Bruce Beresford
Born: 16 August 1940
Where: Sydney, Australia
Perhaps the least lionized of the Australian New Wave filmmakers, Beresford has developed a reputation for drawing extraordinary performances.
Much-acclaimed for historical dramas of social and moral conflict, he surprisingly first made his name with low comedy, delighting in juvenile scatology that horrified critics while regaling the Australian public.
Drawing a blank in his home country, he moved to Nigeria as a film editor, then England before returning to Sydney when the Australian Film Commission was formed.
His first feature The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, co-written with star Barry Humphries, presented a gross caricature of a beer-swilling, sex-crazed Aussie innocent.
However, it pigeonholed Beresford and he was forced to consider more serious subjects - Poor Fella Me about the destruction of Aborginal culture and The Wreck of the Batavia.
Next came grim comedy Don's Party, the touching Getting of Wisdom although caper movie The Money Movers didn't do him any favours.
Boer War drama Breaker Morant was the breakthrough - Australia's greatest box office success, which was followed up with Robert Duvall in Tender Mercies.
King David flopped but Crimes of the Heart boasted excellent performances from Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek.
Following the uninspired action romance Her Alibi, Beresford was back in top form with the Oscar-winning (Best Picture) adaptation of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Driving Miss Daisy.
Next came Mr Johnson and the brutal Black Robe about the Huron Indians but Rich In Love couldn't capture the magic of DMD, despite the same production crew.
Mixed reviews greeted A Good Man in Africa, which was followed by the below par thriller Silent Fall and the unjustly neglected Last Dance with Sharon Stone.
Paradise Road told the story of European women under Japanese rule during WWII while the leaky thriller Double Jeopardy starred Ashley Judd.
His latest offering was the cloying Irish drama Evelyn with Pierce Brosnan.
