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John Irvin (born 7 May 1940) is an English film director. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, he began his career by directing a number of documentaries and television works, including the BBC adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He made several Hollywood films in the 1980s, including The Dogs of War (1980), Ghost Story (1981) and Hamburger Hill (1987).
Irvin is a graduate of London Film School.
In the 1980s, Irvin made The Dogs of War (1980), starring Christopher Walken, which depicted a mercenary team attacking an country. After that, Irvin made the horror film Ghost Story (1981), an adaptation of Peter Straub's novel. Irvin's other films from that period include Champions (1984), starring John Hurt and Turtle Diary (1985), a romantic-comedy film based on the novel of the same name that starred Glenda Jackson and Ben Kingsley. The story tells of a lonely man and woman from London who help a couple of turtles escape from a zoo. Soon afterwards, Irvin made Raw Deal (1986), an action movie film, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger about an FBI agent who extracts a bloody revenge against a American Mafia organisation. After that, Irvin's next film was the Vietnam War story Hamburger Hill (1987), about a violent close-quarters battle in which US soldiers attacked a well-fortified North Vietnamese Army position. Irvin then directed Next of Kin (1989), an action film starring Patrick Swayze about a police officer who starts a clan feud against a Mafia family to exact revenge for his brother's death.
In the 1990s, Irvin directed Eminent Domain (1990), starring Donald Sutherland and Anne Archer. After that, he made Robin Hood (1991), which starred Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman. Irvin's other films from the 1990s include Freefall (1994), Widows' Peak (1994), A Month by the Lake (1995), Crazy Horse (1996), the acclaimed City of Industry (1997), starring Harvey Keitel and Timothy Hutton, When Trumpets Fade (1998) and Noah's Ark (1999).
In the 2000s, Irvin directed Shiner (2000), which starred Michael Caine. The story tells about a boxing promoter searching for his son's killer. Irvin then directed The Fourth Angel (2001), an action film starring Jeremy Irons and Forest Whitaker. Irvin's other films from the 2000s include The Boys from County Clare (2003), Dot.Kill (2004), (2005) and The Moon and the Stars (2007). Irvin released The Garden of Eden (2008), starring Mena Suvari and Jack Huston.
Irvin appears as himself in the documentary feature The Writer with No Hands (2014), talking about the screenwriter Gary DeVore with whom he worked on The Dogs of War and Raw Deal.
Irvin's next film was the biopic Mandela's Gun (2016), relating Nelson Mandela's times as a guerrilla fighter.
Filmography
1980 1981 1984 1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1991 1994 Widows' Peak 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2005 2007 2008 2016
Honours
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