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Robert Towne

Highest Rated: 98% Chinatown (1974)

Lowest Rated: 0% Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961)

Birthday: Nov 23, 1934

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA

Despite four Oscar-nominated screenplays, writer Robert Towne owed much of his reputation to his prowess as a pinch hitter, earning considerable respect as one of Hollywood's preeminent script doctors on a wide array of famous works like "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), "The Godfather" (1972) and "Marathon Man" (1976). Emerging from the schlock of Roger Corman's B-grade sci-fi flicks, Towne reached the top of his game in the mid-1970s by writing three-straight films that were nominated for Academy Awards: "The Last Detail" (1973), "Chinatown" (1974) and "Shampoo" (1975). Towne also delved into directing with acclaimed films like "Personal Best" (1982) and "Without Limits" (1998), though most of his directing efforts failed to make much of a box office impression. For Towne, it was always his Oscar-winning script for "Chinatown" that earned him widespread recognition for being one of the finest scribes of his day, while giving him the distinction of having penned what many considered to be greatest screenplay in cinema history. In fact, Towne's masterwork was studied by would-be scribes hoping to unlock its secrets decades after its release, attesting to how much of a landmark film "Chinatown" really was.

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Highest-Rated Movies

98% 93% Chinatown
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90% 71% Hal Watchlist 90% 88% Bonnie and Clyde Watchlist
87% 87% The Last Detail
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86% 60% The Tomb of Ligeia
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86% 90% The Story Of Film: An Odyssey
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82% 81% Marathon Man
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79% 91% Without Limits
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79% 60% Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
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76% 64% The Firm Watchlist

Filmography

Movies TV Shows
Hal 90% 71% 2018 Self T.O.R.R. Dawn of the Red 2011 Director, Screenwriter, Producer The Story Of Film: An Odyssey 86% 90% 2011 Actor Ask the Dust 36% 41% 2006 Director, Writer Mission: Impossible II 56% 42% 2000 Writer Without Limits 79% 91% 1998 Director, Writer Mission: Impossible 65% 71% 1996 Writer Love Affair 28% 67% 1994 Screenwriter The Firm 76% 64% 1993 Screenwriter Days of Thunder 38% 60% 1990 Screenwriter The Two Jakes 63% 38% 1990 Screenwriter Tequila Sunrise 53% 40% 1988 Director, Screenwriter The Bedroom Window 72% 51% 1987 Producer The Pick-Up Artist 58% 37% 1987 Stan Actor Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes 79% 60% 1984 Screenwriter Personal Best 74% 52% 1982 Director, Producer Marathon Man 82% 81% 1976 Writer The Yakuza 60% 72% 1975 Screenwriter Shampoo 68% 56% 1975 Writer Chinatown 98% 93% 1974 Writer The Last Detail 87% 87% 1973 Screenwriter Drive, He Said 62% 21% 1971 Richard Actor Villa Rides 43% 1968 Screenwriter Bonnie and Clyde 90% 88% 1967 Writer The Tomb of Ligeia 86% 60% 1964 Writer
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