Made his directorial debut in 1974 with Thun- derbolt and Lightfoot, followed by The Deer Hunter, winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. He then directed Heaven’s Gate, Year of the Dragon, The Sicilian and Sunchaser. His novel, Big Jane, was published in 2001. He was commissioned, along with 32 other world directors, to film a short, No Translation Needed, as a segment in Chacun son cinéma, for a special presentation on the 60th Anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.