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Ulu Grosbard is a Director, Co-Producer and Assistant Director Belge born on 9 january 1929 at Antwerp (Belgique)

Ulu Grosbard

Ulu Grosbard
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Birth name Israel Grossbard
Nationality Belgique
Birth 9 january 1929 at Antwerp (Belgique)
Death 18 march 2012 (at 83 years) at Manhattan (USA)

Israel "Ulu" Grosbard (9 January 1929 – 19 March 2012) was a Belgian-born, naturalized American theatre and film director and film producer.

Biography

Ulu Grosbard naît le 9 janvier 1929 à Anvers sous le nom d'Israel Grosbard : « Ulu » est le surnom que lui donnait son frère. Anvers est le centre de l'industrie du diamant et le jeune Grosbard débute lui aussi comme tailleur de diamants. Au cours de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, sa famille émigre à La Havane. Il reste quatre ans à Cuba où il continue de tailler des diamants. En 1948, il obtient un visa d'entrée aux États-Unis, et s'inscrit à l'Université de Chicago, où il obtient un Master of Arts. Ensuite, il étudie encore un an à l'Université de Yale avant de rejoindre l'armée américaine. Pendant ses études, il rencontre l'actrice Rose Gregorio, qu'il épouse douze ans plus tard. En 1954, il devient citoyen américain.

Pendant les années 1960 ans, il travaille surtout pour le théâtre. C'est à New York qu'il met en scène ses premières productions, qui sont souvent de grands succès. En peu de temps il se fait un grand nom au Broadway theatre. En 1964, il est nominé pour un Tony Award dans la catégorie du meilleur metteur en scène, pour la pièce The Subject Was Roses. Auparavant il avait été inscrit dans la catégorie des grands noms comme Elia Kazan, Mike Nichols et Joshua Logan. L'auteur de The Subject Was Roses remporte plus tard le prix Pulitzer pour sa pièce. Il faut attendre 1977 avant que Grosbard ne reçoive encore une nomination pour un Tony Award.

Il contribue à lancer les carrières de Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman et Jon Voight, qu'il dirige tous trois en 1965 dans une mise en scène de la pièce Vu du pont, d'Arthur Miller.

En 1968, il réalise l'adaptation cinématographique de The Subject Was Roses. Pour ce film, il peut compter, tout comme pour la version théâtrale sur les talents d’acteur entre autres du jeune Martin Sheen et de Jack Albertson. Le film est bien accueilli et vaut un Oscar à Albertson. Ce n’est pas la première expérience cinématographique de Grosbard. Auparavant, il avait travaillé en tant que second réalisateur sur des films comme L'Arnaqueur (1961). En 1971, il signe son second film comme réalisateur, Qui est Harry Kellerman ?. Ce film, avec Dustin Hoffman dans le rôle principal, vaut à l'actrice Barbara Harris une nomination à un Oscar. Grosbard réalise ensuite Le Récidiviste, toujours avec Dustin Hoffman. Le comédien, qui pensait initialement réaliser le film lui-même, trouve cette tâche impossible à cumuler avec son travail d'acteur et demande à son ami Grosbard de le remplacer derrière la caméra. Les difficultés du tournage entraînent cependant la fin de l'amitié entre les deux hommes.

Grosbard revient au cinéma quelques années plus tard, avec le polar Sanglantes confessions, avec Robert Duvall et Robert De Niro et le film sentimental Falling in Love, toujours avec De Niro qui y donne la réplique à Meryl Streep. Il reste ensuite dix ans sans travailler pour le cinéma, jusqu'à Georgia en 1995. Il réalise son dernier film quatre ans plus tard.

Best films

The Hustler (1961)
(Director)
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
(Director)
The Miracle Worker (1962)
(Director)
The Subject Was Roses (1968)
(Director)

Usually with

William Inge
William Inge
(1 films)
Dick Vorisek
Dick Vorisek
(3 films)
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
(1 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Ulu Grosbard (11 films)

