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John Milius
John Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures. He was one of the writers for the first two Dirty Harry films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of Apocalypse Now, and wrote and directed The Wind and the Lion, Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn.
He wrote a number of iconic film lines such as "Charlie don't surf" and "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," from Apocalypse Now, and the famous Dirty Harry one-liners delivered by Clint Eastwood, including "Go ahead, make my day" and "Ask yourself one question, 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?". Milius also wrote the USS Indianapolis monologue in the film Jaws; the sequence performed by Robert Shaw. After his work on Rough Riders (1997), Milius became an instrumental force in lobbying Congress to award President Theodore Roosevelt the Medal of Honor (posthumously), for acts of conspicuous gallantry while in combat on San Juan Hill. Milius made two films featuring Roosevelt: The Wind and the Lion (where he was played by Brian Keith) and the made-for-TV film Rough Riders (where Tom Berenger took the role).
The character of John Milner from the 1973 George Lucas film American Graffiti was inspired by Milius, who was a good friend of Lucas while they were at USC film school. Likewise, the character Walter Sobchak in the 1998 film The Big Lebowski, made by his friends the Coen Brothers, was partly based on Milius. The novella "Blind Jozef Pronek and Dead Souls" by Aleksandar Hemon features an episode with Milius, who is described as "sitting at a desk sucking on a cigar as long as a walking stick."
In 2013 a documentary about his life, titled Milius, was released.
Writer Nat Segaloff called Milius:
"The best writer of the so-called USC Mafia, a tight-knit group that resuscitated—some say homogenised American cinema in the 1970s... Raised on Ford, Hawks, Lean and Kurosawa, shaped by filmmakers as disparate as Fellini and Delmer Daves, Milius favours history books over comic books, character over special effects, and heroes with roots in reality, time, place and customs. Milius' stories reflect his own deeply held ethic, which embraces the values of tradition, adventure, spiritualism, honour and an intense loyalty to friends... Although he privately chafes at his public image as a gun-toting, liberal baiting provocateur, he allows himself to be painted as such, at times even holding the brush. He plays the Hollywood game like a pro, yet sticks to his own rules; he is a romantic filmmaker who avoids love scenes; his movies contain violence, yet no death in them is without meaning."
Milius himself once said:
"Never compromise excellence. To write for someone else is the biggest mistake that any writer makes. You should be your biggest competitor, your biggest critic, your biggest fan, because you don’t know what anybody else thinks. How arrogant it is to assume that you know the market, that you know what’s popular today [...] Write what you want to see. Because if you don’t, you’re not going to have any true passion in it, and it’s not going to be done with any true artistry."
Known For | Writing |
---|---|
Most Rating | 0.887 |
Birthday | 1944-04-11 |
Place of Birth | St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
Also Known As |
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2006
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The Searchers: An Appreciation
0/0
Three directors (Curtis Hanson, Martin Scorsese and John Milius) discuss the movie "The Searchers."
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The Searchers: An Appreciation
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1998
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A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne and 'The Searchers'
0/0
Documentary on the making of "The Searchers" (1956), starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford, with outtakes, behind-the-scenes footage and inter...
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A Turning of the Earth: John Ford, John Wayne and 'The Searchers'
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1991
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Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
7.9/372
A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming o...
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Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
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2008
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Hollywood Gangster
0/0
Documentary about American gangster movies.
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Hollywood Gangster
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2017
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Made in Hollywood: Die Welt des Raoul Walsh
0/0
Documentary about Raoul Walsh
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Made in Hollywood: Die Welt des Raoul Walsh
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2003
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Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
7.1/60
The chronicle of the mind-blowing journey that was Hollywood during the seventies; the true and gripping story of the last golden age of American cine...
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Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
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2003
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Frazetta: Painting with Fire
6.4/17
A documentary on the life of painter Frank Frazetta, who revolutionized science fiction, fantasy and comic art with breathtaking realistic paintings o...
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Frazetta: Painting with Fire
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2002
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Iron and Beyond
5.3/3
This short documentary explores just how the film Pumping Iron revolutionized the fitness industry and created an international icon in Arnold Schwarz...
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Iron and Beyond
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2004
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Riding Giants
7.6/46
Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.
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Riding Giants
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1999
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Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josey Wales
7/1
John Milius narrates this featurette on the Clint Eastwood classic.
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Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josey Wales
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2003
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An Opera of Violence
6/3
First part of a three-part documentary series on the making of Once Upon a Time in the West, Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone's masterpiece, released in...
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An Opera of Violence
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2000
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Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
6.667/12
Nearly all the cast and crew are on hand to give stories and memories about the making of the film. Plenty of detail on every aspect of the film from...
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Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
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1996
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The Making of '1941'
6.6/5
A non-narrated documentary, told mainly in interviews with the filmmakers, on the making of the cult comedy classic, featuring outtakes, rare behind-t...
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The Making of '1941'
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2013
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Milius
7.1/49
The life story of ‘Zen Anarchist’ filmmaker John Milius, one of the most influential storytellers of his generation.
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Milius
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1997
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In the Teeth of Jaws
8/2
BBC documentary about the making of Steven Spielberg's Jaws.
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In the Teeth of Jaws

