Monte Hellman
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Monte Hellman (July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the horror film Beast from Haunted Cave (1959), produced by Roger Corman.
He would later gain critical recognition for the Westerns The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind (both 1966) starring Jack Nicholson, and the independent road movie Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) starring James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. His later directorial work included the 1989 slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! and the independent thriller Road to Nowhere (2010).
Hellman was among a group of directing talent mentored by Roger Corman, who produced several of the director's early films. Hellman began by working on "low budget exploitation films with a personal slant," yet learned from Corman the art of producing commercially viable films on a tight budget while staying true to a personal vision.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Beast from Haunted Cave | director |
| 1964 | Flight to Fury | director, story and editor |
| Back Door to Hell | director | |
| 1965 | Ride in the Whirlwind | director and producer |
| 1966 | The Shooting | director and director |
| 1971 | Two-Lane Blacktop | director and editor |
| 1974 | Cockfighter | director |
| 1978 | China 9, Liberty 37 | also known as Amore piombo e furore, director and producer |
| 1981 | Inside the Coppola Personality | documentary short |
| 1988 | Iguana | director |
| 1989 | Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! | director |
| 2006 | Trapped Ashes | director of segment: "Stanley's Girlfriend" |
| 2010 | Road to Nowhere | director and producer |
| 2013 | Vive l'amour | short, for Venezia 70 Future Reloaded initiative |
Other work
- The Terror (1963) (location director, uncredited; with Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Hill, and Jack Nicholson, under direction of Roger Corman)
- A Fistful of Dollars (ABC TV version prologue,1977)
- The Greatest (1977; finished film on behalf of Tom Gries, post-production supervisor
- RoboCop (1987; uncredited second-unit director, he directed several action scenes)
- Reservoir Dogs (1992; executive producer)