Display filmography as list

Director

The Deep End of the Ocean, 1h45
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama
Actors Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Jackson, Ryan Merriman, John Kapelos
Rating63% 3.1518253.1518253.1518253.1518253.151825
Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her husband Pat (Treat Williams) experience a parent's worst fear when their 3-year-old son Ben vanishes in a crowded hotel lobby during Beth's high school reunion. The ensuing frantic search is unsuccessful, and Beth goes through a sustained nervous breakdown. Unable to cope with her devastation, Beth unintentionally neglects her other children, Vincent (Jonathan Jackson) and Kerry (Alexa Vega).
Georgia
Georgia (1995)
, 1h55
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mare Winningham, Ted Levine, Max Perlich, John Doe, John C. Reilly
Rating64% 3.2458253.2458253.2458253.2458253.245825
Georgia et sa sœur cadette Sadie ont partagé depuis l'enfance une passion commune pour la musique et le chant. Mais, au fil des ans, leur complicité s'est altérée et leurs voies ont divergé. Si Georgia est désormais une star qui mène une vie heureuse, Sadie rate tout ce qu'elle entreprend, se cherchant inlassablement à travers l'alcool et la drogue, en exigeant toujours trop des autres...
Falling in Love, 1h48
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama, Romance
Actors Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel, Jane Kaczmarek, George Martin, David Clennon
Rating65% 3.251153.251153.251153.251153.25115
While Christmas shopping for their respective families, architect Frank Raftis (De Niro) and graphic artist Molly Gilmore (Streep) find their holiday packages becoming mixed up. What starts as a pleasant chance acquaintance blossoms into romance. Inevitably, both parties realize that even casual smooching is wrong. Sadly, their marriages don't appeal to them either. Finally, a somewhat bittersweet resolution is revealed one year later.
True Confessions, 1h44
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Themes Films about religion
Actors Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Kenneth McMillan, Ed Flanders, Cyril Cusack
Rating62% 3.1479053.1479053.1479053.1479053.147905
In the post-war 1940s, Desmond Spellacy is a young and ambitious Roman Catholic monsignor in the Los Angeles archdiocese. His older brother Tom is a hard-working homicide detective with the L.A. police department. They are fond of each other, but spend little time together.
Straight Time, 2h
Directed by Dustin Hoffman, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Crime
Actors Dustin Hoffman, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey, Theresa Russell, M. Emmet Walsh, Kathy Bates
Rating73% 3.696493.696493.696493.696493.69649
Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman), lifelong thief, is released from a six-year stint in prison and forced to report to a boorish and condescending parole officer, Earl (M. Emmet Walsh).
Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?, 1h48
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Dustin Hoffman, Dom DeLuise, Barbara Harris, Jack Warden, David Burns, Gabriel Dell
Rating54% 2.7021052.7021052.7021052.7021052.702105
Georgie Soloway (Dustin Hoffman) is a rock music composer who experiences personal conflicts when trying to track down a man named Harry Kellerman, who had been spreading outrageous lies about him. Soloway is a rich and successful man who lives in a fancy penthouse apartment and seemingly has everything, but he's beginning to think he is losing his mind; he can't sleep, women he's dated are rejecting him after getting calls from the mysterious "Harry", and he fantasizes committing suicide by leaping off his balcony. Regular visits to his psychiatrist are not helping. At night he struggles with insomnia and can only sleep when his long-suffering accountant comes over and reads his earnings statements to him. When he does sleep, he dreams again about jumping to his death.
The Subject Was Roses, 1h47
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays
Actors Patricia Neal, Jack Albertson, Martin Sheen
Rating69% 3.494223.494223.494223.494223.49422
Returning to his Bronx home following World War II, Timmy Cleary (Martin Sheen) discovers his middle class parents have drifted apart and constantly quarrel at the least provocation. Once closer to his mother Nettie (Patricia Neal), the young veteran finds himself bonding with his salesman father John (Jack Albertson), but he tries to remain neutral when intervening in their disputes.
The Miracle Worker, 1h46
Directed by Arthur Penn, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography
Themes Films about education, Films about families, Medical-themed films, Théâtre, Films about disabilities, Films based on plays, La cécité
Actors Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine, John Bliss
Rating80% 4.047364.047364.047364.047364.04736
Les parents d'une fillette devenue aveugle et sourde alors qu'elle était encore bébé, font appel à une institutrice spécialisée, elle-même mal-voyante.
The Hustler, 2h14
Directed by Robert Rossen, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Sports films, Children's films, Escroquerie
Actors Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, Myron McCormick, Murray Hamilton
Rating79% 3.998223.998223.998223.998223.99822
Small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson travels cross-country with his partner Charlie to challenge the legendary player "Minnesota Fats". Arriving at Fats' home pool hall, Eddie declares he will win $10,000 that night. Fats arrives and he and Eddie agree to play straight pool for $200 a game. After initially falling behind, Eddie surges back to being $1,000 ahead and suggests raising the bet to $1,000 a game; Fats agrees. He sends out a runner, Preacher, to Johnny's Bar, ostensibly for whiskey, but really to get professional gambler Bert Gordon to the hall. Eddie gets ahead $11,000 and Charlie tries to convince him to quit, but Eddie insists the game will end only when Fats says it is over. Fats agrees to continue after Bert labels Eddie a "loser." After 25 hours and an entire bottle of bourbon, Eddie is ahead over $18,000, but loses it all along with all but $200 of his original stake. At their hotel later, Eddie leaves half of the remaining stake with a sleeping Charlie and leaves.
Splendor in the Grass, 2h4
Directed by Elia Kazan, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romantic drama, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about suicide, Films about psychiatry, Films set in psychiatric hospitals
Actors Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie, Joanna Roos, Gary Lockwood
Rating76% 3.8481653.8481653.8481653.8481653.848165
1928 Kansas: Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis (Natalie Wood) is a teenage girl who follows her mother's advice to resist her desire for sex with her boyfriend, Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty), the son of one of the most prosperous families in town. In turn, Bud reluctantly follows the advice of his father, Ace (Pat Hingle), who suggests that he find another kind of girl with whom to satisfy his desires.

