---
name: "Peter Medak"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/peter-medak"
fi1m_id: "peter-medak"
imdb_id: "nm0575389"
tmdb_id: 21377
wikidata_id: "Q724100"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "23 December 1937"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 8
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "director"
average_over: 8
updated: "2026-09-23T13:19:21.101018+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."
---

# Peter Medak

## Identity

Peter Medak

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/peter-medak
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** peter-medak
- **IMDb ID:** nm0575389
- **TMDB ID:** 21377
- **Wikidata ID:** Q724100
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Medak, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q724100, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0575389/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21377

Director. Born 23 December 1937 in Budapest, Hungary.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 23 December 1937, Budapest, Hungary
- **Active:** 1982–2013
- **Also known as:** Peter Madek, 피터 메닥
- **Frequently works with:** [Tim Hunter](https://film.one/person/tim-hunter.md), [Adam Bernstein](https://film.one/person/adam-bernstein.md), [Clark Johnson](https://film.one/person/clark-johnson.md), [David Platt](https://film.one/person/david-platt.md), [Ed Bianchi](https://film.one/person/ed-bianchi.md), [Elodie Keene](https://film.one/person/elodie-keene.md), [Eric Overmyer](https://film.one/person/eric-overmyer.md), [Félix Enríquez Alcalá](https://film.one/person/felix-alcala.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as director, over 8 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 78 (1), 1990s 82 (2), 2000s 84 (4), 2010s 81 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 83 to 74 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 8, Crime 5, Mystery 2, History 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $62m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Medak, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q724100, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0575389/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21377

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Breaking Bad*](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md) (91), [*Hannibal*](https://film.one/tv/hannibal-2013.md) (81)
- **HBO Max:** [*The Wire*](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md) (90), [*Carnivàle*](https://film.one/tv/carnivale.md) (76)
- **Disney+:** [*House*](https://film.one/tv/house-2004.md) (78)

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

## Fi1m on Peter Medak

> We value Peter Medak most for the psychological tension of *The Changeling* and his work with strong leading actors. *The Krays* exposes the risk: carefully composed violence and characters who need more attention.

Peter Medak can make a film unsettling without relying on cheap shocks. *The Changeling* (1980), with George C. Scott, is the clearest reason to value that patience. The earlier *The Ruling Class* (1972), with Peter O'Toole, finds its discomfort in black comedy about British class and institutions. Both make a strong leading actor central to the experience, and we would begin with those performances when making the case for Medak.

His 1990s crime films include *The Krays* (1990), *Let Him Have It* (1991) and *Romeo Is Bleeding* (1993), the last with Gary Oldman and Lena Olin. *The Krays* supplies the caveat to our enthusiasm: the violence is too attractively arranged, and the characters need more depth. From the 1990s onwards, episodic television becomes his principal work, including *The Wire* (2002) and *Breaking Bad* (2008).

In *The Wire*, departmental politics gets the weight that other programmes reserve for gunfire. The attention to institutions recalls the concerns of *The Ruling Class*, though the tone is plainly different. We recommend the series even to people who usually avoid police dramas, because its Baltimore drug war makes room for humanity as well as conflict. It can be exhausting, and we would not pretend that the demands it makes will suit every evening.

*Breaking Bad* gives us a different reason to follow the television work: Bryan Cranston's frightening, funny account of Walter White and the close scrutiny of his excuses. We found Cranston frightening because those excuses remain recognisable; the programme makes us keep considering them when we would prefer to dismiss the man. Its cleverness can become a nuisance, but we recommend it well beyond the crime-drama audience. These are judgements on collaborative programmes, and Medak's credit cannot tell us which of their strengths to assign to him. For the clearest introduction to his feature work, start with *The Changeling*.

## Biography

Peter Medak is a Hungarian-born British film and television director. Born on 23 December 1937 in Budapest, he fled Hungary following the 1956 uprising and began working in the British film industry as a trainee and assistant director before moving to Hollywood.

