Fred Zinnemann Overview:

Legendary director, Fred Zinnemann, was born Alfred Zinnemann on Apr 29, 1907 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria). Zinnemann died at the age of 89 on Mar 14, 1997 in London, England .

MINI BIO:

Zinnemann studied both music and law before dropping each in turn, and at the age of 21, he became an assistant cameraman for U.F.A. Studios in Berlin.  The following year, he emigrated to Hollywood where he endured some hard times before making the necessary contacts to land him a job as an assistant cutter and, by 1931, as an assistant director.

MGM provided Zinnemann with his first commercial directing experience -- at first on several of their 'Crime Does Not Pay' two-reelers, and then on 'B' features. Some of Zinnemann's best directing at this time featured clever cutting and intelligent camera angles that increased tension. Zinnemann was gradually becoming a director of importance with an Oscar nomination for High Noon, an Oscar win for From Here to Eternity, his great musical Oklahoma, and his box-office hit, A Nun's Story starring Audrey Hepburn.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Directors).

AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

Zinnemann's autobiography Fred Zinnemann: An Autobiography: A Life in the Movies was published in 1992.

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Fred Zinnemann was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning two for Best Director for From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons in 1953 and 1966 respectively.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1948Best DirectorThe Search (1948)N/ANominated
1952Best DirectorHigh Noon (1952)N/ANominated
1953Best DirectorFrom Here to Eternity (1953)N/AWon
1959Best DirectorThe Nun's Story (1959)N/ANominated
1960Best DirectorThe Sundowners (1960)N/ANominated
1966Best DirectorA Man for All Seasons (1966)N/AWon
1977Best DirectorJulia (1977)N/ANominated
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He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Motion Pictures.

BlogHub Articles:

A Man for All Seasons (1966, )

on Dec 27, 2019 From The Stop Button

What?s so incredible about A Man for All Seasons is how big director Zinnemann makes it while keeping it small while keeping it big. The settings are big?palaces, estates, and so on?but Zinnemann keeps the set pieces small. He and cinematographer Ted Moore will do big establishing shots, but only af... Read full article


High Noon (1952, )

By Andrew Wickliffe on Nov 11, 2018 From The Stop Button

High Noon is a film all about courage and cowardice, so it?s appropriate the film starts with the most courageous thing it?s ever going to do and it does a few. It commits to its theme song. Not a piece of music from Dimitri Tiomkin, but a country song (written by Tiomkin, lyrics by Ned Washington, ... Read full article


Redes, 1936, Emilio G?mez Muriel &

By Aaron West on May 24, 2015 From Criterion Blues

May 24 Posted by aaronwest Sergei Eisenstein famously visited Mexico in 1930 to attempt a film project, ?Que viva M?xico! which fell through for a number of reasons. Despite his failure, he left an indelible mark on the film industry. Initiated by a strong left wing state, the film Redes was produc... Read full article


Redes, 1936, Emilio G?mez Muriel &

By Aaron West on May 24, 2015 From Criterion Blues

May 24 Posted by aaronwest Sergei Eisenstein famously visited Mexico in 1930 to attempt a film project, ?Que viva M?xico! which fell through for a number of reasons. Despite his failure, he left an indelible mark on the film industry. Initiated by a strong left wing state, the film Redes was produc... Read full article


Redes, 1936, Emilio G?mez Muriel &

By Aaron West on May 24, 2015 From Criterion Blues

May 24 Posted by aaronwest Sergei Eisenstein famously visited Mexico in 1930 to attempt a film project, ?Que viva M?xico! which fell through for a number of reasons. Despite his failure, he left an indelible mark on the film industry. Initiated by a strong left wing state, the film Redes was produc... Read full article


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Fred Zinnemann Facts
Became a naturalized US citizen in 1936.

Directed 18 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Hume Cronyn, Montgomery Clift, Gary Cooper, Julie Harris, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Anthony Franciosa, Audrey Hepburn, Glynis Johns, Paul Scofield, Robert Shaw, Wendy Hiller, Jason Robards, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda and Maximilian Schell. Cooper, Redgrave, Robards, Sinatra, Reed and Scofield won Oscars for their performances in one of Zinneman's movies. Additionally, Ivan Jandl received a Juvenile Awards for is performance in Zinneman's The Search (1948).

His father was an Austrian Jewish doctor.

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