Nicolas Roeg dies at 90

Tributes pour in for Walkabout director

by Jennie Kermode

Roeg's vision of Venice in Don't Look Now
Roeg's vision of Venice in Don't Look Now

Film fans have been paying tribute today to Nicolas Roeg, the director behind some of the 20th Century's most iconic films. The man behind Walkabout, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell To Earth and Performance (which he co-directed with Donald Cammell), he will be remembered as one of the greatest auteurs Britain has produced.

A CBE and Fellow of the BFI, the London-born director was active in the industry for over six decades, releasing his last documentary, The Film That Buys the Cinema, in 2014. His last fiction film, Puffball, came out in 2007. Alongside directing, he won acclaim for his work as a cinematographer on films including Masque Of The Red Death, Fahrenheit 451, Lawrence Of Arabia and Far From The Madding Crowd. His own films often dealt with themes of death, grief, identity and mysticism.

"His films hypnotised me for years and still continue to intrigue," said Edgar Wright, commenting on his passing, while Carol Morley praised him for the encouragement he gave to others. Issa López described him as "A virtuoso of the unexplained, and of letting us figure out the many, beautifully missing pieces."

Roeg passed away on Friday night, three months after his 90th birthday. He is survived by wife Harriet Harper and six children: Waldo, Nico, Sholto, Luc, Max and Statten.

Share this with others on...

Movies out this week include:

A.I. Highlander Kokuho Romería Top Gun Top Gun: Maverick
News

Going off-plan Ben Wheatley on early inspirations, developing his craft and making Normal

The accidental revolutionary Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue discuss artistic evolution and Blaise

Embracing complexity Nigel Santos on the messiness of real life romance, and Open Endings

Alone together Park Joon-ho on loneliness, North Korean experience, gay life and 3670

The destroyer of worlds Daniel Everitt-Lock on experiences of atomic testing and Our Planet, The People, My Blood

Taking the temperature Jacqueline Zünd on exploring the climate crisis through companion films Heat and Don't Let The Sun

More news and features

We're bringing you news, reviews and more from Cannes and Queer East.



We've recently brought you coverage of the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, Visions du Réel, Fantaspoa, Overlook, BFI Flare and SXSW, the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the NY Rendezvous with French Cinema, the Glasgow Film Festival, the Berlinale, Sundance and Palm Springs.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


Cannes Paul Laverty, Demi Moore, Park Chan-Wook and others speak out


Cannes Honorary Palme d'Or for Peter Jackson


Cannes Festival to host 25th anniversary screening of The Fast And The Furious, as Classics also announced


Fantasia First wave of titles announced


Cannes Monia Chokri heads Caméra d’Or jury


Cannes Announces full jury