---
name: "David Puttnam"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-puttnam"
fi1m_id: "david-puttnam"
imdb_id: "nm0701298"
tmdb_id: 8967
wikidata_id: "Q335507"
roles: ["Producer"]
born: "25 February 1941"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-10-07T10:38:24.271661+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Puttnam

## Identity

David Puttnam

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/david-puttnam
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** david-puttnam
- **IMDb ID:** nm0701298
- **TMDB ID:** 8967
- **Wikidata ID:** Q335507
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Puttnam, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q335507, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0701298/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8967

Producer. Born 25 February 1941 in London, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer
- **Born:** 25 February 1941, London, England, UK
- **Active:** 1978–1986
- **Also known as:** David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam
- **Frequently works with:** [Roland Joffé](https://film.one/person/roland-joffe.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 3 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as producer, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 61 (1), 1980s 76 (5)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 74 to 69 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 5, History 3, Comedy 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Crime 1
- **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $152m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Puttnam, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q335507, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0701298/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8967

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Local Hero*](https://film.one/film/local-hero.md) (86), [*Chariots of Fire*](https://film.one/film/chariots-of-fire.md) (78), [*The Mission*](https://film.one/film/the-mission-1986.md) (64), [*Midnight Express*](https://film.one/film/midnight-express.md) (61)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Killing Fields*](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

David Puttnam is a British film producer. He began his career as a photographers' agent before moving into film production in the 1970s.

He produced *Midnight Express* (1978), *Chariots of Fire* (1981), *Local Hero* (1983), *The Killing Fields* (1984) and *The Mission* (1986). *Chariots of Fire* won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He was chairman and chief executive of Columbia Pictures from 1986 to 1988, and later produced *Memphis Belle* (1990).

Puttnam received the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in 1982 and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2006. He was appointed a life peer as Baron Puttnam in 1997 and sat in the House of Lords until 2021.

*Sources: davidputtnam.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, screenonline.org.uk.*

## On Fi1m (6)

- *The Mission* (1986), Fi1m 64, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-mission-1986.md)
- *The Killing Fields* (1984), Fi1m 82, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields.md)
- *Local Hero* (1983), Fi1m 86, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/local-hero.md)
- *P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang* (1982), Fi1m 72, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/ptang-yang-kipperbang.md)
- *Chariots of Fire* (1981), Fi1m 78, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/chariots-of-fire.md)
- *Midnight Express* (1978), Fi1m 61, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/midnight-express.md)

## Complete filmography (44)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *My Life So Far* (1999), Producer
- *The Confessional* (1995), Producer
- *The Burning Season* (1994), Executive Producer
- *War of the Buttons* (1994), Producer
- *Being Human* (1994), Producer
- *Garbo* (1992), Thanks
- *A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia* (1992), Producer
- *Meeting Venus* (1991), Producer
- *Without Warning: The James Brady Story* (1991), Executive Producer
- *The Josephine Baker Story* (1991), Executive Producer
- *Memphis Belle* (1990), Producer
- *Swimming to Cambodia* (1987), Thanks
- *The Mission* (1986), Producer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/the-mission-1986.md)
- *Defence of the Realm* (1986), Executive Producer
- *The Frog Prince* (1985), Executive Producer
- *Winter Flight* (1984), Executive Producer
- *The Killing Fields* (1984), Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields.md)
- *Arthur's Hallowed Ground* (1984), Executive Producer
- *Cal* (1984), Producer
- *Sharma and Beyond* (1984), Executive Producer
- *Those Glory Glory Days* (1983), Executive Producer
- *Red Monarch* (1983), Executive Producer
- *Secrets* (1983), Executive Producer
- *Local Hero* (1983), Producer — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/local-hero.md)
- *Forever Young* (1983), Producer
- *Experience Preferred... But Not Essential* (1982), Executive Producer
- *P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang* (1982), Producer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/ptang-yang-kipperbang.md)
- *Chariots of Fire* (1981), Producer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/chariots-of-fire.md)
- *Foxes* (1980), Producer
- *Midnight Express* (1978), Producer — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/midnight-express.md)
- *The Duellists* (1977), Producer
- *Bugsy Malone* (1976), Executive Producer
- *Lisztomania* (1975), Producer
- *James Dean: The First American Teenager* (1975), Producer
- *Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?* (1975), Producer
- *Stardust* (1974), Producer
- *Mahler* (1974), Executive Producer
- *Swastika* (1974), Producer
- *The Final Programme* (1973), Executive Producer
- *That'll Be The Day* (1973), Producer
- *The Pied Piper* (1972), Producer
- *Glastonbury Fayre* (1972), Producer
- *Bringing It All Back Home* (1972), Producer
- *Melody* (1971), Producer

## Gallery

- ![David Puttnam](https://film.one/media/person/59754/gallery-05a67304afe4.jpg) David Puttnam — DavidPuttnamBAFTA07.jpg: Caroline Bonarde Ucci at https://www.flickr.com/photos/caroline_bonarde/
derivative work: Crashandspin (talk), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/DavidPuttnamBAFTA07b.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![British film producer and educator David Puttnam speaking at the Singapore Management University. (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/59754/gallery-652bea8dee4b.jpg) British film producer and educator David Puttnam speaking at the Singapore Management University. (2014) — Smuconlaw, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/David_Puttnam_speaking_at_the_Singapore_Management_University_-_20140307-01.jpg/1280px-David_Puttnam_speaking_at_the_Singapore_Management_University_-_20140307-01.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![British film producer and educator David Puttnam speaking at the Singapore Management University. (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/59754/gallery-60af379a2037.jpg) British film producer and educator David Puttnam speaking at the Singapore Management University. (2014) — Smuconlaw, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/David_Puttnam_speaking_at_the_Singapore_Management_University_-_20140307-02.jpg/1280px-David_Puttnam_speaking_at_the_Singapore_Management_University_-_20140307-02.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![British film producer Lord Puttnam of Queensgate, the Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, at the School of Computing and Technology Awards Ceremony.](https://film.one/media/person/59754/gallery-017ba2dc0801.jpg) British film producer Lord Puttnam of Queensgate, the Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, at the School of Computing and Technology Awards Ceremony. — GracieLizzie., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Lord_Puttnam.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![David Puttnam](https://film.one/media/person/59754/gallery-cde85484234a.jpg) David Puttnam — Image via TMDB
- ![St Albans, April 2024](https://film.one/media/person/59754/gallery-366ee82e290f.jpg) St Albans, April 2024 — No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/March_1999_plaque_at_the_Verulamium_Museum%2C_St_Albans%2C_April_2024.jpg/1280px-March_1999_plaque_at_the_Verulamium_Museum%2C_St_Albans%2C_April_2024.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Official portrait of Lord Puttnam (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/59754/gallery-12b29fac289e.jpg) Official portrait of Lord Puttnam (2018) — Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Official_portrait_of_Lord_Puttnam.jpg/1280px-Official_portrait_of_Lord_Puttnam.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 3 nominated

- 1987: Best Picture (nominated), for *The Mission*
- 1985: Best Picture (nominated), for *The Killing Fields*
- 1982: Best Picture (won), for *Chariots of Fire*
- 1979: Best Picture (nominated), for *Midnight Express*

### Other awards — 2 won

- honorary doctorate 2007: honorary doctorate (won)
- Benjamin Franklin Medal 1996: Benjamin Franklin Medal (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-puttnam