Richard Conway's 10 Best Movies, According To IMDb | ScreenRant
Starting his career in the '60s as an assistant on Thunderbirds Are Go, Richard Conway climbed up the career ladder and eventually became a special effects supervisor for some of the biggest movies in Hollywood. He also got to work alongside iconic directors to help bring their imagination to life on the big screen, including Terry Gilliam, Danny Boyle, and Steven Spielberg, to name just a few.
Conway sadly passed away just before Christmas 2021 at the age of 79. And while it is unfortunate that he is no longer here, his work will live on through the epic movies he helped to create.
10 Sunshine (2007) - 7.2
Danny Boyle's first sci-fi movie, 2007's Sunshine focuses on a crew of seven as they travel towards the dying sun in the solar system in order to reignite it and save the Earth. Starring Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, and Benedict Wong, just to name a few, the cast would go on to star in some of the biggest movies and television shows in the years to come.
As the special effects supervisor of the movie, Conway certainly had a lot of obstacles on his plate. While Tom Wood acted as the visual effects supervisor to create the sun and design a unique spaceship, Conway would lead a team to create the special effects for the rest of the movie, and with the generous mix of VFX and SFX, he helped to make it one of Danny Boyle's best movies according to Rotten Tomatoes.
9 The Boat That Rocked (2009) - 7.4
Based on a true story and set in the '60s, pirate radio operated away from mainland England in order to play rock and roll music to their listeners. Following up from his Christmas hit Love Actually, Richard Curtis helmed the movie as its director and its internationally vast cast.
While the movie isn't as heavy on the special effects compared to other titles on this list, that doesn't mean that Conway wasn't able to accomplish its look. He was one of the many people who were able to recreate the fashion and look of the '60s in England and gave the movie its authentic and colorful attire.
8 The English Patient (1996) - 7.4
Directed by Anthony Minghella, The English Patient starred Ralph Fiennes as a burned victim of a plane crash as he recounted his story of love during his service in the Second World War. Out of the many awards it won, it earned nine Academy Awards for categories like Best Picture and Best Directing.
Although he didn't earn an award himself for the movie, Conway was able to create some groundbreaking work on the movie. As well as recreating the 1930s aesthetic, there were many vehicles featured in the movie that blended with VFX to create an ambitious and authentic adaptation of the 1992 book.
7 The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) - 7.4
Returning to the director's chair and becoming the screenwriter, Anthony Minghella's next outing was the star-studded thriller about Tom Ripley (played by Matt Damon in one of his best performances) as he gets swept up in a wealthy lifestyle after trying to get Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) to return home from Italy. And despite receiving a lot of nominations in 2000 for awards towards his work, Minghella didn't quite earn the same success as his previous work on The English Patient.
Once again, Richard Conway returned to work alongside this famed director for another dramatic cinematic outing. Conway certainly had a lot to contend with, as not also did he have to help recreate a '50s look across Italy and the U.S., but he also supervised the special effects team for some of the more dramatic scenes in the movie.
6 Monty Python: The Meaning Of Life (2014) - 7.5
The third movie to be made by the comedy group known as Monty Python, the sketch comedy focussed on the different stages of life while all played by the original members of the iconic group. From a musical number about the galaxy and humanity's place in it to the gag-inducing Mr. Creosote, the movie will have something for fans to enjoy.
Being part of the team of seven responsible for the special effects, Conway and his colleagues certainly had a variety of content to work with. But they were able to help create one of the most visually striking and hilariously oddball comedies of the '80s.
5 Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984) - 7.5
The second movie in the Indiana Jones series, the 1984 action-adventure saw Harrison Ford's iconic archeologist return to the big screen alongside Shortround, making it one of the reasons fans consider it the best Indiana Jones movie in the franchise. With an Indian village under threat, it's up to Dr. Jones to save the day and stop an evil cult in the process.
Across his long career within the special effects department, Richard Conway has been a technician too. Previously a special effects technician on Conan the Barbarian, he became the chief technician of the special effects team on this Hollywood outing. With a lot of practical effects and scenes involving minecarts and vehicles, his skills were surely put to the test in this exciting venture.
4 28 Days Later (2002) - 7.6
28 Days Later would mark Danny Boyle and Richard Conway's first collaboration together before Sunshine, alongside actor Cillian Murphy. After Boyle directed the smash-hits Trainspotting and The Beach, his next movie was centered around what England would look like after a zombie outbreak and the remaining survivors.
With all the gore, blood, and guts that horror fans would expect from a zombie movie, there was plenty of mess for Conway to organize and set up. He also supervised the special effects team responsible for creating a scene involving an explosion that cost $400,000 from the movie's overall budget, according to New York Post.
3 Love Actually (2003) - 7.6
In another title that saw him start collaborating more than once with a famed director, this time around Richard Conway would start his work with Richard Curtis. Known for writing British romantic comedies like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, Love Actually has come to be known as one of the best Christmas movies for rom-com fans.
Perhaps not the most special effects-heavy movie on the list, the movie did see Conway supervise the special effects department yet again, no doubt doing his best to help bring Christmas to the big screen.
2 Ex Machina (2014) - 7.7
Ex_Machina was the directorial debut of Alex Garland, who would go on to direct Annihilation and the mini-series Devs. Starring Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaacs, and Domhnall Gleeson, this sci-fi story is about the testing of an advanced humanoid AI's human qualities and the relationship it has with its creator and the person to test it.
Despite the use of VFX to create the AI's robotic body, that doesn't mean that Conway was needed as he once again returned on a movie set as the special effects supervisor. With practical effects alongside the CGI used across the movie, the combination really helped to make this piece of science fiction that much more believable.
1 Brazil (1985) - 7.9
Conway's highest-rated movie is also one of Terry Gilliam's best in this dark sci-fi comedy. Set in the future, Sam Lawry (Jonathan Price) is chased from the law after his affection for the woman of his dreams turns him into an enemy against the state.
It's only fitting that another sci-fi movie would be one of Conway's best. Having started his career with Thunderbirds Are Go and developing his skills on Doctor Who and arguably one of the best science fiction movies within the last 10 years, Richard Conway clearly knew how to realize a director's imagination. And with Brazil having so many featured special effects, it is one of his finest works.