Silvio Narizzano

{{Short description|Canadian film and television director (1927–2011)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Silvio Narizzano

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1927|02|08}}

| birth_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2011|07|26|1927|2|8}}

| death_place = London, England

| alma_mater = Bishop's University

| occupation = {{hlist|Director|producer}}

| years_active = 1951–1995

}}

Silvio Narizzano (8 February 1927{{Spaced ndash}}26 July 2011){{cite news|first=Ronald |last=Bergan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jul/28/silvio-narizzano-obituary| title= Silvio Narizzano Obituary|work=The Guardian|location= UK|date=July 28, 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205142358/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jul/28/silvio-narizzano-obituary|archivedate=5 December 2011|url-status=live}} was a Canadian film and television director, who lived and worked primarily in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the acclaimed 1966 comedy-drama film Georgy Girl, which is considered a classic of the Swinging London era. He was also a prolific director of television dramas.

Over the course of his career, he was nominated for four BAFTA Awards, winning once for Best Drama Series for the legal drama Court Martial. He was also nominated for the Golden Bear, the Palme d'Or, and a Directors Guild of America Award.

Early life and education

Narizzano was born in Montreal, Quebec to Italian American parents,{{Cite web |title=Canadian Film Encyclopedia - Silvio Narizzano |url=https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/silvio-narizzano |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=cfe.tiff.net}} and was educated at Bishop's University. After graduation, he worked at the Mountain Playhouse in Montreal, and before joining the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as an assistant to Norman Jewison, Arthur Hiller and Ted Kotcheff. During this time, he directed a documentary about Tyrone Guthrie.

Narizzano's cinematic influences included Richard Lester, Tony Richardson, John Schlesinger, and the French New Wave.

Career

Narizzano was a director on the CBC programmes Tales of Adventure and General Motors Theatre. In the mid-1950s, he and many other Canadian creatives (including Jewison and Kotcheff) moved to the United Kingdom at the recommendation of Sydney Newman, the former CBC chief-turned-head of drama for ITV. Narizzano directed episodes of ITV Play of the Week and ITV Television Playhouse.

He made his film directorial debut in 1965, with Hammer Horror's Fanatic (1965), starring Tallulah Bankhead (in her final film), Stefanie Powers and an early role for Donald Sutherland.

Narizzano's most successful film was Georgy Girl (1966), which received four Academy Award nominations as well as a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film, and was entered into the 16th Berlin International Film Festival.

His other work included The Glass Menagerie for Granada TV (1963), Loot, the 1970 film of Joe Orton's play of the same name, the comedy-drama Why Shoot the Teacher? (1977), Demi Moore's debut film Choices, and the made-for-television films Staying On (1980, adapted from Paul Scott's novel of the same name), "Young Shoulders" 1984 Play for Today for BBC from John Wain's novel and The Body in the Library (1984, adapted from the Agatha Christie murder mystery). His Come Back, Little Sheba (1977), a TV version of the play by William Inge, was broadcast as part of the anthology series Laurence Olivier Presents. In 1990 Narizzano directed a pilot for a British detective series: Inspector Alleyn Mysteries based on the novels by Dame Ngaio Marsh written in the 1930s. The pilot, titled "Artists in Crime", was first aired 23 December 1990 on BB1.

Personal life

Narizzano was bisexual, and was in a longtime relationship with screenwriter Win Wells.

From the 1960s, Narizzano divided his time between London and Mojácar, Spain. He suffered from recurring depression in adulthood, which worsened in the 1980s following the death of Wells in 1983.

Toward the end of his life, Narizzano was referred to a psychiatric unit which was part of a voluntary inpatient facility for complex depression and anxiety which provided practical and emotional support as part of St. Pancras Hospital.