Richard Attenborough: A cinematic genius

Remember the brilliant films "Gandhi", "A Bridge Too Far" or the screen version of the hit musical "Oh! What a Lovely War"? Behind all these cinematic works is Richard Attenborough, English director, actor, producer and entrepreneur. The 88-year-old towering film personality is the winner of two Academy Awards, four British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards and three Golden Globes.

His most recent accomplishment is the publication of his informal autobiography, "Entirely up to You, Darling" in association with his longstanding assistant and friend, Diana Hawkins.

Time Out London, amplifying on co-writer Diana Hawkins' explanation of the phrase 'Entirely up to you, darling,' says that it “refers to the oft-used passive/aggre-ssive expression that Attenborough would deploy to those doubting they could deliver on his demands. As the quaint, left-leaning sensibility of his films and his reputation as a 'luvvie' would suggest, he is a genuine and gentle man, a person for whom you could easily imagine people bending over backwards to please. He even manages to lend an understated, ambivalent edge to characters such as John Christie, the notorious serial killer from "Ten Rillington Place" (1972), or the bumptious, small-time crook he plays in Basil Dearden's high-seas thriller "The Ship That Died of Shame" (1952).

Attenborough's first film role was as a deserting sailor "In Which We Serve" (1942), which would typecast him for many years as cowards in films such as "London Belongs to Me" (1948), "Morning Departure" (1950) and his breakthrough role as a psychopathic young gangster in a film based on Graham Green's novel "Brighton Rock" (1947).

Following a string of other films in 1967 and 1968, he won back-to-back Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor, the first time for "The Sand Pebbles", starring Steve McQueen, and the second time for "Doctor Doolittle", starring Rex Harrison. There were a few lows along the way as well: his roles in Satyajit Ray's "Shatranj Ke Khiladi" (1977) and "The Human Factor" (in 1979).

As a director, "Gandhi" brought him his share of acclaim: In 1982 he won the Academy Award for direction for this historical epic, a project he had been attempting to get made for many years. The following year he was awarded another Golden Globe for best director.

In Attenborough's words, “ I think there were times when, if circumstances had developed, I might have been tempted into politics. I am a fan of Tony Blair, I think Gordon Brown is a fine man, but I think he's headed for one hell of a bloody struggle.”

Compiled by Cultural Correspondent