This page uses content from the Donald Cammell biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Donald Seaton Cammell (January 17, 1934 – April 24, 1996) was a Scottish film director who enjoys a cult reputation thanks to his debut film Performance, which he co-directed with Nicolas Roeg.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Cammell was a prodigy as a society portrait painter and thanks to family connections became a central figure of the swinging London social scene of the 1960s. After Performance Cammell struggled to get another film produced until the visually stunning but low key Demon Seed in 1977. He also made the eccentric horror thriller White of the Eye in 1987. Between infrequent film and TV directing jobs, Cammell made a mark directing music videos for the likes of U2.

When Cammell's 1995 film Wild Side was cut by the producer, he committed suicide by shooting himself, though the wound was not immediately fatal. He asked for a mirror so that he could watch himself die. A posthumous "director's cut", commissioned by FilmFour, and edited by his widow China Kong and editor Frank Mazzola, was released in 2000 to critical acclaim.

Filmography

Films as director

• Performance, with Nicholas Roeg (1968)
• Demon Seed (1977)
• White Of The Eye (1987)
• The Argument (1998)
• Wild Side (1999)

External links

• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• Donald Cammell @ pHinnWeb
• Essay review of "Wild Side"
• Donald Cammell at the IMDB

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