Brian Trenchard-Smith

Biography

Brian Trenchard-Smith is a filmmaker and author from England and Australia, born in 1946. He is known for idiosyncratic, satirical genre films made on low budgets. His early work involved cutting film trailers, and he also made documentaries for Australian television, often about stunt performers and martial artists. He directed his first feature, The Man from Hong Kong (1975), an Australian and Hong Kong co-production. During the following decade he turned out Ozploitation titles such as Deathcheaters (1976), Stunt Rock (1978), Turkey Shoot (1982), BMX Bandits (1983), Frog Dreaming (1986), and Dead End Drive-In (1986). In 1990 he relocated to Hollywood, where he has mostly directed films for television and home video, among them Night of the Demons 2 (1994), Leprechaun 3 (1995), Happy Face Murders (1999), and Britannic (2000). He self-published his first novel, The Headsman's Daughter, in 2016. Several of his films have gained cult audiences, and Quentin Tarantino has named him as a favorite director.

80years old

Turns 81 on June 1in 202 days

Born June 1, 1946England
Star sign: GeminiThe sign runs May 21 to June 20
Also credited as Brian Medwin Trenchard-Smith

Movie Career

Films: 4
Career span: 44 years1975 to 2019

Every film, newest first

2019Iron Fists and Kung Fu KicksIMDb rating 6.7
2010Machete Maidens Unleashed!IMDb rating 7.3
1982Turkey ShootIMDb rating 5.9
1975The Man from Hong KongIMDb rating 6.6

Genres

Did you know?!

First role
Trenchard-Smith's first directing job was The Man from Hong Kong, released in 1975. It was the first movie made as a co-production between Australia and Hong Kong.
Big break
Thanks to his Hong Kong connections, Trenchard-Smith directed The Man from Hong Kong in 1975, his dramatic feature debut. This action movie, the first Australian-Hong Kong co production, sold well around the world and established him as an action director.
A role that slipped away
Brian Trenchard-Smith was hired by the producers of the 1985 film Frog Dreaming to take over from the original director while the shoot was underway.
A role that slipped away
When the director of Day of the Panther was sacked during filming, Trenchard-Smith was brought in for another "rescue operation."