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Assheton Gorton obituary Assheton Gorton obituary
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Film production designers rarely get a mention in reviews, but Assheton Gorton, who has died aged 84, stood out because of his striking designs for 18 films, from The Knack … and How to Get It (1965) to 102 Dalmatians (2000).Film production designers rarely get a mention in reviews, but Assheton Gorton, who has died aged 84, stood out because of his striking designs for 18 films, from The Knack … and How to Get It (1965) to 102 Dalmatians (2000).
For Richard Lester's The Knack, a modish mod comedy that won the Palme d'Or, Gorton saw to it that the rooms of the three young male leads, including Michael Crawford, were painted in three contrasting tones, although the film was in black and white, in a house he visualised as "designed by a mad Art Deco do-it-yourself designer". This was followed by Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966) and upon its release Gorton immediately became identified with British swinging 60s movies.For Richard Lester's The Knack, a modish mod comedy that won the Palme d'Or, Gorton saw to it that the rooms of the three young male leads, including Michael Crawford, were painted in three contrasting tones, although the film was in black and white, in a house he visualised as "designed by a mad Art Deco do-it-yourself designer". This was followed by Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966) and upon its release Gorton immediately became identified with British swinging 60s movies.
In Blow-Up, the apotheosis of the fashion-conscious, liberating era, Gorton created the environment for the photographer (David Hemmings), from flashy photographic studios to psychedelic pop music clubs, from the chic to the gaudy. As Antonioni said, Gorton was "not trying to capture reality but to find out what it is", using "a symphony of colours" unusual for British films at the time.In Blow-Up, the apotheosis of the fashion-conscious, liberating era, Gorton created the environment for the photographer (David Hemmings), from flashy photographic studios to psychedelic pop music clubs, from the chic to the gaudy. As Antonioni said, Gorton was "not trying to capture reality but to find out what it is", using "a symphony of colours" unusual for British films at the time.
Gorton was born in Leeds, the son of Neville and Ethel Gorton. His father was a clergyman, headteacher of Blundell's school in Devon and subsequently bishop of Coventry. Gorton went to Sedbergh boarding school in Cumbria, and credited his inspiration for design to the time he spent in the Lake District as a child. During his national service, which he spent in Hong Kong, he decided he wanted to become an artist, but practical considerations drove him to study architecture at King's College, Cambridge. While there, he designed sets for stage productions, before furthering his art studies at the Slade in London.Gorton was born in Leeds, the son of Neville and Ethel Gorton. His father was a clergyman, headteacher of Blundell's school in Devon and subsequently bishop of Coventry. Gorton went to Sedbergh boarding school in Cumbria, and credited his inspiration for design to the time he spent in the Lake District as a child. During his national service, which he spent in Hong Kong, he decided he wanted to become an artist, but practical considerations drove him to study architecture at King's College, Cambridge. While there, he designed sets for stage productions, before furthering his art studies at the Slade in London.
Gorton's first steps in art directing were at ITV, after a few years supplying props for shows. As production designer, he was employed from 1958 to 1970 on episodes of Armchair Theatre. But production design for feature films had been his goal ever since, as a teenager, he had seen the artwork of Roger Furse and Carmen Dillon on Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948) and of John Bryan for David Lean's Great Expectations (1949). Although Gorton entered films much later, he still tried to keep the slightly surreal elements he saw in those film designs. He also believed in the considered adaptation of real locations, using the dimensions and shapes of real buildings.Gorton's first steps in art directing were at ITV, after a few years supplying props for shows. As production designer, he was employed from 1958 to 1970 on episodes of Armchair Theatre. But production design for feature films had been his goal ever since, as a teenager, he had seen the artwork of Roger Furse and Carmen Dillon on Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948) and of John Bryan for David Lean's Great Expectations (1949). Although Gorton entered films much later, he still tried to keep the slightly surreal elements he saw in those film designs. He also believed in the considered adaptation of real locations, using the dimensions and shapes of real buildings.
