John Milius
Writer · b. 1944 · St. Louis, Missouri, USA
John Frederick Milius is an American filmmaker. He was one of the writers for the first two Dirty Harry films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of Apocalypse Now, and wrote and directed The Wind and the Lion, Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn. He wrote a number of iconic film lines such as "Charlie don't surf" and "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," from Apocalypse Now, and the famous Dirty Harry one-liners delivered by Clint Eastwood, including "Go ahead, make my day" and "Ask yourself one question, 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?". Milius also wrote the USS Indianapolis monologue in the film Jaws; the sequence performed by Robert Shaw. After his work on Rough Riders (1997), Milius became an instrumental force in lobbying Congress to award President Theodore Roosevelt the Medal of Honor (posthumously), for acts of conspicuous gallantry while in combat on San Juan Hill. Milius made two films featuring Roosevelt: The Wind and the Lion (where he was played by Brian Keith) and the made-for-TV film Rough Riders (where Tom Berenger took the role). The character of John Milner from the 1973 George Lucas film American Graffiti was inspired by Milius, who was a good friend of Lucas while they were at USC film school. Likewise, the character Walter Sobchak in the 1998 film The Big Lebowski, made by his friends the Coen Brothers, was partly based on Milius. The novella "Blind Jozef Pronek and Dead Souls" by Aleksandar Hemon features an episode with Milius, who is described as "sitting at a desk sucking on a cigar as long as a walking stick." In 2013 a documentary about his life, titled Milius, was released. Writer Nat Segaloff called Milius: "The best writer of the so-called USC Mafia, a tight-knit group that resuscitated—some say homogenised American cinema in the 1970s... Raised on Ford, Hawks, Lean and Kurosawa, shaped by filmmakers as disparate as Fellini and Delmer Daves, Milius favours history books over comic books, character over special effects, and heroes with roots in reality, time, place and customs. Milius' stories reflect his own deeply held ethic, which embraces the values of tradition, adventure, spiritualism, honour and an intense loyalty to friends... Although he privately chafes at his public image as a gun-toting, liberal baiting provocateur, he allows himself to be painted as such, at times even holding the brush. He plays the Hollywood game like a pro, yet sticks to his own rules; he is a romantic filmmaker who avoids love scenes; his movies contain violence, yet no death in them is without meaning." Milius himself once said: "Never compromise excellence. To write for someone else is the biggest mistake that any writer makes. You should be your biggest competitor, your biggest critic, your biggest fan, because you don’t know what anybody else thinks. How arrogant it is to assume that you know the market, that you know what’s popular today [...] Write what you want to see. Because if you don’t, you’re not going to have any true passion in it, and it’s not going to be done with any true artistry."
Movies24
Movie6.8AdventureFantasyA horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.
Conan the Barbarian
1982 · 2.9K votes
Movie7.9DocumentaryA chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
1991 · 435 votes
Movie7.6DocumentaryRiding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.
Riding Giants
2004 · 50 votes
Movie7.1DocumentaryThe life story of ‘Zen Anarchist’ filmmaker John Milius, one of the most influential storytellers of his generation.
Milius
2013 · 58 votes
Movie7.6DocumentaryA fascinating chronicle of the birth and rise of the radically different independent studio founded by director Francis Ford Coppola.
Movie7.1DocumentaryHistoryThe chronicle of the mind-blowing journey that was Hollywood during the seventies; the true and gripping story of the last golden age of American cinema, an exalted celebration of creativity and experimentation; but also of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll: a turbulent and dark tale of ambition, envy, betrayal, hatred and self-destruction.
Movie7.0MusicDocumentaryComments on the background and popularity of disc jockey "Emperor" Bob Hudson, who bases his shows on the idea that radio is a fantasy.
The Emperor
1967 · 10 votes
Movie5.8DocumentaryAn in-depth look at Dirty Harry (1971), featuring interviews with such film artists as Michael Madsen, 'Hal Holbrook', John Milius, 'Shane Black' and John Badham.
The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry
2008 · 4 votes
Movie5.6CrimeActionMelba Stokes, her mother Sheba and daughter Cheryl embark on a crime spree after their California beauty parlor is repossessed. Their destination is Arkansas, where the three generations of women want to reclaim the family farm.
Crazy Mama
1975 · 25 votes
Movie7.0DocumentaryHistoryThe history of the peplum genre, known as sword-and-sandal cinema, set in Antiquity, from the silent film era to the present day.
Movie4.5DocumentaryFilmmakers, social scientists and authors take a provocative look at the moral, political and ethical themes of the Dirty Harry films.
A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry
2008 · 2 votes
Movie7.3DocumentaryTV MovieSteven Spielberg takes us behind the cameras for the making of a classic movie.
Jaws: The Inside Story
2010 · 10 votes
- Movie6.5Documentary
A chronicle of the 1975 International Press Conclave hosted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over two days in May 1975.
The Lion Roars Again
1975 · 2 votes
Movie6.7DocumentaryA non-narrated documentary, told mainly in interviews with the filmmakers, on the making of the cult comedy classic, featuring outtakes, rare behind-the-scenes home movies, and trivia facts.
The Making of '1941'
1996 · 6 votes
Movie7.0DocumentaryFirst Works is an exciting collection of uncensored interviews with this generation's most successful filmmakers. Academy Award winners Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind), Oliver Stone (Born On The Fourth Of July), and Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) reveal their major influences, inspirations, and thoughts on the process of making movies. Featured clips include footage of award-winning student films and from blockbuster hits such as Platoon and Lethal Weapon. Golden Globes and Oscar nominee Martin Scorsese on religion, and Susan Seidelman, director of Sex And The City bridges the gender gap. Find out how past experiences, triumphs, and tragedies shape the work of the most successful filmmakers in Hollywood.
First Works
1989 · 1 votes
Movie8.0DocumentaryAn unflinching look at the ongoing debate on violence in movies and its effect on the audience.
The Business End: Violence in Cinema
2008 · 2 votes
Movie6.0DocumentaryA look at the cinematographers, editors, musicians, production designers and other talent of the Dirty Harry series.
The Craft of Dirty Harry
2008 · 2 votes
Movie7.4DocumentaryAn overview of the making of John Huston's 1948 classic "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."
Movie8.5DocumentaryThe story of Conan the Cimmerian, from Robert E. Howard's pulp fiction anti-hero to pop culture icon.
Movie6.8DocumentaryNearly all the cast and crew are on hand to give stories and memories about the making of the film. Plenty of detail on every aspect of the film from pre-production to opening night is covered.
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
2000 · 13 votes
Movie8.0DocumentaryTV MovieBBC documentary about the making of Steven Spielberg's Jaws.
In the Teeth of Jaws
1997 · 2 votes
Movie6.8DocumentaryFirst part of a three-part documentary series on the making of Once Upon a Time in the West, Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone's masterpiece, released in 1968. (Followed by The Wages of Sin.)
An Opera of Violence
2003 · 4 votes
Movie7.5DocumentarySecond part of a three-part documentary series on the making of Once Upon a Time in the West, Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone's masterpiece, released in 1968. (Preceded by An Opera of Violence; followed by Something to Do With Death.)
The Wages of Sin
2003 · 6 votes
Movie7.3DocumentaryA retrospective look at the five Dirty Harry films (1971-88), starring Clint Eastwood.
Dirty Harry: The Original
2001 · 13 votes