British director Nicolas Roeg, whose 1970s-era films such as “Don’t Look Now,” “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and “Performance” became touchstones for numerous budding filmmakers and cinephiles, died Friday.
Directors including Edgar Wright and Duncan Jones, whose father David Bowie starred in “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” were quick to remember Roeg’s visual mastery and complex storytelling. “Thank you for making so many brave choices and giving this little lad in pajamas an ongoing love of filmmaking,” Jones wrote.
Edgar Wright said “I could watch Don’t Look Now on a loop and never tire of its intricacies.” In a follow-up tweet, Wright said his filmography was “dazzling and fascinating.”
Director Brad Bird said Roeg saw cinema through a “very unique set of eyes.”
Amazon Studios’ Ted Hope wrote, “You blew my mind, taught me to see and dream in a different way.”
“Amy” director Asif Kapadia worked Roeg’s filmmaking style into his tweet, saying “rest in a complex structural time travelling visually stunning cinematic peace.”
Popular on Variety
“Orange is the New Black” star Natasha Lyonne wrote, “Discovering his films was a shot to the heart that woke my teenage mind to the scope of limitless possibility in storytelling.”
Director Bernard Rose called “Don’t Look Now,” “Walkabout” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” “the greatest unbroken run in film history.
Screenwriter-producer Larry Karaszewski called him “One of the greatest directors that ever lived.”
Documentary filmmaker Mark Cousins wrote “Thank you for expanding the movies.”
“The Incredibles” helmer Brad Bird paid tribute on Twitter. “Nicolas Roeg, first as a Cinematographer, then as a Director, saw cinema through a very unique pair of eyes…May the work live on. And the man…Rest in Peace.”
