David Pirie
Encyclopedia
David Pirie is a screenwriter
, film producer
, film critic, and novelist.
As a screenwriter
, Pirie has written numerous mysteries
and horror
-themed works, mostly for television
, including recently the hit ITV series Murderland starring Robbie Coltrane (2009). He was nominated for a BAFTA
for his adaptation of Wilkie Collins
's The Woman in White
(1997). He scripted two Sherlock Holmes
TV-movies for BBC2, Murder Rooms (2000) and Murder Rooms: The Patient's Eyes (2001), and was credited as associate producer for both titles. He provided the script for the horror film
, Element of Doubt (1996), and worked (uncredited) on the screenplay for Lars von Trier
's Breaking the Waves
(1996).
Pirie has written numerous film reviews for such publications as Sight and Sound and Monthly Film Bulletin
. He was the Film Section editor of the London
listings magazine Time Out. His first book, A Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema 1946 - 1972
(1973), was the first book-length survey of the British
horror film, and is still considered the definitive study of that particular period. In it he analyzes the films of Hammer
and Amicus
, as well as other British horror phenomena, including the works of Michael Reeves
as well as what Pirie referred to as Anglo-Amalgamated
's "Sadean
Trilogy", beginning with Horrors of the Black Museum
in 1959. An updated version of Pirie's book, entitled A New Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema was published in 2008. Other film related works include The Vampire Cinema (1975) and Anatomy of the Movies (1981, as editor).
He has written several novels, including Mystery Story (1980), The Night Calls (2003), and The Dark Water: The Strange Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2006).
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, film critic, and novelist.
As a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, Pirie has written numerous mysteries
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
and horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
-themed works, mostly for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, including recently the hit ITV series Murderland starring Robbie Coltrane (2009). He was nominated for a BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
for his adaptation of Wilkie Collins
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
's The Woman in White
The Woman in White (novel)
The Woman in White is an epistolary novel written by Wilkie Collins in 1859, serialized in 1859–1860, and first published in book form in 1860...
(1997). He scripted two Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
TV-movies for BBC2, Murder Rooms (2000) and Murder Rooms: The Patient's Eyes (2001), and was credited as associate producer for both titles. He provided the script for the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, Element of Doubt (1996), and worked (uncredited) on the screenplay for Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
's Breaking the Waves
Breaking the Waves
Breaking the Waves is a 1996 film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Emily Watson. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 1970s, it tells the story of an unusual young woman, Bess McNeill, and of the love she has for Jan, her husband. The film is an international co-production led by Lars...
(1996).
Pirie has written numerous film reviews for such publications as Sight and Sound and Monthly Film Bulletin
Monthly Film Bulletin
The Monthly Film Bulletin was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a narrow arthouse release. The MFB was edited in the mid-1950s by David Robinson, in the late...
. He was the Film Section editor of the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
listings magazine Time Out. His first book, A Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema 1946 - 1972
A Heritage of Horror
A Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema 1946-1972 is a 1973 book written by David Pirie analysing the horror films made by the British film industry and attempting to claim them as a legitimate expression of national culture....
(1973), was the first book-length survey of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
horror film, and is still considered the definitive study of that particular period. In it he analyzes the films of Hammer
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
and Amicus
Amicus
Amicus was the United Kingdom's second-largest trade union, and the largest private sector union, formed by the merger of Manufacturing Science and Finance, the AEEU agreed in 2001, and two smaller unions, UNIFI and the GPMU...
, as well as other British horror phenomena, including the works of Michael Reeves
Michael Reeves
Michael Reeves was an English film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the 1968 American International Pictures/Tigon motion picture Witchfinder General...
as well as what Pirie referred to as Anglo-Amalgamated
Anglo-Amalgamated
Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy that operated from 1945 to the 1970s. Much of the output was low budget and often second features, many produced at Merton Park Studios...
's "Sadean
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
Trilogy", beginning with Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of the Black Museum is a British horror film starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree.It was the first film in what film critic David Pirie dubbed Anglo-Amalgamated's "Sadian trilogy" , with an emphasis on sadism, cruelty and violence , in contrast to the supernatural...
in 1959. An updated version of Pirie's book, entitled A New Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema was published in 2008. Other film related works include The Vampire Cinema (1975) and Anatomy of the Movies (1981, as editor).
He has written several novels, including Mystery Story (1980), The Night Calls (2003), and The Dark Water: The Strange Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2006).