Richard Attenborough’s strength is making a supporting character matter without demanding the whole film’s attention. We value the seriousness of his Bartlett and the warmth of his Hammond, though his characters are sometimes thinly written.
Fi1m perspective
Hammond’s enthusiasm in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993) makes it easy to understand why anyone would listen to him. Attenborough gives that confidence enough warmth to make the doubts about the park sting. We liked him, and that made us uneasy: his appeal encourages us to give the enterprise more credit than it deserves. Michael Crichton and David Koepp’s screenplay leaves him a fairly simple character, but the performance makes that simplicity less damaging.
Pinkie in Brighton Rock (1947) brought him prominence, and his early casting tended towards spivs and cowards. By John Sturges’s The Great Escape (1963), he was giving Bartlett the serious weight that an ensemble full of resourceful, conspicuously confident men needed. Steve McQueen’s Hilts provides much of the ease and humour; Attenborough gives the collective effort gravity. Sturges keeps those differences clear, so Bartlett can hold our attention while others get the more immediately entertaining business.
His Sir William Cecil in Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth (1998) is similarly useful to a film built around someone else. Cate Blanchett’s alert, vulnerable queen has substantial company in Attenborough and Geoffrey Rush’s Sir Francis Walsingham, and neither needs to compete with her. That restraint helps keep our interest where it belongs, with the queen’s struggle to hold power.
He began directing features in 1969, and the later films often show the same respect for an actor’s contribution. In Gandhi (1982), Ben Kingsley’s alertness keeps the reverence bearable. Lesley Walker’s editing gives Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger time to register in Shadowlands (1993), though George Fenton’s music sometimes provides more encouragement than the performances need. Attenborough can be too careful about preparing our feelings, leaving little chance of surprise. Start with The Great Escape for his acting; Bartlett’s seriousness is worth watching even when McQueen seems to be having more fun.
Biography
Richard Attenborough was an English actor, director and producer. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his film debut in 1942. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit.
His early acting roles included An English Pilot in A Matter of Life and Death (1946) and Pinkie in Brighton Rock (1947). He later appeared in The Great Escape (1963) and as John Hammond in Jurassic Park (1993) and its 1997 sequel. As a director he is best known for Gandhi (1982), which won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. He was knighted in 1976 and created a life peer in 1993.
Attenborough was the elder brother of naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough. He was married to actress Sheila Sim from 1945 until his death in 2014.
