Robert Zemeckis

Performer

Robert Zemeckis

Director in the Nutevio catalogue.

Born
14 May 1951
Age
75
Active
1980 — 2024
Known for
Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II
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The essay

Reading Robert Zemeckis

Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.

Why this filmmaker matters

Robert Zemeckis has 0 directed films in the Nutevio catalogue. Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influential movies. He often blends cutting-edge visual effects with storytelling. He has received several accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for five British Academy Film Awards and a Daytime Emmy Award. Zemeckis started his career directing the comedy films I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), Used Cars (1980), and Romancing the Stone (1984). He gained prominence directing the science-fiction comedy Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), the fantasy comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and the comedy-drama Forrest Gump (1994), the latter of which won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. He has also directed the satirical black comedy Death Becomes Her (1992), the science fiction film Contact (1997), and the drama films Cast Away (2000), Flight (2012), The Walk (2015), and Allied (2016). His exploration of motion capture techniques can be seen in the animated films The Polar Express (2004) and A Christmas Carol (2009), as well as the action fantasy drama Beowulf (2007) and the drama Welcome to Marwen (2018). He has collaborated with film composer Alan Silvestri since 1984 and directed Tom Hanks in five films. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Zemeckis, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Signature style

The recognisable elements are rewatchability, visual style, originality. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same eye, re-tuned for different registers. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is staged.

Legacy

Zemeckis set terms other filmmakers now work against: the structures, the pacing and the refusal to explain. Awards bodies have often been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.

Best known for

Catalogue work still being written up by our editors.

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Complete credits

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Quick facts

Born
14 May 1951
Age
75
Active
1980 — 2024
Films directed
0
In the Nutevio catalogue
Known for
Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II
Directing score
6.7
Nutevio editorial metric
Collection appearances
0
Across the library
Films rated 8+
0

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