Biography
Curtis Lee Hanson (March 24, 1945 – September 20, 2016) was an American filmmaker. Hanson was born in Reno, Nevada and grew up in Los Angeles, the son of Beverly June, a real estate agent, and Wilbur Hale "Bill" Hanson, a teacher. Hanson dropped out of high school, finding work as a freelance photographer and editor for Cinema magazine. Description above from the Wikipedia article Curtis Hanson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Complete Filmography
Chasing Mavericks
2012
Director, Producer
Surfer Jay Moriarity sets out to ride the Northern California break known as Mavericks.
Too Big to Fail
2011
Director, Executive Producer
An intimate look at the epochal financial crisis of 2008 and the powerful men and women who decided the fate of the world's economy in a matter of a f...
The Big Year
2011
Producer
Three fanatical bird-watchers spend an entire year competing to spot the highest number of species as El Nino sends an extraordinary variety of rare b...
Making of a Cult Classic: The Unauthorized Story of 'The Goonies'
2010
as Self
A retrospective documentary of the cult classic movie The Goonies. Including interviews with the cast, exploration of the film's locations and unique ...
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
2009
as Self
Documentary that features interviews with Martin Scorsese, Curtis Hanson, Francis Lawrence, William Friedkin, Guillermo Del Toro, John Carpenter and o...
North by Northwest: One for the Ages
2009
as Self
A discussion of "North by Northwest" and its influence.
Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential'
2008
as Self
Director Curtis Hanson and his cast and crew discuss the arduous but rewarding process of creating a modern classic.
Sunlight and Shadow: The Visual Style of 'L.A. Confidential'
2008
as Self
Curtis Hanson and his behind-the-scenes collaborators reveal the secrets of bringing 1950s Los Angeles to life in unforgettable style.
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
2008
as Self
Jack L. Warner, Harry Warner, Albert Warner and Sam Warner were siblings who were born in Poland and emigrated to Canada near the turn of the century....
Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde'
2008
as Self
The making-of documentary of Bonnie and Clyde.
Critic
2008
as Self
Seventy critics and filmmakers discuss cinema around the conflict between the artist and the observer, the creator and the critic. Between 1998 and 20...
Lucky You
2007
Director, Screenplay, Producer
A professional poker player whose astounding luck at the table fails to translate into his lonesome love life attempts to win the World Series of Poke...
The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'
2006
as Self
A look back at the impact Billy Wilder's comedy classic "Some Like It Hot" has left since it's release in 1959.
The Making of 'Some Like It Hot'
2006
Thanks
A look back at the making of Billy Wilder's 1959 comedy classic "Some Like It Hot."
The Searchers: An Appreciation
2006
as Self
Three directors (Curtis Hanson, Martin Scorsese and John Milius) discuss the movie "The Searchers."
In Her Shoes
2005
Director, Producer
Irresponsible party girl Maggie is kicked out of her father's and stepmother's home—where she lives for free—and is taken in by her hard-working siste...
Männer im Trenchcoat, Frauen im Pelz
2004
as Self
Film noir, which enjoyed particular success in the 1930s and 1940s, is probably the most profound genre of classic Hollywood cinema. Eckhart Schmidt t...
The Making of '8 Mile'
2003
as Self
'In a Lonely Place' Revisited
2003
as Host
Documentary about Nicholas Ray's film "In a Lonely Place" (1950).
Adaptation.
2002
as Orlean's Husband
Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting amb...
8 Mile
2002
Producer, Director
For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary...
'Rear Window' Ethics: Remembering and Restoring a Hitchcock Classic
2001
as Self
A documentary about Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1954 film Rear Window.
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
2000
as Self
Hollywood careers are full of make-or-break moments. For Clint Eastwood, one such moment came when studio powers agreed to let him make his directing ...
Wonder Boys
2000
Director, Producer
Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago....
Hitchcock: Shadow of a Genius
1999
as Self
This documentary is a fascinating look at the cinematic genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Briefly covering much of his early British works, the film primari...
Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs
1998
as Self
Ekchart Schmidt examines the machinery behind the dream factory; the Hollywood myth is unmasked. How does the studio industry work? What role does mar...
The Director's Vision: Hollywood's Best Discuss Their Craft
1998
as himself
The nominees for the 1998 Oscar for Best Director — Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, James L. Brooks, Gus Van Sant and Curtis Hanson — discuss their c...
L.A. Confidential
1997
Director, Screenplay, Producer
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of...
Film Music Masters: Jerry Goldsmith
1995
A limited DVD (1500 copies) of "Film Music Masters: Jerry Goldsmith" was released in June 2005. Bonus features included extended interviews and 60 min...
The River Wild
1994
Director
Gail and Tom Hartman are struggling to stay together and decide to take a white-water rafting holiday adventure in Montana for their son Roarke's 10th...
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
1992
Director
A suburban family chooses seemingly sweet Peyton Flanders as their newborn's nanny. Only much later does the infant's mother, Claire Bartel, realize P...
Bad Influence
1990
Director
Wimpy young executive Michael is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome, mysterious stranger steps in—and then disapp...
Evil Town
1987
Director
A mad scientist seeks eternal youth by developing a drug derived from human pituitary glands, aided by the local townsfolk, who help abduct visitors t...
The Bedroom Window
1987
Director, Screenplay
Baltimore, Maryland. Sylvia sees a girl being attacked from her lover Terry's bedroom window. The assailant flees and his victim is saved. But that sa...
The Children of Times Square
1986
Director, Writer
An alienated teenage boy runs away from home and ventures to New York City where he falls in with a gang of juvenile delinquents working as drug deale...
Never Cry Wolf
1983
Screenplay
A scientific researcher, sent on a government study: The Lupus Project, must investigate the possible "menace" of wolves in the north. To do so, he mu...
Losin' It
1983
Director
In 1965, four Los Angeles school friends -- Woody, Dave, Spider and Wendell -- go on a series of misadventures when they head to Tijuana, Mexico, for ...
White Dog
1982
Screenplay
A trainer attempts to retrain a vicious dog that’s been raised to kill black people.
The Little Dragons
1980
Director
Karate experts attempt to rescue a girl who was kidnapped by a mother and her two psycho sons.
The Silent Partner
1978
Screenplay, Associate Producer, Co-Director
Toronto, Canada. A few days before Christmas, Miles Cullen, a bored teller working at a bank branch located in a shopping mall, accidentally learns th...
Sweet Kill
1972
Director, Writer, Producer
Horror and suspense in the story of a psychotic maniac who literally "loves" women to death.
The Dunwich Horror
1970
Screenplay
Dr. Henry Armitage, an expert in the occult, goes to the old Whateley manor in Dunwich looking for Nancy Wagner, a student who went missing the previo...