Famed British filmmaker Hugh Hudson, whose first narrative feature “Chariots of Fire” took the Oscar for Best Picture in 1981, has died aged 86 following a short illness.
His family said in a statement that he passed away at Charing Cross Hospital in London on Friday. He is survived by his wife actress Maryam D’Abo (“The Living Daylights”), his son Thomas and his first wife Sue.
‘Chariots’ was nominated for a total of seven Oscars, including a best director nod for Hudson, and won best picture, score, writing and costume design.
Hudson’s death comes less than nine months after the film’s iconic composer Vangelis passed away. Together they are responsible for the one of cinemas most famous scenes – the opening sequence in which a group of runners all dressed in white run along the water’s edge of a very cold looking beach as Vangelis’ famed theme plays over them.
Hudson’s second film was “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan,” the Christopher Lambert-led take on Edgar Rice Burroughs classic novel “Tarzan of the Apes” which received three Oscar nominations. It remains widely hailed as one of the best Tarzan works ever created.
Other films he directed included “Revolution,” “Lost Angels,” “My Life So Far,” “I Dreamed of Africa,” and “Finding Altamira”. He was also a legendary commercials director whose 1989 British Airways advert “Face” ran for almost a decade.
Source: BBC