2004
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A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope
7.5/6
A fascinating chronicle of the birth and rise of the radically different independent studio founded by director Francis Ford Coppola.
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A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope
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2010
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Jaws: The Inside Story
7.3/10
Steven Spielberg takes us behind the cameras for the making of a classic movie.
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Jaws: The Inside Story
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2001
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Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul
6/5
Documentary about legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis who's credits range from Fellini's La Strada to today's Hannibal franchise. This profi...
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Dino De Laurentiis: The Last Movie Mogul
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2000
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The Bridge on the River Kwai: An Appreciation by Filmmaker John Milius
0/0
Filmmaker John Milius discusses David Lean's classic Academy Award winner "The Bridge on the River Kwai."
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The Bridge on the River Kwai: An Appreciation by Filmmaker John Milius
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1982
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Conan the Barbarian
6.8/2541
A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of...
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Conan the Barbarian
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1986
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Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away
0/0
This 1986 documentary features interviews with director Alexander Mackendrick, actor Burt Lancaster, producer James Hill, and others.
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Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away
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2003
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Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'
6.5/3
An overview of the making of John Huston's 1948 classic "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."
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Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'
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1989
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First Works
0/0
It's a mixed bag in the age of illuminating DVD supplements, but First Works effectively demonstrates the early promise of 13 successful filmmakers. C...
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First Works
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2019
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Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
7/8
The history of the peplum genre, known as sword-and-sandal cinema, set in Antiquity, from the silent film era to the present day.
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Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic

2019
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A Riddle of Steel: The Definitive History of Conan the Barbarian
8.5/2
The story of Conan the Cimmerian, from Robert E. Howard's pulp fiction anti-hero to pop culture icon.
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A Riddle of Steel: The Definitive History of Conan the Barbarian
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1972
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Deadhead Miles
5.4/7
A long-distance trucker, dressed like a sea captain, aimlessly sails the American highways in his 18 wheeler mumbling manic, southern accented non seq...
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Deadhead Miles
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2008
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A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry
4.5/2
Filmmakers, social scientists and authors take a provocative look at the moral, political and ethical themes of the Dirty Harry films.
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A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry
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2001
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Dirty Harry: The Original
7.4/12
A retrospective look at the five Dirty Harry films (1971-88), starring Clint Eastwood.
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Dirty Harry: The Original
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2008
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The Business End: Violence in Cinema
8/2
An unflinching look at the ongoing debate on violence in movies and its effect on the audience.
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The Business End: Violence in Cinema

2003
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The Wages of Sin
7.4/5
Second part of a three-part documentary series on the making of Once Upon a Time in the West, Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone's masterpiece, released i...
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The Wages of Sin

1995
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Shotgun Freeway
0/0
Before "L.A. Confidential", there was "Shotgun Freeway" -- the groundbreaking 1995 documentary about Los Angeles coming to grips with it's own history...
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Shotgun Freeway
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2008
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The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry
5.8/4
An in-depth look at Dirty Harry (1971), featuring interviews with such film artists as Michael Madsen, 'Hal Holbrook', John Milius, 'Shane Black' and...
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The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry
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1975
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The Lion Roars Again
0/0
A chronicle of the 1975 International Press Conclave hosted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over two days in May 1975.
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The Lion Roars Again
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2008
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The Evolution of Clint Eastwood
7/3
Follow Eastwood's career from television star to matinee idol to Oscar-winning director in this wide-ranging documentary.
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The Evolution of Clint Eastwood

2008

The Craft of Dirty Harry
6/2
A look at the cinematographers, editors, musicians, production designers and other talent of the Dirty Harry series.
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The Craft of Dirty Harry
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2003
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Something to Do with Death
6/2
Third part of a three-part documentary series on the making of Once Upon a Time in the West, Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone's masterpiece, released in...
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Something to Do with Death
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1975
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Crazy Mama
5.7/16
Melba Stokes, her mother Sheba and daughter Cheryl embark on a crime spree after their California beauty parlor is repossessed. Their destination is A...
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