Few people were so good at so many things as Peter Bogdanovich. He was a director and actor and an avid film historian. He was the author of more than a dozen books on film. His work was thoughtful and compelling. He moved from discipline to discipline like few others.
If you’d like to stream his work, most of his directorial classics are available to watch on demand. And his dry appearances on “The Sopranos” as Dr. Elliot Kupferberg were a treat that helped provide greater depth to his patient - Tony Soprano’s therapist.
One of his most loved quotes is a north star to cinema fans: “There are no ‘old’ movies, only movies you have already seen and ones you haven’t.”
The Best of Peter Bogdanovich
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream
October 14, 2007Directed by Peter Bogdanovich and packed with rare concert footage and home movies, this documentary explores the history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, including Petty’s famous collaborations and notorious clashes with the record industry. Interviews with musical luminaries including Jackson Browne, George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, Dave Stewart and Petty himself shed some revelatory vision.
Bogdanovich won a Grammy for Best Music Film for directing this.
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The Sopranos
January 10, 1999The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony’s family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.
Bogdanovich guest-starred as Dr. Melfi’s therapist in 15 episodes of this classic mob drama.
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Noises Off…
March 20, 1992Hired to helm an Americanized take on a British play, director Lloyd Fellowes does his best to control an eccentric group of stage actors. With a star actress quickly passing her prime, a male lead with no confidence, and a bit actor that’s rarely sober, chaos ensues in the lead up to a Broadway premiere.
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Mask
March 8, 1985A boy with a massive facial skull deformity and his biker gang mother attempt to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.
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Paper Moon
May 9, 1973A bible salesman finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership as a money-making con team in Depression-era Kansas.
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What's Up, Doc?
March 9, 1972The accidental mix-up of four identical plaid overnight bags leads to a series of increasingly wild and wacky situations.
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The Last Picture Show
October 3, 1971High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating a local beauty, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach’s wife. As graduation nears and both boys contemplate their futures, Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business. Each struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
Newsweek magazine called this movie “the most impressive work by a young American director since ‘Citizen Kane.’”
Peter Bogdanovich passed away. He was a dear friend and a champion of Cinema. He birthed masterpieces as a director and was a most genial human. He single-handedly interviewed and enshrined the lives and work of more classic filmmakers than almost anyone else in his generation. pic.twitter.com/hL08ORCilN
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 6, 2022