---
name: "Joseph Sargent"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joseph-sargent"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "22 July 1925"
died: "22 December 2014"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 70
updated: "2026-09-16T16:42:35.643490+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."
---

# Joseph Sargent

Director and producer. Born 22 July 1925 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. Died 22 December 2014.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 22 July 1925, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
- **Died:** 22 December 2014
- **Active:** 1963–1987
- **Also known as:** Giuseppe Danielle Sorgente
- **Works often with:** John Meredyth Lucas, Leo Penn, Oliver Crawford, Alex March, Barry Trivers, Bill Brame

## Fi1m on Joseph Sargent

> Joseph Sargent deserves attention for his work with actors and historical drama. *Jaws: The Revenge* shows how badly he could misjudge suspense, but it is a poor guide to what he could do.

In *Jaws: The Revenge* (1987), Joseph Sargent brings back footage from *Jaws* while Ellen Brody fears for her family. The interruption makes it harder to care about her, and encourages a comparison the sequel cannot survive. We were bored by the insistence on the shark's grievance, because the attacks supplied too little suspense to make us stop questioning it. This is Sargent failing at something basic: keeping our attention on the present danger.

His earlier work gives us good reason not to stop there. He moved from television series such as *Lassie* and *Gunsmoke* to features including *Colossus: The Forbin Project* (1970) and *The Taking of Pelham One Two Three* (1974). For the latter, he handled the difficulties of shooting a heist thriller in the New York subway. With *MacArthur* (1977), starring Gregory Peck, he also took on the sort of biographical material that would recur in his television work.

Even in *Jaws: The Revenge*, the actors are not the main problem. Lorraine Gary and Michael Caine bring warmth to a film that otherwise gives us little reason to stay, and Ellen's fear is a workable basis for a thriller. Michael De Guzman's screenplay keeps demanding belief in the animal's motive, and Sargent takes it far too seriously. Michael Small's score supplies a threat the images cannot sustain, leaving the composer to do work the director has failed to do.

After that final theatrical feature, he concentrated almost exclusively on television films and miniseries until 2008. *Miss Evers' Boys* (1997), about the Tuskegee syphilis study, drew on his ability to handle ensembles and sensitive material. *Something the Lord Made* (2004), about a pioneering heart surgeon, continued his work with biographical subjects. These are stronger reasons to follow Sargent than an attempt to rescue the shark film, whose few pleasures cannot excuse its lack of suspense. Start with *The Taking of Pelham One Two Three*, and leave *Jaws: The Revenge* to those determined to be thorough.

## Biography

Joseph Sargent (born Giuseppe Danielle Sorgente) was an American film and television director, producer and actor. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1925, he began his career as an actor before moving into directing in the late 1950s. He worked extensively in television, directing episodes of series including *Star Trek*, *Gunsmoke* and *Kojak*, as well as numerous television films.

His feature films include *Colossus: The Forbin Project* (1970), *White Lightning* (1973), *The Taking of Pelham One Two Three* (1974), *MacArthur* (1977) and *Nightmares* (1983). He directed and produced *Jaws: The Revenge* (1987). Sargent won four Primetime Emmy Awards for his television work and received multiple Directors Guild of America nominations. He died in Malibu, California, in 2014.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Jaws: The Revenge* (1987), Fi1m 32, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/jaws-the-revenge.md)
- *Kojak* (1973), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md)
- *Star Trek* (1966), Fi1m 83, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-1966.md)
- *The Fugitive* (1963), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fugitive-1963.md)

## Also known for

- *The Taking of Pelham One Two Three* (1974), Director
- *Something the Lord Made* (2004), Director
- *Colossus: The Forbin Project* (1970), Director
- *Gunsmoke* (1955), Director
- *White Lightning* (1973), Director
- *MacArthur* (1977), Director
- *Nightmares* (1983), Director
- *The Man from U.N.C.L.E.* (1964), Director

---
© 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/joseph-sargent