Born August 21, 1944 in Sydney, Australia, the son of Peggy and Lindsey Weir, a real estate agent, Peter Weir studied arts and law at the University of Sydney where his interest in film was sparked by his involvement with fellow students including Philip Noyce and other future filmmakers.

Weir first worked in Australian TV during the 1960s where he met future wife costume designer Wendy Stites to whom he has been happily married since 1966. His first theatrical film was 1971’s Three to Go for which he directed one of the film’s three segments. The first full-length feature film he directed on his own was the 1974 underground cult classic, The Cars That Ate Paris

Weir’s breakthrough film was 1975’s atmospheric period mystery, Picnic at Hanging Rock starring Rachel Roberts and Dominic Guard, which was followed by 1977’s supernatural thriller, The Last Wave starring Richard Chamberlain, both of which had delayed U.S. openings. His historical epic, 1981’s Gallipoli starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, however, opened almost simultaneously in Australia and the U.S., becoming one of the most acclaimed films of the year and winning a slew of Australian film awards. An expected Oscar nominee, Gallipoli was shockingly overlooked by AMPAS but Weir would soon make up for lost time with the Academy.

The director’s 1983 film, The Year of Living Dangerously, about journalistic loyalty in Sukarno’s Indonesia of 1965 starring Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver, won an Oscar for Supporting Actress Linda Hunt’s amazing turn as a male photographer. Weir’s first American film, 1985’s Witness, set in Pennsylvania’s contemporary Amish country, earned him his first Oscar nomination for Best Director and the only acting nomination of star Harrison Ford’s career.

Ford again starred for Weir in 1986’s The Mosquito Coast along with Helen Mirren and River Phoenix. Weir’s next film, 1989’s Dead Poets Society earned him his second Oscar nomination along with an acting nod for Robin Williams as an inspirational teacher in a 1950s New England boys’ prep school.

Weir received his third Oscar nomination, his only one for writing, for his screenplay for the 1990 comedy, Green Card starring Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. His 1993 film in which Jeff Bridges considers himself invincible after surviving a plane crash, Fearless, earned a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Rosie Perez. Five years later, Weir Received his fourth Oscar nomination for his direction of The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey.

Another five years later, Weir received his fifth and sixth Oscar nominations for producing and directing 2003’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World staring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, set during the Napoleonic wars. His last film to date was 2010’s The Way Back starring Jim Sturgess and Colin Farrell in a true story about escapees from a Russian gulag in the mid-1950s.

Peter Weir was the recipient of an honorary Oscar in November, 2022 at 78.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

GALLIPOLI (1981)

Nominated for 12 AFI (American Film Institute) awards, Australia’s equivalent of the Oscar, and winner of 8 including Best Picture and Director, this stirring anti-war classic in the tradition of All Quiet on the Western Front and Paths of Glory was an eyeopener for Australians and indeed the rest of the world to the mostly forgotten generation of single young men who rushed blindly into volunteering in World World I, leading to an almost total wipeout. Rising star Mel Gibson as a laid back, amateur runner, and newcomer Mark Lee as a professionally trained one, lead the impressive cast.

WITNESS (1985)

Nominated for 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, and Actor (Harrison Ford), and winner of 2 for Best Original Screenplay and Film Editing, this one-of-a-kind murder mystery is set within the modern Amish community in rural Pennsylvania. This was Ford’s only Oscar nomination in his long and distinguished career. Also outstanding were Kelly McGillis as the mother of the boy who witnesses a murder while on a trip to Philadelphia, and Lucas Haas as the boy. This was Hass’ first film since his acclaimed debut as Jane Alexander’s youngest child and first to die in 1983’s Testament.

DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989)

Nominated for 4 Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, and Actor (Robin Williams), and winner for Best Original Screenplay, Williams’ portrayal of an inspirational teacher at a New England boys’ prep school in the 1950s was the actor’s first straight dramatic role after a series of highly successful comedies. The film was also acclaimed for its cast of rising stars as his students, most notably Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, and Josh Charles with Kurtwood Smith outstanding in support as Leonard’s father. It also gave a good late career role to veteran actor Norman Lloyd who would live until 2021, dying at 106.

THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998)

Nominated for 3 Oscars, including Best Director, Supporting Actor (Ed Harris), and Original Screenplay, this Twilight Zone inspired film is a bout a character in a reality TV program who doesn’t know that his life isn’t real. The film which predates all those reality TV shows and instant celebrity YouTube, Instagram, and Tik Tok people, was probably ahead of its time. Jim Carrey, whose performances are usually over-the-top and obnoxious, is actually endearing in what is in retrospect his best performance in the film’s lead role. It was Harris as his director, however, who won the most acclaim at the time.

MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (2003)

Nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay, and winner of 2 for its Cinematography and Sound Editing, it’s difficult to believe that Weir’s last great success is now twenty years old. Nearly all the film takes place aboard the HMS Surprise which has been in battle in the Napoleonic wars with more to come. The ship is commanded by Russell Crowe. He and Paul Bettany as the ship’s doctor received numerous awards recognition, but were curiously left out of the film’s Oscar nods. Including amongst its 10 nominations, however, was one for Weir’s wife Wendy for Costume Design.

PETER WEIR AND OSCAR

• Witness (1985) nominated – Best Director
• Dead Poets Society (1989) nominated – Best Director
• Green Card (1990) nominated – Best Original Screenplay
• The Truman Show (1998) nominated – Best Director
• Master and Commander” The Far Side of the World (2003) nominated – Best Picture
• Master and Commander” The Far Side of the World (2003) nominated – Best Director
• Honorary Award (2022) – Oscar – Career Achievement