John Flynn (director)
John Flynn | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 14, 1932 |
| Died | April 4, 2007 (aged 75) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1961–2001 |
John Flynn (March 14, 1932 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director, known for the taut and gritty style he brought to various crime, thriller, and action films.[1][2][3] His best known works include The Outfit (1973), Rolling Thunder (1977), Best Seller (1987), Lock Up (1989), and Out for Justice (1991).[2][3]
Early life and education
Flynn was born in Chicago and raised in Hermosa Beach, California. He served in the Coast Guard, and studied journalism at the University of California, Los Angeles, where one of his teachers was Alex Haley.[1]
Career
Assistant
Flynn entered the film industry when Robert Wise hired him to do some research for a biopic of Robert Capa. The film never was made, but he got along with Wise who hired Flynn to work as his assistant on Odds Against Tomorrow.[4]
Flynn subsequently worked as the script supervisor on West Side Story and as a second assistant director on Kid Galahad and Two for the Seesaw. He then worked as first assistant director on The Great Escape and second unit director on Kings of the Sun ("a bullshit script, a popcorn script", according to Flynn[4]). This was directed by J. Lee Thompson who used Flynn again as an assistant director on What a Way to Go! and John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!.
Film director
In 1966, Wise set up a company to produce low-budget films that others would direct. He optioned Dennis Murphy's novel The Sergeant and hired Flynn to direct. The movie starred Rod Steiger.[4]
Flynn's next movie, The Jerusalem File was shot in Israel. It did not perform well at the box office. Following this, he directed the Donald E. Westlake adaptation The Outfit (1973), starring Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker. It was both a critical and commercial success, and was praised by Westlake himself as the most faithful adaptation of his Parker novels.[5]
Flynn achieved a dedicated cult following with the 1977 gritty revenge thriller Rolling Thunder starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was highly controversial because of its violence.[4] In a 1994 interview with Jon Stewart, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino cited Rolling Thunder as an influence and Flynn among his favorite directors. The film received praise for its action sequences, atmosphere, direction, music and cast performances; however, it was criticized for its pace and violent climax. In addition to its critical success, the film was also a box-office success with an estimated revenue of $130 million against its $5 million production budget.
Flynn made a number of higher-profile films in the late 1980s, including the James Woods neo-noir Best Seller, the Sylvester Stallone prison drama Lock Up, and the Steven Seagal action film Out for Justice.
In the early 1990s, Flynn directed two made-for-cable-TV films: the Dennis Hopper cop film Nails and the crime drama Scam. In 1994, he directed Brainscan, a sci-fi horror film about virtual reality, starring Edward Furlong and Frank Langella. His last film was the direct-to-video film Protection (2001), with Stephen Baldwin and Peter Gallagher.
Personal life
He spent the last few years of his life mostly in France.[4]
Death
Flynn died in his sleep on April 4, 2007 at his Los Angeles home. He is survived by his son Tara.[1]
Filmography
Feature films
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Sergeant | [6] | |
| 1972 | The Jerusalem File | [6] | |
| 1973 | The Outfit | Also screenwriter | [6] |
| 1977 | Rolling Thunder | [6] | |
| 1980 | Defiance | [6] | |
| 1983 | Touched | [6] | |
| 1987 | Best Seller | [6] | |
| 1989 | Lock Up | [6] | |
| 1991 | Out for Justice | [6] | |
| 1994 | Brainscan | [7] | |
| 2001 | Protection | [7] |
Television films
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Marilyn: The Untold Story | [7] | |
| 1983 | Lone Star | Also screenwriter | |
| 1992 | Nails | [7] | |
| 1993 | Scam | [7] | |
| 1999 | Absence of the Good | [7] |
Unrealized projects
- On the Day of His Death, from a short novel by Polish writer Marek Hłasko about immigrants in Israel - Flynn had wanted to make it since the 1960s.[4]
- A police procedural drama set in Paris "in the spirit of Le Samouraï.[4]
References
- ^ a b c OBITUARIES; PASSINGS; John Flynn, 75; director known for 'The Outfit' and 'Rolling Thunder': (HOME EDITION) Los Angeles Times 20 Apr 2007: B.11. accessed 22 Feb 2015
- ^ a b Nash, Cara (2021-05-20). "Unsung Auteurs: John Flynn". FilmInk. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
- ^ a b "FOCO - JOHN FLYNN: OUT FOR ACTION, by Harvey F. Chartrand". www.focorevistadecinema.com.br. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g Harvey Chartand, "Interview with John Flynn", Shock Cinema 2005 accessed 16 February 2015
- ^ McGilligan, Patrick (2006). Backstory 4: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1970s and 1980s. University of California Press. p. 389.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "John Flynn". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
- ^ a b c d e f "John Flynn Movies List | Rotten Tomatoes | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2025-09-21.