TSPDT

Key Production Country: USA
Key Genres: Drama, Comedy Drama, Documentary, Concerts, Music, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Comedy, Crime, Period Film, Family Drama, Romance
Key Collaborators: Tak Fujimoto (Cinematographer), Craig McKay (Editor), Kristi Zea (Production Designer), Edward Saxon (Producer), Robert Ridgely (Character Actor), Kenneth Utt (Producer), Gary Goetzman (Producer), Carol Littleton (Editor), John Cale (Composer), Paul Le Mat (Leading Actor), Denzel Washington (Leading Actor), Jason Robards (Leading Actor)

“Around 1990, Demme seemed the most versatile director in America. He was interested in more odd things and people; he noticed and heard more. He loved the provinces, music of all kinds, character actors, the fusion of comedy and high drama. He had a way of guarding his rather capricious integrity in every testing commercial setup. He had not yet stopped surprising us. And he had already given us many lengthy passages of sheer movie that would grace the careers of Minnelli, Cukor, or the other Demy, Jacques. He was a natural in an age when so many people made moviemaking feel onerous.” - David Thomson (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, 2010)

“One of Hollywood’s most successful directors over the past decade, Demme has baffled his admirers by frequently taking time out from a commercial career to make documentaries about musicians and people he has admired. Demo describes these projects as ‘ego trips’ and, although they lend an unusual facet to his career, they have denied his fans, sometimes for several years, some of the mainstream films he might have made.” - David Quinlan (Quinlan's Film Directors, 1999)

“Graduating from exploitation pictures made for Corman, Demme hit his stride with a series of gentle, populist comedies about working-class life (Handle with Care, Swing Shift), quirky celebrations of eccentricity, community and friendship in which the humour derived from character rather than one-liners or pratfalls… While his more recent features - The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Beloved - may be more closely aligned to mainstream genres and more upfront in their ‘progressive’ treatment of serious issues, Demme’s fundamental humanism, embodied in a subtly stylish, slightly old-fashioned, unassertive brand of direction, remains intact.” - Geoff Andrew (The Director's Vision, 1999)

“His movies could be bewilderingly diverse – he made the innovative concert film Stop Making Sense (1984), the uproarious screwball thriller Something Wild (1986), the Aids drama Philadelphia (1993) and a remake of The Manchurian Candidate (2004) – but they were united by their colour and vim, as well as a deep-seated sense of conscientiousness and community. Demme cared deeply about what he put on the screen… Crucially, he never lost touch with his B-movie roots. He always remembered Corman’s advice to keep the viewer’s eye stimulated; as a mark of affection, he gave Corman cameo roles in most of his films.” - Ryan Gilbey (The Guardian, 2017)

“Jonathan Demme’s is one of the most interesting oeuvres of the last 25 years. As well as taking on several roles in the filmmaking process, Demme has made films ranging from screwball comedy to documentary… Altogether, Demme’s output amounts to a body of work that is nothing if not eclectic and original.” - Richard Armstrong (The Rough Guide to Film, 2007)

“Thrillers, concert films, exploitation movies, uproarious comedies, Oscar-winning dramas, quirky character studies, socially conscious documentaries – was there anything Jonathan Demme couldn’t do?… Few working Hollywood directors had his versatility and almost none of them had his all-encompassing for humanity, in all its glory and messiness.” - Rolling Stone, 2017

“One of the most supple-minded and inventive American directors of the postwar era… Making his directing debut in 1974, Demme soon attracted critics’ attention for his ingenuity and style. He won wide praise for Citizens Band/Handle with Care (1977) and Last Embrace (1979), and international acclaim for Melvin and Howard (1980).” - The Film Encyclopedia, 2012

“In an era of pat sentiment and cynically calculated optimism, few film-makers have infused their films with as much authentic joy and generosity as Jonathan Demme. He seems fascinated with humanity and his films overflow with its celebration, resulting in a body of work as rich, diverse and vibrant as that of any other contemporary director. He shows a rare understanding of the relationship between cinema and music, he embraces the collaborative nature of film-making, and he has worked across a range of formats, from feature film to documentary.” - Andrew Syder (Contemporary North American Film Directors, 2002)

“There’s nothing I’d rather do than direct because directing combines three of my favourite things in life: people, imagery, and sound - not just music, but the sounds of life.” - Jonathan Demme