Richard Lester was a highly influential director of the 1960s, who continued his career into the 1970s and early 1980s. He is best remembered for directing two films starring The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965),which featured a frenetic cutting style that was seen as a precursor to music videos.
Before working with The Beatles, Lester had gained recognition with the Oscar-nominated short film The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1959),which he made with Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. He then directed Sellers in The Mouse on the Moon (1963),and later directed Sellers in A Hard Day's Night (1964).
Lester's work with The Beatles was a huge critical and commercial success, and he went on to direct other successful films, including The Knack... and How to Get It (1965),which won the Palme d'Or at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival, and How I Won the War (1967),a satirical film that was a departure from his earlier work.
Aside from his work with The Beatles, Lester's most notable film is Petulia (1968),a corrosive look at American society that features the performances of Julie Christie and George C. Scott. However, his next film, The Bed Sitting Room (1969),was a commercial and critical failure, and Lester found himself unemployable.
Lester's career was revived when he was hired to direct The Three Musketeers (1973),which was a commercial success. He went on to direct Superman II (1980),which was a financial and critical success, and Superman III (1983),which was less successful. Lester's final film was The Return of the Musketeers (1989),which was released after the death of his close friend, actor Roy Kinnear.
