It was announced that Peter Watkins, the filmmaker behind the 1965 movie The War Game, passed away on Oct. 30 in Bourganeuf, France. The news was posted on his website by his wife. He was 90 years old.
The British filmmaker was best known for his docudrama and mockumentary genres, typically with heavy political content. Watkins was born in Surrey on October 29, 1935 to George and Peggy Watkins. After doing his National Service with the East Surrey Regiment, he studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then began his career in television and film as an assistant producer of short TV films and commercials. In 1962, he became the Director of Documentaries at the BBC.
His first film with the BBC was Culloden, released in 1964, which depicted the 1746 Battle of Culloden, the final war of the Jacobite rising of 1745. The movie was known for its breakthrough for its presentation of a historical event in the style of modern TV war reporting, as well as its use of non-professional actors.
A year later, Watkins released The War Game, which showed a nuclear war in England and its aftermath. Due to its violent and political nature, the BBC and the government deemed it was “too horrifying” to air, according to his obituary published by the New York Times. The film was shelved for 20 years, although it was shown elsewhere, winning a special award at the 1966 Venice Film Festival and winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. He eventually resigned from the BBC and never forgave them for never showing the film during its release, which he considered “political censorship.” The movie finally aired on the channel on July 31, 1985.
English film and television director Peter Watkins, UK, 12th February 1972.
After The War Game, Watkins left England and went on to create many TV shows and films around the world, including Punishment Park, La Commune, Privilege, The Gladiators, Edvard Munch, Evening Land and Resan. He also taught film courses at Columbia University in the 1970s. In 2004, he wrote the book Media Crisis, which discusses his ideas of media hegemony and the lack of debate around the construction of new forms of audiovisual media.
The filmmaker is survived by his wife, Vida Urbonavičius, his two sons, Patrick and Gerard, whom he had from his first marriage to Françoise Letourneur, his brother Paul and two grandchildren. Watkins spent the last quarter of his life in France and passed away in a hospital.
Related: Iconic ’60s Actress and TV Legend Dies at 100
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