Robert M Young
About
Biography
Biography
New York filmmaker who collaborated on a number of documentaries with Michael Roemer in the 1960s, notably "Cortile Cascino/The Inferno" (1962), shot for the NBC series "White Paper" but deemed too controversial to air. Young's first fiction feature as a director was the 1977 adaptation of Miguel Pinero's harrowing stage play "Short Eyes."
Young's films are noted for their gritty, unglamorous qualities and fine use of locations. Highlights include "Rich Kids" (1979), a realistic portrait of two upper-class Manhattan juveniles watching their parents' world fall apart, "Alambrista!" (1978), about the exploitation of a naive Mexican after he has crossed the border to the US, and "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (1983), based on the true story of a Mexican who killed a US sheriff in 1901.
Young has begun to reach a wider audience in the 1980s with films such as the Farrah Fawcett vehicle "Extremities" (1986) and the concentration camp drama "Triumph of the Spirit" (1989), starring Willem Dafoe.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cinematography (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Life Events
1956
Co-directed (with Murray Lerner and Lloyd Ritter) the feature-length documentary "Secrets of the Reef"
1962
Co-directed (with Michael Roemer), edited, photographed and wrote documentary "Cortile Cascino/The Inferno" (58 mins) for NBC series "White Paper"; considered too controversial to air
1964
First fiction feature as co-producer and co-writer (with director Michael Roemer), "Nothing But a Man"
1977
Fiction feature directing debut, "Short Eyes"
1987
TV movie directing debut, "We Are the Children"
Family
