Hal Ashby (2nd September, 1929 - 22nd December, 1988) was an Oscar winning editor and director. He was part of the ‘New Hollywood Wave:' a socially realistic period that encapsulated the late 1960’s -70’s. His contemporaries included Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.
Ashby lived a checkered life. A high school drop-out who grew up in a dysfunctional farming family in Utah. His parents divorced when he was 5. Later, when he was only 12, his father committed suicide.
At 17, Hal hitched from Utah to California where he married and divorced twice before turning 21. He was variously employed in over 50 jobs before finally becoming an assistant film editor through a lengthy apprenticeship. The editing process helped Hal see films at their most raw, thus figuring out his visual preferences and helping to create his personal style. During his apprenticeship with William Wyler, he met Norman Jewison with whom he struck up a particularly strong friendship. This led to working with and for Jewison. He lived in the editing suite which became the hangout for other budding filmmakers.
As a fully-fledged film editor, he was nominated for an Academy award for the ‘The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming'(1967)' but his big break occurred when he won an Oscar the next year for ‘In the Heat of The Night’ (1968).
A four-film collaboration with director Norman Jewison led to Hal directing his first film, ‘The Landlord’ (1970) a social satire starring Beau Bridges.
A recurring theme in Ashby's movies was personal freedom and integrity versus an oppressive, dehumanised world. Critics have stated that Ashby’s style is no style, but his films allow the viewer to see life in unexpected way. Though he only directed 16 films, including 2 documentaries, Hal’s editing of his own films enabled him to cut characters and storylines in such a radically different way as to make the viewer think they are watching one film when they are really watching something else. Thus, his movies bear repeat viewings to appreciate their texture and underlying subtleties.
One of my favourite films is 'Harold and Maude' (1971) starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon. I never tire of this black comedy concerning two misfits at opposing ends of the social spectrum who find unexpected comfort and companionship with each other. Harold is a 20-year old, bored, heir with a penchant for faking suicide. Maude is a 79 year-old, eccentric, holocaust survivor who teaches Harold how to love life. Ashby's style is never more evident than in this film: Cinematographically, the colours are muted, golds and browns. There are typical 70's camera zooms. (Nothing radically different there.) The production values vary from overblown nouveau riche excess in Harold's family home to Maude's quirky but simple Bohemian pad. Bud Cort was brilliantly cast as Harold. Ruth Gordon, in a complete turn around from her Oscar winning role in 'Rosemary's Baby', is the perfect counterpart.
Unlike his contemporaries, Ashby was less concerned with the technical innovation in filmmaking. His energies centred on direction and editing with the exception of 'Bound for Glory' the Woody Guthrie bio pic in which Steadicam was used for the first time.
Music was an integral part of his process. He shot the Rolling Stones' concert film 'Let's Spend the Night Together' footage from which has been used in 2007's 'Rolling Stones : Satisfaction.' This also includes interviews with the band members along with archival images from The Stone's early days. He also directed a video for Neil Young's 'Solo Trans.' And the video short for the Rolling Stones:'Going to a Go Go.'
Unfortunately, Ashby's career peaked in 1979 with 'Being There' starring Peter Sellers, in what critics have hailed as one of Seller's finest performances. The 80's proved to be a troubling time. Wanting more freedom, he formed his own production company 'Northstar' under the auspices of Lorimar. However, that relationship became strained with rumours about Ashby's drug taking. A series of box office failures ensued. Eschewing his hippie image failed to garner confidence in Hal and interest in him petered out. In 1988, his final film, '8 Million Ways to Die' saw Lorimar sack Ashby, take over production and hack the final edit.
Ashby managed to evince natural performances from his actors. Instead of being dictatorial, he was known as gentle. He encouraged on-set improvisation which gave Jon Voigt, David Carradine, Jane Fonda and Bruce Dern room to create some of the finest performances of their careers.
At his memorial, his kindness and helpfulness was uncovered when Sean Penn and Andy Garcia revealed Hal's unsung career aide to their friends. He subsequently influenced many other directors such as Wes Anderson, Alexander Payne, Judd Apatow and in turn, Seth Rogan and Jonathan Demme in whom his spark of genius lives on.
Hal Ashby quotes:
"I basically have a very positive philosophy of life, because I don't feel I have anything to lose... Most things are going to turn out okay... I don't like to tell lies."
