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Peter Roger Hunt (11 March 1925 – 14 August 2002) was a British director, editor and producer of film and television, best known for his work on the James Bond film series, first as an editor and then as a second unit director. He finally served as director for On Her Majesty's Secret Service. His work on the series helped pioneer an innovative, fast-cutting editing style.
Peter R. Hunt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Roger Hunt 11 March 1925 London, England |
| Died | 14 August 2002 (aged 77) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, film editor, film producer |
| Years active | 1940–1991 |
| Known for | James Bond series |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1947 |
| Rank |  Staff Sergeant |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Biography
editAs an infantryman, Hunt served in Salerno, Italy, in 1943.[1]
After undertaking several forms of employment, Hunt worked as an assistant cutter for Alexander Korda, before working as an assembling editor on The Man Who Watched Trains Go By. After several B-movies, he served as the supervising editor on A Hill in Korea. The following year, Hunt edited The Admirable Crichton (directed and co-written by Lewis Gilbert), becoming good friends with John Glen. Hunt continued his collaboration with Gilbert on films such as Ferry to Hong Kong and Sink the Bismarck!.
In the 1960s, Hunt signed on as an editor on the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962), and he edited From Russia with Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964). On those three films, Hunt developed an editing technique in which he utilized quick cutting, allowing camera swings during action and inserts interleaving other elements.[2][3] He also worked with Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli on the Bob Hope film Call Me Bwana (1963), and with Saltzman and a few other Bond veterans on the non-Eon thriller The IPCRESS File (1965). Call Me Bwana was the only film produced by the James Bond production company Eon Productions that was not a Bond film until 2014.
After editing Thunderball (1965), Hunt asked to direct You Only Live Twice (1967) but was passed over in favor of Lewis Gilbert. Although Hunt initially quit in protest, Broccoli and Saltzman persuaded him to stay as second unit director on the understanding that he would be promoted to director in a future Eon film.[4] Saltzman and Broccoli were impressed with his quick cutting skills and felt he had set the style for the series.[5] Hunt directed the "Little Nellie" sequence of the film.[4] When Gilbert passed on the opportunity to direct On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Broccoli and Saltzman selected Hunt as director.[4][5] Hunt also asked for the position during the production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and he brought along with him many crew members, including cinematographer Michael Reed and editor John Glen.[6] Hunt was concerned to put his mark on the production – "I wanted it to be different than any other Bond film would be. It was my film, not anyone else's."[7]
On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the last James Bond film on which Hunt worked. Hunt was asked to direct numerous other Eon Bond films — including Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, and For Your Eyes Only — but always declined.[4] In 1971, Hunt directed episodes of The Persuaders! with Bond star, Roger Moore; he also directed Moore in Gold (1974) and Shout at the Devil (1976) with Lee Marvin. Although approached by Kevin McClory, he refused to direct Never Say Never Again (1983) afraid that Broccoli would consider him disloyal. His last films included Wild Geese II (1985) and the Cannon Film thrillers, Death Hunt (1981) and Assassination (1987), both starring Charles Bronson. He also directed the epic television miniseries The Last Days of Pompeii (1984).
Personal life
editHunt spent his later years living in the United States.[1] He was gay and lived with his partner, Nicos Kourtis, from 1975 until his death.[8][9] He died of heart failure on 14 August 2002 at his home in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 77.[10]
Filmography
editFilm
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Editor | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Persuaders! | Yes | Yes | Episode: "Chain of Events" |
| 1972 | Shirley's World | Yes | Episode: "Always Leave Them Laughing" | |
| 1978 | The Beasts Are on the Streets | Yes | Television film | |
| 1983 | Philip Marlowe, Private Eye | Yes | 2 episodes | |
| 1984 | The Last Days of Pompeii | Yes | 4 episodes | |
| 1991 | Eyes of a Witness | Yes | Television film |
References
edit
Content in this article was copied from Peter R. Hunt at the James Bond wiki, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.
- ^ a b "Peter Hunt". The Daily Telegraph. London. 21 August 2002. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ Peter Hunt (2000). Inside Dr. No (DVD). MGM Home Entertainment Inc. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
- ^ Peter Hunt, Norman Wanstall (2000). Inside From Russia with Love (DVD). MGM Home Entertainment Inc. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d Field, Matthew (2015). Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films. Ajay Chowdhury. Stroud, Gloucestershire. ISBN 978-0-7509-6421-0. OCLC 930556527.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Stutz, Collin (2007). James Bond Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-1-4053-3427-3.
- ^ "Director John Glen - James Bond Crew". www.007james.com. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ NTR. "De 'vergeten' 007". Andere Tijden (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ Bergan, Ronald (16 August 2002). "Peter Hunt". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ "Queer re-view: On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Licence to Queer. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ "Peter R. Hunt, 77, Film Editor And Director of a 007 Movie". The New York Times. 25 August 2002. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
- ^ Maçek III, J.C. (7 October 2013). "From Heart of Darkness to All Out War: 'Shout at the Devil'". PopMatters.