TSPDT

Key Production Countries: UK, USA
Key Genres: Drama, Urban Drama, Science Fiction, Comedy Drama, Inspirational Drama, Biopic
Key Collaborators: Andrew Macdonald (Producer), Anthony Dod Mantle (Cinematographer), Christian Colson (Producer), Chris Gill (Editor), John Murphy (Composer), Mark Tildesley (Production Designer), Ewan McGregor (Leading Actor), Cillian Murphy (Leading Actor), Christopher Eccleston (Leading Actor), Alex Garland (Screenwriter), Simon Beaufoy (Screenwriter), John Hodge (Screenwriter)

"Innovative, daring filmmaker who burst onto the scene with the sure-footed independent thriller Shallow Grave (1994) followed by the graphic, harrowing saga of heroin-addicted Edinburgh youths with Trainspotting (1996). He solidified his credibility as an A-list director with the feel-good best picture Oscar-winner Slumdog Millionaire (2009), for which he himself took home a statue as best director." - The Film Encyclopedia, 2012

"Few contemporary British film-makers have made a more dynamic impact on the cultural scene than Danny Boyle did with his second feature, Trainspotting (1996). The opening images of Ewan McGregor running full-tilt towards the audience to the pulsating musical accompaniment of Iggy Pop seemed to mirror the energy which Boyle and his team brought to a newly buoyant industry in the mid-1990s… The zest and invention in Boyle's work should mean that he remains a lively talent to watch in the future." - Robert Shail (British Film Directors: A Critical Guide, 2007)

"At his best with social satire, it has often been said of Boyle that the further he travels from Hollywood the better he gets. His toe-dip into the realm of U.S. filmmaking would seem to bear this out, with both A Life Less Ordinary (1997) and The Beach (2000) hitting a flat note with critics and appearing limp in comparison with his earlier, harder hitting, red-hot subject matter." - Russ Hunter (501 Movie Directors, 2007)

"From his debut feature, Shallow Grave (1994), Danny Boyle has established himself as one of the liveliest and most unpredictable of British directors, adept at shifting genres and bringing a personal quality to whatever he tackles. For the most part - barring the debacle of The Beach (2000) - he's contrived to keep Hollywood at arm's length." - Philip Kemp (BFI Screen Online)

“Flitting from genre to genre, each of his films is alive with possibility. From Trainspotting's opening sprint from the law, to the Bollywood dance number closing Slumdog Millionaire (2008), these are movies that really move. Even 127 Hours (2010), the true-life tale of a man with his arm stuck under a rock, has an over-caffeinated energy all its own. Brought up in a working-class Irish Catholic household in Radcliffe, Lancashire, Boyle saw Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) and found himself 'sandblasted by the power of cinema', as he told journalist Robert K. Elder.” - Matt Glasby (A-Z Great Film Directors, 2015)

"A product of a working-class background in Manchester, England, Danny Boyle came out of both politically-charged and mainstream theater to make his feature directing debut with Shallow Grave (1994), an intense study of how greed can affect people who are otherwise chums." - The Hollywood.com Guide to Film Directors, 2004

"Danny Boyle directed television programmes before teaming up with producer Andrew Macdonald and scriptwriter John Hodge to break into features with Shallow Grave (1994), followed by Trainspotting (1996), which consolidated their success. Their films have distinctive visual styles and soundtracks, combining a range of contemporary British music as well as astute selections from pop history. Both Shallow Grave and Trainspotting introduced a fresh attitude into British cinema; their influence is evident in subsequent films, including Justin Kerrigan's Human Traffic (1999) and Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)." - Martin Stollery (Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide, 2001)