Peter Medak, Director of The Changeling and The Krays, Dies Aged 88

Peter Medak, Director of The Changeling and The Krays, Dies Aged 88

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Peter Medak, the Hungarian-born director whose career spanned the psychological dread of The Changeling and the gritty underworld of The Krays, has died at age 88. His family announced that Medak passed away peacefully in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

His 1980 The Changeling is admired by directors like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, with the latter naming it one of his favourite horror movies.

A Career Built on High Stakes and Higher Tension

Born in Budapest in 1937, Medak’s early life was defined by survival. He and his Jewish family were forced into hiding during World War II, and he eventually escaped Hungary during the 1956 uprising. He landed in London, where his aunt, the opera singer Lotte Medák, helped him secure a traineeship at Associated British-Pathé.

Medak’s early feature work was an exercise in versatility. He debuted in 1968 with the erotic thriller Negatives, starring Glenda Jackson, before moving into the biting social commentary of the early 1970s. In 1972, he released A Day in the Death of Joe Egg and The Ruling Class. The latter, a dark comedy featuring Peter O’Toole as a nobleman who believes he is both Jesus Christ and Jack the Ripper, earned O’Toole an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

However, the industry is rarely a linear ascent. In 1974, Medak encountered what he later described as the “biggest disaster” and “biggest nightmare” of his life: Ghost in the Noonday Sun. The production was plagued by the erratic behavior of lead actor Peter Sellers, leading to massive budget overruns and a film that remained largely unseen for over a decade. The experience was so formative—and traumatic—that Medak eventually turned it into a documentary, The Ghost of Peter Sellers, which screened at the Venice Film Festival in 2018.

Peter Medak
Photo: hollywoodreporter.com

The Architecture of Dread and Crime

Medak’s professional redemption arrived via the supernatural. The Changeling (1980), starring George C. Scott, transformed the haunted house trope into a study of grief and sadness. Steven Spielberg screened the film multiple times for his crew during the production of Poltergeist to establish the necessary tone.

By the 1990s, Medak shifted his focus toward the intersection of crime and systemic failure. He directed The Krays (1990), casting Spandau Ballet’s Gary and Martin Kemp as the notorious East End twins, and Let Him Have It (1991), which examined the controversial hanging of Derek Bentley. These films showcased Medak’s work with British crime and true stories, including a controversial hanging.

“Peter directed our first film and we couldn’t have hoped for a kinder, more respectful collaborator. It was wonderful to be treated as equals by this very experienced film-maker.”

The quote above comes from Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, the screenwriters of Skyfall and No Time to Die, who worked with Medak on Let Him Have It.

From the Silver Screen to the Golden Age of TV

As the industry shifted toward the prestige television model, Medak successfully transitioned his skillset to the small screen. He contributed to some of the most influential dramas in American television history. His credits include episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire, Breaking Bad, and House.

In the world of The Wire and Breaking Bad, Medak’s eye for atmospheric detail and character psychology found a natural home.

From the disaster of the Sellers project to the cult status of his horror work, he managed his career after fleeing Hungary during the uprising.

Worth a look

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