Phillip Borsos

A protégé of Francis Ford Coppola, Philip Borsos was a talented Canadian director whose life ended before he had much chance to fulfill the promise of his debut film, The Grey Fox (1982). The beautifully photographed tale of a real-life gentleman bandit in British Columbia, the story made stunt-man Richard Farnsworth one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors and received considerable critical acclaim. It also won several Genie Awards (Canadian Oscars). Borsos made films in genres ranging from terse thrillers to family films, but while the themes have little in common, his approach was to utilize intelligent scripts featuring carefully developed characters, low-key, believable performances (these elements led some critics to carp that Borsos films can be achingly slow-paced) and spectacular cinematography. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Borsos started out making documentary short films such as Cooperage (1976) and Spartree (1977). His 1979 short Nails was nominated for an Oscar. Other notable feature films from Brosos include the surprisingly dark family-oriented Christmas drama One Magic Christmas (1985); Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1993), starring Donald Sutherland, and the poetic wilderness adventure Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995). While finishing shooting on the latter production, (filmed along the wild coastline of British Columbia), Borsos was diagnosed with leukemia. In late October, 1994, he underwent a bone-marrow transplant, but the transplant failed, and Borsos died in early 1995. In addition to directing, Borsos occasionally played small supporting roles in such features as Weird Science (1985) and The Shadow (1994).

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide