Hitler ... Director
1979Design for Living ... Director
1979Sam's Song ... Director
1978Rotten ... Director
1977Count Dracula ... Director
1977Count Dracula (2 Episodes) ... Director
1977Cork and Bottle ... Director
1976Meriel the Ghost Girl ... Director
1976Shuttlecock ... Director
1975Moss ... Director
1975A Dream of Living ... Director
1975Gangsters ... Director
1974Playhouse (2 Episodes) ... Director
1974The Actual Woman ... Director
1973Access to the Children ... Director
1972The Creditors ... Director
1972In the Beautiful Caribbean ... Director
1971O Fat White Woman ... Director
1971Secrets ... Director
1971The Fox Trot ... Director
1971The Rainbirds ... Director
1970The Long Distance Piano Player ... Director
1970Play for Today (7 Episodes) ... Director
1969The Best House in London ... Director
1968Oedipus the King ... Director
1966The Machine Stops ... Director
1966Exit 19 ... Director
1966Stop the World: I Want to Get Off ... Director
1965BBC Play of the Month (1 Episode) ... Director
1965Out of the Unknown (1 Episode) ... Director
1965The Logic Game ... Director
1964In Camera ... Director
1964Hamlet at Elsinore ... Director
1964Prisoner and Escort ... Director
1963Living Image ... Director
1963The Paradise Suite ... Director
1963The Madhouse on Castle Street ... Director
1962Afternoon of a Nymph ... Director
1960A Night Out ... Director
1956Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ... Director
Production
1995The Buccaneers (5 Episodes) ... Producer
1963The Madhouse on Castle Street ... Producer
1956Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ... Producer
Writing
1981The Journal of Bridget Hitler ... Writer
1974Playhouse (1 Episode) ... Teleplay
1972The Creditors ... Writer
1971Secrets ... Story
1968Oedipus the King ... Screenplay
1966Exit 19 ... Writer
1965The Logic Game ... Writer
1964In Camera ... Writer
1964The Wednesday Play (1 Episode) ... Adaptation