Till minne av James Bond-regissören Lewis Gilbert (1920-2018)

Av: Anders Frejdh

Publicerad:
2018-02-26

Lewis Gilbert James Bond director obituary

FSWL är väldigt ledsna att behöva rapportera att den legendariska regissören Lewis Gilbert avled 97 år gammal (bara några dagar från hans 98-årsdag) fredagen den 23 februari och att hans begravning kommer att hållas i Monaco nästa vecka. Lewis regisserade tre av de "största" James Bond-filmerna (1967 års film You Only Live Twice, 1977 års The Spy Who Loved Me och 1979 års Moonraker). Efter att ha träffat honom några gånger under åren är det lätt att säga att han var en väldigt snäll man med stor humor. Han kommer att bli djupt missad och våra tankar och böner går till Lewis familj. Vila i frid, sir. [Redaktörens anmärkning: Nyheten om Lewis Gilberts bortgång publicerades först på denna webbplats.]

Saddened to report that legendary director Lewis Gilbert, aged 97 (only a couple of days from his 98th birthday) with three of the biggest @007 films on his resume, passed away on Friday 23 February. Having met him a few times over the years it's easy to say he was a very kind man with a great sense of humour. He will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers goes out to Lewis' family. RIP, sir. #fromswedenwithlove

Ett inlägg delat av From Sweden with Love (@jamesbond007se) 27 Feb 2018 kl. 3:17 PST

Lewis Gilbert föddes 1920 och började sin karriär som regissör medan han var ansluten till US Army Air Corps under andra världskriget. Han fortsatte sedan att regissera över 40 filmer, förutom de tre James Bond-filmerna regisserade han även klassiker som Sink the Bismarck! (1960) och Shirley Valentine (1989) (med Joanna Lumley i en stor roll).

Gilbert var också en produktiv författare och producent. Bland Gilberts talrika utmärkelser finns två BAFTA-priser för Reach for the Sky (1956) och Educating Rita (1983), plus en Golden Globe för Friends (1971). Och hans film från 1966, Alfie, nominerades för flera Oscarsstatyetter.

1997 belönades Gilbert med en CBE för hans bidrag inom film och fem år senare regisserade han sin sista film, Before You Go (2002) med Dermot Crowley (Major Kamp i 1983 års Bond-film Octopussy) i en av rollerna.

I april 2010 gav Lewis ut en självbiografi med titeln All My Flashbacks där han uppgav att The Spy Who Loved Me (Älskade spion) var höjdpunkten under hans karriär.

Lewis Gilbert All My Flashbacks

Omslaget till Lewis Gilberts bok All My Flashbacks. © 2010 Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. Alla rättigheter förbehållna.

Varhelst han bodde i världen förblev han en lojal supporter av Arsenal Football Club.

Legendariska James Bond-klipparen och regissören John Glen delade detta med oss:

"Lewis Gilbert was one of the most successful directors of his generation. I had the pleasure of editing The Spy Who Loved Me which must count as one of the best Bond movies starring the sadly missed Roger Moore. Lewis was a very understated director and was equally at home on blockbuster movies and simple low budget films. He loved working with children, on Cry from the Streets a simple story of kids in an orphanage Max Bygraves improvised a song for the children when rain stopped filming. He will be remembered with affection by his crew, never angry, full of humour ... he just loved film making from his early beginnings as a child actor. He could be absent minded sometimes. I remember his stepping backwards off a rostrum and falling through the scaffolding before emerging with barely a scratch. When I succeeded Lewis after Moonraker he was the first on the phone to congratulate me. A giant of the cinema. With fondest memories."

Steven Saltzman, son till legendariske producenten Harry Saltzman, över nyheten om Lewis:

"The Bond family in Monaco weeps again, less than a year after the passing of Sir Roger Moore at the news of Lewis Gilbert CBE’s death last Friday. Lewis was the director who took James Bond to Japan in You Only Live Twice with a script penned by Roald Dahl which gave the world the first real views Japan after WWII. We saw Sumo wrestlers, Japanese Supercars and extraordinary gyro Little Nellie! His direction and reveal of Donald Pleasence as Blofeld is a Bond masterclass in menace. Hilary and I send our condolences to his family."

