--- name: "John Milius" canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-milius" fi1m_id: "john-milius" imdb_id: "nm0587518" tmdb_id: 8328 wikidata_id: "Q83859" roles: ["Writer","Director"] born: "11 April 1944" reviewed_on_fi1m: 6 average_fi1m_score: 82 average_as: "writer" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-04T23:29:29.912580+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." --- # John Milius ## Identity John Milius - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-milius - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** john-milius - **IMDb ID:** nm0587518 - **TMDB ID:** 8328 - **Wikidata ID:** Q83859 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milius, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83859, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0587518/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8328 Writer and director. Born 11 April 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Writer, Director - **Born:** 11 April 1944, St. Louis, Missouri, USA - **Active:** 1979–2005 - **Also known as:** Walter Kurtz, John Frederick Milius - **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 1 directing, 4 writing, 1 other - **Frequently works with:** [Francis Ford Coppola](https://film.one/person/francis-ford-coppola.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as writer, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 92 (1), 1980s 78 (2), 1990s 80 (2), 2000s 82 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 83 to 73 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Genres:** Drama 4, Action 1, Action & Adventure 1, Crime 1, Thriller 1, War 1 - **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $366m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milius, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83859, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0587518/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8328 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Apocalypse Now*](https://film.one/film/apocalypse-now.md) (92) - **The Roku Channel:** [*Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse*](https://film.one/film/hearts-of-darkness-a-filmmakers-apocalypse.md) (84) - **HBO Max:** [*Rome*](https://film.one/tv/rome.md) (82) - **Netflix:** [*Conan the Barbarian*](https://film.one/film/conan-the-barbarian.md) (74) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on John Milius > John Milius writes violent men with force and an ear for memorable speech. We rate him highly, with a reservation: his writing becomes less convincing when the speeches explain what the fighting has already shown. Napalm and surfing both enter the talk in *Apocalypse Now* (1979). John Milius gives violent men words that stay with us, and this is where we value that gift most. We were horrified by the casualness of the surfing talk amid the fighting. His original screenplay supplied the core story and many of its memorable details, though director and co-writer Francis Ford Coppola shares responsibility for the finished film’s words. Men living by their own rules were already central to his early screenwriting, including *Jeremiah Johnson* (1972). He moved into feature directing with *Dillinger* (1973), then co-wrote and directed *Conan the Barbarian* (1982). Frontier stories and mythic conflict give him room for physical courage and stubborn independence. The settings change, but strength and honour remain recurring interests. *Apocalypse Now* remains our strongest recommendation, although it also exposes the limits of that approach. Milius and Coppola sometimes keep explaining the war after the fighting has made the point. The writing draws on Joseph Conrad’s *Heart of Darkness*, and some of its later speeches demand more patience than the thoughts deserve. Marlon Brando gives Colonel Walter Kurtz enough presence to hold our attention, but even he cannot make every line necessary. In *Rome* (2005), series television gives his interest in violent societies more room for everyday life. With fellow creators Bruno Heller and William J. MacDonald, Milius places ordinary soldiers alongside the people competing to run the city. Friendship, resentment and domestic trouble get time that might otherwise go to another speech about power. Ray Stevenson supplies the warmth that makes this brutal society worth spending time in. For a less solemn introduction, try *Rome*, and give its uneven opening time to settle; the cruelty is harder to overlook. ## Biography John Milius is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He studied at the University of Southern California film school and began his career in the late 1960s. He received an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay for *Apocalypse Now* (1979). Milius also wrote or co-wrote *Dirty Harry* (1971), *Magnum Force* (1973), *Jeremiah Johnson* (1972) and *Clear and Present Danger* (1994). As a director he is known for *The Wind and the Lion* (1975), *Conan the Barbarian* (1982) and *Red Dawn* (1984). He created the television series *Rome* (2005–2007). *Sources: themoviedb.org, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (6) ### Directed (1) - *Conan the Barbarian* (1982), Fi1m 74, as Foodseller in Old City (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/conan-the-barbarian.md) ### Wrote (4) — the average rests on these - *Rome* (2005), Fi1m 82, Writer, Creator, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/rome.md) - *Clear and Present Danger* (1994), Fi1m 75, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/clear-and-present-danger.md) - *Miami Vice* (1984), Fi1m 81, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/miami-vice.md) - *Apocalypse Now* (1979), Fi1m 92, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/apocalypse-now.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse* (1991), Fi1m 84, as Self — [page](https://film.one/film/hearts-of-darkness-a-filmmakers-apocalypse.md) ## Complete filmography (38) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Megalopolis* (2024), Thanks — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/megalopolis.md) - *The Lotus Gun* (2015), Thanks - *Between the Lines: The True Story of Surfers and the Vietnam War* (2008), as Narrator - *Rome* (2005), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/rome.md) - *Riding Giants* (2004), as John Milius - *Discovering Treasure: The Story of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'* (2003), as Narrator (voice) - *Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josey Wales* (1999), as Narrator - *Rough Riders* (1997), series, Writer, Director, Creator - *Motorcycle Gang* (1994), Director - *Clear and Present Danger* (1994), Screenplay — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/clear-and-present-danger.md) - *Rebel Highway* (1994), series, Director - *Geronimo: An American Legend* (1993), Story, Screenplay - *Flight of the Intruder* (1991), Director - *Farewell to the King* (1989), Screenplay, Director - *Extreme Prejudice* (1987), Story - *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, Director - *Miami Vice* (1984), series, Story — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/miami-vice.md) - *Red Dawn* (1984), Screenplay, Director - *Uncommon Valor* (1983), Producer - *Conan the Barbarian* (1982), as Foodseller in Old City (uncredited) · Director, Writer — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/conan-the-barbarian.md) - *Used Cars* (1980), Executive Producer - *1941* (1979), Executive Producer, Story - *Apocalypse Now* (1979), Writer — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/apocalypse-now.md) - *Hardcore* (1979), Executive Producer - *Big Wednesday* (1978), Director, Writer - *Crazy Mama* (1975), as Cop (uncredited) - *The Wind and the Lion* (1975), Director, Writer - *Melvin Purvis G-Man* (1975), Teleplay, Story - *Magnum Force* (1973), Screenplay - *Dillinger* (1973), Director, Writer - *Marcello, I'm Bored* (1973), Director - *The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean* (1972), Writer - *Jeremiah Johnson* (1972), Screenplay - *Deadhead Miles* (1972), as State Trooper - *Evel Knievel* (1971), Screenplay - *The Reversal of Richard Sun* (1970), Director - *The Devil's Eight* (1969), Screenplay - *The Emperor* (1967), Writer ## Gallery - ![John Milius](https://film.one/media/person/59533/gallery-0416221fa776.jpg) John Milius — JeanMilius, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/JohnMiliusWikiProfile.jpg/1280px-JohnMiliusWikiProfile.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![John Milius](https://film.one/media/person/59533/gallery-05000252f1b8.jpg) John Milius — Image via TMDB - ![John Milius](https://film.one/media/person/59533/gallery-15983404d5e2.jpg) John Milius — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1980: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Apocalypse Now* *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/john-milius