Joseph McGrath's The Bliss of Mrs Blossom (1968), a wacky comedy-drama about a wife (Shirley MacLaine) with a boring husband (Richard Attenborough), who keeps a lover (James Booth) in the attic, gave Gorton the chance to create an off-centre architectural space for the attic and a billiard room. But his most surreal designs – a devastated landscape with some remnants of London – were for Lester's The Bed Sitting Room (1969), a black post-nuclear war absurdist comedy in which Ralph Richardson turns into the bedsit of the title and Arthur Lowe becomes a parrot. For McGrath's The Magic Christian (1969), an episodic satire, starring Peter Sellers, Gorton managed to keep a visual unity, but it was plainly the end of the swinging 60s.Joseph McGrath's The Bliss of Mrs Blossom (1968), a wacky comedy-drama about a wife (Shirley MacLaine) with a boring husband (Richard Attenborough), who keeps a lover (James Booth) in the attic, gave Gorton the chance to create an off-centre architectural space for the attic and a billiard room. But his most surreal designs – a devastated landscape with some remnants of London – were for Lester's The Bed Sitting Room (1969), a black post-nuclear war absurdist comedy in which Ralph Richardson turns into the bedsit of the title and Arthur Lowe becomes a parrot. For McGrath's The Magic Christian (1969), an episodic satire, starring Peter Sellers, Gorton managed to keep a visual unity, but it was plainly the end of the swinging 60s.
The New York Times's review of George Englund's spoof western Zachariah (1971), without mentioning Gorton's name, said that "the scene designer is up on several current styles, the border bordello, for example, hides behind a series of flats painted in the pop-art manner of a Wesselmann lithograph". In contrast, for Mike Hodges's seminal downbeat gangster thriller Get Carter (1971), Gorton provided the atmospheric setting of a seedy Newcastle against which a London hitman (Michael Caine) moves on a mission of vengeance.The New York Times's review of George Englund's spoof western Zachariah (1971), without mentioning Gorton's name, said that "the scene designer is up on several current styles, the border bordello, for example, hides behind a series of flats painted in the pop-art manner of a Wesselmann lithograph". In contrast, for Mike Hodges's seminal downbeat gangster thriller Get Carter (1971), Gorton provided the atmospheric setting of a seedy Newcastle against which a London hitman (Michael Caine) moves on a mission of vengeance.
For Karel Reisz's The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), which starred Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep and for which Gorton received an Oscar nomination, many of the buildings of Lyme Regis in Dorset were repainted to suit the 1867 setting. For Ridley Scott's fairy tale, Legend (1985), Gorton built dozens of huge trees on a stage at Pinewood studios so that the actors, including Tom Cruise, looked tiny, and he put mirrors on the walls, making the forest seem immeasurable.For Karel Reisz's The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), which starred Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep and for which Gorton received an Oscar nomination, many of the buildings of Lyme Regis in Dorset were repainted to suit the 1867 setting. For Ridley Scott's fairy tale, Legend (1985), Gorton built dozens of huge trees on a stage at Pinewood studios so that the actors, including Tom Cruise, looked tiny, and he put mirrors on the walls, making the forest seem immeasurable.
His well-researched designs for two period pieces, Hugh Hudson's Revolution (1985) and Michael Caton-Jones's Rob Roy (1995) added greatly to their power and authenticity. Gorton's work on Shadow of the Vampire (2000), his penultimate film, was a tour de force, recreating the atmosphere surrounding of the making of FW Murnau's 1922 horror movie Nosferatu at the UFA studios in Berlin. Willem Dafoe played the actor Max Schreck, who seems oddly at home in his role as a vampire.His well-researched designs for two period pieces, Hugh Hudson's Revolution (1985) and Michael Caton-Jones's Rob Roy (1995) added greatly to their power and authenticity. Gorton's work on Shadow of the Vampire (2000), his penultimate film, was a tour de force, recreating the atmosphere surrounding of the making of FW Murnau's 1922 horror movie Nosferatu at the UFA studios in Berlin. Willem Dafoe played the actor Max Schreck, who seems oddly at home in his role as a vampire.
Living in Powys on the Welsh border since the 70s, Gorton also wrote and illustrated children's books. He is survived by his wife, Gayatri, and their children, Steve, Barnaby and Sophie, and by his brother Stephen and sister Quenilda. Living in Powys on the Welsh border since the 70s, Gorton also wrote and illustrated children's books. He is survived by his wife, Gayatri, and their children, Steve, Barnaby and Sophie, and by his brother, Stephen.
• Assheton St George Gorton, production designer, born 10 July 1930; died 14 September 2014• Assheton St George Gorton, production designer, born 10 July 1930; died 14 September 2014
• Picture of Assheton Gorton courtsey of the Buddhist Centre • Picture of Assheton Gorton courtesy of the Buddhist Centre
• This article was amended on 6 October 2014. The original wrongly stated that Gorton was survived by his sister Quenilda. This has been corrected.