Peter Weir

Biography

Peter Lindsay Weir AM (born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He is known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Gallipoli (1981), Witness (1985), Dead Poets Society (1989), Fearless (1993), The Truman Show (1998), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), and The Way Back (2010). He has received six Academy Award nominations, ultimately being awarded the Academy Honorary Award in 2022 for his lifetime achievement career. Early in his career as a director, Weir was a leading figure in the Australian New Wave cinema movement (1970–1990). Weir made his feature film debut with Homesdale and continued with the mystery drama Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), the supernatural thriller The Last Wave (1977) and the historical drama Gallipoli (1981). Weir gained tremendous success with the multinational production The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). After the success of The Year of Living Dangerously, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films covering most genres–many of them major box office hits–including Academy Award-nominated films such as the thriller W…

Directed

1. The Truman Show (1998) — Director
2. Dead Poets Society (1989) — Director
3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) — Director
4. Witness (1985) — Director
5. The Way Back (2010) — Director
6. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) — Director
7. Gallipoli (1981) — Director
8. Green Card (1990) — Director
9. The Mosquito Coast (1986) — Director
10. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) — Director
11. Fearless (1993) — Director
12. The Last Wave (1977) — Director
13. The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) — Director
14. The Plumber (1979) — Director
15. Homesdale (1971) — Director
16. Incredible Floridas (1972) — Director
17. Three to Go (1971) — Director
18. Luke's Kingdom (1976) — Director
19. 3 Directions in Australian Pop Music (1972) — Director
20. Whatever Happened to Green Valley? (1974) — Director
21. The Life and Flight of the Reverend Buck Shotte (1968) — Director
22. Count Vim's Last Exercise (1968) — Director
23. Three to Go: Michael (1970) — Director
24. Heart, Head & Hand (1979) — Director
25. Adults Learning: Boat Building (1972) — Director
26. Stirring the Pool (1969) — Director
27. Adults Learning: The Field Day (1972) — Director
28. Adults Learning: The Computer Centre (1972) — Director
29. Adults Learning: The Billiard Room (1972) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) — Self
2. Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford (2023) — Self
3. Homesdale (1971) — Robert 2
4. The Hundred Days (2004) — Self
5. A Dream Within a Dream: The Making of 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (2004) — Self
6. Spécial cinéma (1974) — Self
7. A Recollection... Hanging Rock 1900 (1975) — Self
8. How's It Going to End - The Making of 'The Truman Show' (2005) — Self
9. Entrenched: The Making of Gallipoli (2005) — Himself
10. Walkabout to Hollywood (1980) — Self
11. Dubai Winter Diary VI: Light and Reflections (2012) — Self
12. The Life and Flight of the Reverend Buck Shotte (1968) — Buck
13. Count Vim's Last Exercise (1968) — Mr. Thin
14. Man on a Green Bike (1969) — Technology/Mayor of Cadmium