Richard FLEISCHER

The director Richard Fleischer's name is synonymous with the word 'fantastic,' not only for his film classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and but also thanks to his cinematic sensibility and directly-approaching adventurous spirit that crossed beyond the borders and director's inclinations. His filmworks have covered almost the entire film genre, ranging from fantastic films to documentaries, noir films, thrillers and war-themed films as well. Born in 1916, Richard Fleischer was also the son of Max Fleischer, the creator of legendary animation characters as Betty Boob and Popeye the Sailorman, as well as the founder of Fleischer Animation Studio. Richard began his film career at RKO Studio and first gained his fame as a filmmaker with, surprisingly, a documentary on Japanese Imperialism during the World War II. He won the Academy Award for best documentary with it and began presenting handful of noir films. The natural sense of imagination he inherited from his father, along with his craftsman-like ability from his days working in studio productions, began to shine in full-force as he meets Walt Disney in 1954. These films were co-productions of Walt Disney and may seem as an action-adventure film geared towards young audiences, yet Mr. Fleischer's fantasy world is full of multilayered storylines and meanings that are far more in-depth in nature. Films like Tora!Tora!Tora , one of the best war movies ever made, or Compulsion  about Leopold and Loeb, an extraordinary elitist murdering duo. reveal different methods in his filmmaking style, as relationship between the mankind and its surroundings, as well as various emotions it produces are permeated within Fleischer's fantasy world. PiFan2007 introduces four films that showcases his masterful fantastic filmmaking skills. In addition to his world famous two titles mentioned above,Soylent Green , a dystopia Sci-fi classic with his early noir sentiment days, and The Vikings, one of his three legend action films of the 80s that continued on with Conan the Destroyer  and Red Sonja , will no doubt display Mr. Fleisher's true image as a fantastic adventurer both on and off the film world.