Harold Becker

After almost three decades as a filmmaker, director Harold Becker has created some of the most indelible characters in film. He started out as a photographer after studying art at the Pratt Institute, and built a successful career in New York City.

Becker made his feature film debut in 1972 with The Ragman's Daughter. Based on the Alan Sillitoe novel, the film went on to win the Giovanni Award at the Venice Film Festival. He established himself as a master of the crime drama with his powerful second film, The Onion Field.

Becker then directed the critically hailed dark comedy The Black Marble. He went on to work with two budding stars, Sean Penn and Tom Cruise, in Taps, an intense military drama. Becker's next film projects were Vision Quest and "The Boost.

In 1989, Becker reached a career milestone with the film noir thriller Sea of Love, starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. Becker's aptitude for dramatic suspense was again evident in both the medical thriller Malice, and in City Hall, a sweeping tale of political corruption and deceit, which starred Al Pacino and John Cusack.

Note: This profile was written in or before 2002.

Harold Becker Facts

Occupation	Director
Birthplace	New York, New York, USA

Selected Filmography

Vision Quest

Mercury Rising

Taps

Scent of a Woman / Sea of Love Double Feature

Malice

City Hall

The Onion Field

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