Peter Sasdy (born 27 May 1935 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary) is a British film and television director. In addition to his numerous TV credits, notable among which is the

Nigel Kneale Thomas Nigel Kneale (28 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx screenwriter who wrote professionally for more than 50 years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British S ...

-scripted ''

The Stone Tape ''The Stone Tape'' is a 1972 British television horror drama film written by Nigel Kneale and directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Michael Bryant, Jane Asher, Michael Bates and Iain Cuthbertson. It was broadcast on BBC Two as a Christmas ...

'' (1972), he directed several horror films for Hammer, including ''

Taste the Blood of Dracula ''Taste the Blood of Dracula'' is a 1970 British supernatural horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Peter Sasdy from a script by Anthony Hinds, it is the fifth installment in Hammer's '' Dracula'' series, and the fourth ...

'' (1969), ''

Countess Dracula ''Countess Dracula'' is a 1971 British Hammer horror film based on some of the legends surrounding the Countess Elizabeth Báthory. The film was produced by Alexander Paal and directed by Peter Sasdy, both Hungarian émigrés working in Englan ...

'' (1971) and ''

Hands of the Ripper ''Hands of the Ripper'' is a 1971 British horror film, directed by Peter Sasdy for Hammer Film Productions. It was written by L. W. Davidson from a story by Edward Spencer Shew, and produced by Aida Young. The film was released in the U.S. as a ...

'' (1971). Pirie, David, "New Blood", in ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'', volume 40, issue 2 (Spring 1971): 73. Sasdy directed the 1960s TV series ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...

'', ''

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall ''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'' is the second and final novel written by English author Anne Brontë. It was first published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, it had an instant and phe ...

'' and ''

The Spoils of Poynton ''The Spoils of Poynton'' is a novel by Henry James, first published under the title ''The Old Things'' as a serial in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1896 and then as a book in 1897. This novel traces the shifting relations among three people and ...

'' for BBC TV. He also directed several early episodes of the hit TV series ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'', and earned a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

for his direction of the 1983 film ''

The Lonely Lady ''The Lonely Lady'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Peter Sasdy, adapted from Harold Robbins' 1976 novel of the same name, believed to have been based on Robbins' memories of Jacqueline Susann. The film stars Pia Zadora in the title r ...

''. He directed three different adaptations of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

stories: ''The Illustrious Client'', the first episode of the 1965 BBC series starring

Douglas Wilmer Douglas Wilmer (8 January 1920 – 31 March 2016) was an English actor, best known for playing Sherlock Holmes in the 1965 TV series ''Sherlock Holmes''. Early life Wilmer was born in Brentford, Middlesex, and received his education at Kin ...

as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Stock as

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

; one episode (''The Case of the Blind Man's Bluff'') of ''

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson ''Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson'' is a television series created by Sheldon Reynolds and based on characters and storylines from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. It starred Geoffrey Whitehead, Donald Pickering and Patric ...

'' from 1979-1980, starring

Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at Shakespeare's Globe, St Martin's Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. Early life Whiteh ...

and

Donald Pickering Donald Ellis Pickering (15 November 1933 – 19 December 2009) was an English actor, appearing in many stage, television, film and radio roles. Early life and education Pickering was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, son of John Joseph Pickering ...

; and the 1991 TV film ''

Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady ''Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady'' and its sequel, '' Incident at Victoria Falls'' (1992), are a pair of TV films made in 1991 under the banner ''Sherlock Holmes the Golden Years''. Harry Alan Towers was executive producer and Bob Shayne w ...

'', starring

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

and

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

. Sasdy directed ''

Welcome to Blood City ''Welcome to Blood City'' is a 1977 science fiction Western film directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Jack Palance, Keir Dullea and Samantha Eggar. Plot Five strangers awake finding themselves with no memory in a world resembling the wild west. ...

'' for Warner Bros., perhaps the first cinema release movie in the "virtual-reality" genre. From 1985 to 1987, he directed the

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

production of '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ''. He also produced and directed

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social an ...

's ''Ending Up'' for Thames TV, which starred

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...

Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...

and

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

References

External links

* 1935 births Living people British film directors Film people from Budapest Horror film directors Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom {{UK-film-director-stub