Producer

Georgia
Georgia (1995)
, 1h55
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mare Winningham, Ted Levine, Max Perlich, John Doe, John C. Reilly
Roles Producer
Rating64% 3.2458253.2458253.2458253.2458253.245825
Georgia et sa sœur cadette Sadie ont partagé depuis l'enfance une passion commune pour la musique et le chant. Mais, au fil des ans, leur complicité s'est altérée et leurs voies ont divergé. Si Georgia est désormais une star qui mène une vie heureuse, Sadie rate tout ce qu'elle entreprend, se cherchant inlassablement à travers l'alcool et la drogue, en exigeant toujours trop des autres...
Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?, 1h48
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Dustin Hoffman, Dom DeLuise, Barbara Harris, Jack Warden, David Burns, Gabriel Dell
Roles Producer
Rating54% 2.7021052.7021052.7021052.7021052.702105
Georgie Soloway (Dustin Hoffman) is a rock music composer who experiences personal conflicts when trying to track down a man named Harry Kellerman, who had been spreading outrageous lies about him. Soloway is a rich and successful man who lives in a fancy penthouse apartment and seemingly has everything, but he's beginning to think he is losing his mind; he can't sleep, women he's dated are rejecting him after getting calls from the mysterious "Harry", and he fantasizes committing suicide by leaping off his balcony. Regular visits to his psychiatrist are not helping. At night he struggles with insomnia and can only sleep when his long-suffering accountant comes over and reads his earnings statements to him. When he does sleep, he dreams again about jumping to his death.
The Pawnbroker, 1h56
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Crime
Themes Films about religion, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters, Linda Geiser, Jaime Sánchez, Raymond St. Jacques
Roles Unit Manager
Rating76% 3.8454853.8454853.8454853.8454853.845485
With the rise of Hitler, Sol Nazerman (Steiger), a German-Jewish university professor, was dragged to a concentration camp along with his family. He saw his two children die (one while riding in a cattle car) and his wife raped by Nazi officers in the camp. Now he operates a pawnshop in East Harlem, while living in an anonymous Long Island apartment. Numbed by his experiences, he has worked hard not to experience emotions. Nazerman is bitter and alienated, viewing the people around him as "rejects, scum." He is shown interacting cynically as he bargains with the many desperate characters pawning their goods.

Director

The Miracle Worker, 1h46
Directed by Arthur Penn, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography
Themes Films about education, Films about families, Medical-themed films, Théâtre, Films about disabilities, Films based on plays, La cécité
Actors Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine, John Bliss
Roles Assistant Director
Rating80% 4.047364.047364.047364.047364.04736
Les parents d'une fillette devenue aveugle et sourde alors qu'elle était encore bébé, font appel à une institutrice spécialisée, elle-même mal-voyante.
Splendor in the Grass, 2h4
Directed by Elia Kazan, Ulu Grosbard
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romantic drama, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about suicide, Films about psychiatry, Films set in psychiatric hospitals
Actors Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie, Joanna Roos, Gary Lockwood
Roles Assistant Director
Rating76% 3.8481653.8481653.8481653.8481653.848165
1928 Kansas: Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis (Natalie Wood) is a teenage girl who follows her mother's advice to resist her desire for sex with her boyfriend, Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty), the son of one of the most prosperous families in town. In turn, Bud reluctantly follows the advice of his father, Ace (Pat Hingle), who suggests that he find another kind of girl with whom to satisfy his desires.