Looking for Richard Brooks: An Appreciation

A stalwart creative force of the American film industry for more than four decades, writer-director Richard Brooks stands as one of the most significant filmmaking voices of the second half of the 20th century. Working across many genres, the journalist and novelist-turned-screenwriter became a versatile director who exhibited a strikingly consistent worldview throughout his career: that of a brutal and unjust world that might yet be redeemed. His characters respond differently to this proposition, and different films introduce it with more or less intensity, but it consistently informs the moral field upon which Brooks deployed a humanistic appreciation for flawed people and a stern assessment of the breakdowns and challenges of postwar America. Along the way, he created numerous iconic film classics, and pivotal roles for some of the most important actors of his time. This series surveys some of the highlights of Brooks’ directorial career, as well as rare and not-so-rare examples of his screenwriting prowess.