THE DEATH has been announced of Mike Hodges, the director of the British gangster film Get Carter and the sci-fi classic Flash Gordon at the age of 90.
The Hollywood Reporter says Hodges died of heart failure at his home in Dorset on Saturday. His passing was confirmed by his friend and producer Mike Kaplan.
Born in Bristol, Hodges studied to become an accountant before going on to serve in the Royal Navy. He then began his screen career by working as a technician on television productions.
He went on to become a director-producer on ITV's current affairs series World in Action and directed thrillers for television.
He made his big-screen directorial debut with 1971's Get Carter, the story of a London gangster, played by Michael Caine, who returns to his native Newcastle to find out the truth about his brother's recent death.
Hodges is also celebrated by film fans for his outrageous sci-fi adventure Flash Gordon, which was released in 1980 and has gone on to become a cult classic.
His other credits included the controversial Mickey Rourke-starring IRA thriller A Prayer for the Dying and Croupier, the Clive Owen-starring 1998 film noir that was hailed as being one of Hodges' best works.
His last film, the crime drama I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, reunited him with Owen and was released in 2004.