Legendariska SFX-mästaren John Richardson kommenterade:

"I first worked with Lewis Gilbert on a film in Malaya 55 years ago he was such a lovely man and one of the nicest Directors you could ever wish to work with. I was fortunate enough to do several films with him all of which were a joy to work on. He will go down in film history as one of the great directors and he will be sadly missed. God bless you Lewis!"

Legendariska SFX-mästaren Chris Corbould skrev:

"I was a young man in a junior position when I worked with Lewis on Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me so did not have a great deal of close up contact but I do remember him being a sweet man with a great sense of humour who was greatly respected by the whole crew."

Den Oscarsbelönade ljud-gurun Norman Wanstall skrev:

"Well, you can imagine my reaction to hearing the news about Lewis. Of all the directors I worked with Lewis is the one I can relate to best, as I worked on Carve Her Name With Pride, The Greengage Summer, Sink The Bismark, HMS Defiant and You Only Live Twice I was also asked to join him on “Alfie” but unfortunately I couldn’t be free in time. I admired the man so much for the shear diversity of the films he directed, from modern light-weight dramas such as Alfie and Educating Rita to historical action films like HMS Defiant. And then of course there were the Bonds. What an all-round, brilliant film-maker he was.

Lewis will be remembered with great respect in the history of the industry and I was so pleased to meet him again after so long at one of the Pinewood events and to introduce you to him, Anders. I’m sure his son John will be devastated by the loss of his dad. I always wondered what happened to John as I knew him well in the early days and it was he who pestered me to work on Alfie.
I send my sincere condolences to him and his family."

Sound maestro Colin Miller minns arbetet med Lewis:

"I worked with Lewis twice. The first time on The Spy Who Loved Me and then in Moonraker. ‘Spy’ was my first Bond film, and, along with my co sound editor, Alan Soanes, we got along just fine with Lewis and he appreciated our input into the film and was kind enough to seek us out and tell us so.

Moonraker was the busiest film for us. The whole space battle, luckily, was contained in one reel and took us ages to pre-mix. We were a bit concerned as to how Cubby [Albert R. Broccoli] and Lewis would react as there were so many different types of sound within the sequence. Cubby and Lewis were called to the mix studio and we ran the reel. Cubby was delighted, and Lewis said, “He was blown away.” We were very happy also. I was hoping to work for Lewis again in the future but alas it never happened. I will always remember my happy times working with such a nice man."

Visual effects supervisor Alan Church lämnade också en kommentar:

"Oh no. I worked as Optical Cameraman on Educating Rita and he was such a lovely soft-spoken polite man. RIP Lewis Gilbert"

Moonraker "Bond-bruden" Anne Lönnberg skrev detta:

"Lewis was adept in doing huge marathon movies like the James Bonds. Very organized, polite with everyone, calm, never lost his temper but under all that he was like steel. He was very serious in his work, knew exactly what he wanted – to handle the complexities of a James Bond filming is no small feat. But he always had time to listen to others.
My most fond memory was not on a set as I ran into him in Cannes and I had my first son Yann in my arms at some swimming pool and Lewis took my baby and cuddled him with such tenderness... Generous, kind, and a great sense of humor."

Anne Lonnberg Lewis Gilbert Moonraker

Moonraker "Bond-bruden" Irka Bochenko skickade detta:

"Those who knew him and worked with him remember Lewis Gilbert as a warm hearted man. And I learned so much working with him on Moonraker that will stay in my memory forever. May his heart and soul find peace and comfort. And my sincere condolences to his Family."

Brittiska Bond-bruden Valerie Leon skickade detta:

"Although I only had a cameo role in The Spy Who Loved Me I remember Lewis Gilbert as being a most charming man, and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with such a wonderful director."

Legendariska stuntmannen och stuntkoordinatorn Rocky Taylor postade detta:

"Lewis was a lovely man. Good director, very versatile which is key to a long career. I worked on You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me with him and he directed me in scenes with Roger Moore."

Rekvisitören Tony Teiger minns Lewis:

"Lewis was a very special person for me making Operation Daybreak in Prague 1974. What a great time. My condolences."

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Lewis Gilbert The Spy Who Loved Me

Lewis Gilbert under inspelningen av Älskade spion. © 1977 Danjaq S.A. & United Artists Corporation. Alla rättigheter förbehållna.

Bild överst
Lewis Gilbert under ett besök i Cannes 1997. Foto av Joel Villy. Alla rättigheter förbehållna.

Läs mer om Lewis Gilberts fantastiska filmkarriär på hans IMDB sida.

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