Sidney J. Furie is a renowned Canadian film director with a career spanning over five decades. Born in Toronto, he has explored various genres and directed films featuring a diverse range of stars, including Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Robert Redford, Diana Ross, Michael Caine, Peter O'Toole, Rodney Dangerfield, Barbara Hershey, Gene Hackman, Donald Sutherland, and Laurence Olivier.
Furie's early career in English Canada saw him direct the first two feature-length fiction films, A Dangerous Age (1957) and A Cool Sound from Hell (1959),both independently financed. He later moved to London in 1960, where he directed five feature films in a single year, before achieving his first box-office success with Wonderful to Be Young! (1961),starring Cliff Richard.
The critical and commercial success of Furie's 1963 British New Wave film The Leather Boys (1964),a kitchen-sink drama starring Rita Tushingham and Dudley Sutton, caught the attention of producer Harry Saltzman, who hired him to direct the groundbreaking film The Ipcress File (1965). The film won the BAFTA award for Best Picture and launched Michael Caine's career.
Furie then moved to Hollywood, where he directed Marlon Brando in The Appaloosa (1966) and Frank Sinatra in The Naked Runner (1967) for Universal and Warner Brothers, respectively. He later worked at Paramount Pictures for eight years, during which he directed five films, including the box-office hit Lady Sings the Blues (1972),which was nominated for five Academy Awards.
In 1981, Furie directed The Entity (1982),a cult classic named by Martin Scorsese as the fourth best horror film ever made. He was also assigned to direct Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987),but was challenged by substantial last-minute budget cuts and a script he could not change.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Furie returned to his native Canada to helm a series of films, often direct-to-video pictures, ranging from the war drama Going Back (2001) to the Canadian-British co-production Rock My World (2002),a comedy starring Peter O'Toole and Joan Plowright. Other notable career highlights include The Boys in Company C (1978),Hit! (1973),and the "Iron Eagle" series.
Furie has maintained dual citizenship between the U.S. and Canada and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Directors Guild of Canada in 2010.