He made his feature debut with *Negatives* (1968) and went on to direct *The Ruling Class* (1972), *The Changeling* (1980), *The Krays* (1990) and *Let Him Have It* (1991). Medak has also directed numerous television episodes, including instalments of *The Wire* (2002), *Carnivàle* (2003), *House* (2004), *Breaking Bad* (2009) and *Hannibal* (2013).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, thewire.fandom.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (8)

- *Hannibal* (2013), Fi1m 81, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/hannibal-2013.md)
- *Breaking Bad* (2008), Fi1m 91, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md)
- *House* (2004), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/house-2004.md)
- *Carnivàle* (2003), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/carnivale.md)
- *The Wire* (2002), Fi1m 90, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)
- *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), Fi1m 89, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md)
- *The Krays* (1990), Fi1m 74, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-krays.md)
- *St. Elsewhere* (1982), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/st-elsewhere.md)

## Complete filmography (78)

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

- *The Ghost of Peter Sellers* (2018), Director
- *Dating Game Killer* (2017), Director
- *The Gun, the Cake and the Butterfly* (2015), as Father
- *Hand of God* (2014), series, Director
- *The Assets* (2014), series, Director
- *Hannibal* (2013), series, Director — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/hannibal-2013.md)
- *Sex and Lies in Sin City* (2009), Director
- *Breaking Bad* (2008), series, Director — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad.md)
- *The Washingtonians* (2007), Director
- *South Beach* (2006), series, Director
- *In Justice* (2006), series, Director
- *Masters of Horror* (2005), series, Director
- *Agatha Christie's Marple* (2004), series, Director
- *House* (2004), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/house-2004.md)
- *Cold Case* (2003), series, Director
- *Carnivàle* (2003), series, Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/carnivale.md)
- *The Wire* (2002), series, Director — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wire.md)
- *David Copperfield* (2001), Director
- *Feast of All Saints* (2001), Director
- *The Guardian* (2001), series, Director
- *David Copperfield* (2000), series, Director
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, Director
- *Species II* (1998), Director
- *The Hunchback* (1997), Director, Co-Producer
- *7th Heaven* (1996), series, Director
- *Kindred: The Embraced* (1996), series, Director
- *Pontiac Moon* (1994), Director
- *Chicago Hope* (1994), series, Director
- *Beverly Hills Cop III* (1994), as Man at Corner
- *Romeo Is Bleeding* (1993), Director
- *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), series, Director — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md)
- *Let Him Have It* (1991), Director
- *The Human Voice* (1990), Director
- *The Krays* (1990), Director — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-krays.md)
- *Nabokov on Kafka* (1989), Director
- *Pink Floyd: Delicate Sound of Thunder* (1989), Co-Director
- *Tales from the Crypt* (1989), series, Director
- *China Beach* (1988), series, Director
- *The Dancing Princesses* (1987), Director
- *Beauty and the Beast* (1987), series, Director
- *Crime Story* (1986), series, Director
- *The Men's Club* (1986), Director
- *The Emperor's New Clothes* (1985), Director
- *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, Director
- *Breakin' Through* (1985), Director
- *The Snow Queen* (1985), Director
- *Otherworld* (1985), series, Director
- *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* (1984), Director
- *Pinocchio* (1984), Director
- *Cosmic Princess* (1982), Director
- *St. Elsewhere* (1982), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/st-elsewhere.md)
- *Remington Steele* (1982), series, Director
- *Faerie Tale Theatre* (1982), series, Director
- *Cry for the Strangers* (1982), Director
- *Mistress of Paradise* (1981), Director
- *Zorro, The Gay Blade* (1981), Director
- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), series, Director
- *The Babysitter* (1980), Director
- *The Changeling* (1980), Director
- *Hart to Hart* (1979), series, Director
- *Return of the Saint* (1978), series, Director
- *The Odd Job* (1978), Director
- *The Professionals* (1977), series, Director
- *The Rocking Horse Winner* (1977), Director
- *Space: 1999* (1975), series, Director
- *Sporting Chance* (1975), Director
- *The Third Girl from the Left* (1973), Director
- *Ghost in the Noonday Sun* (1973), Director
- *The Ruling Class* (1972), Director
- *A Day in the Death of Joe Egg* (1972), Director
- *The Persuaders!* (1971), series, Director
- *Negatives* (1968), Director
- *Funeral in Berlin* (1966), Second Unit Director
- *Kaleidoscope* (1966), Associate Producer
- *The V.I.P.s* (1963), Second Assistant Director
- *Sparrows Can't Sing* (1963), Assistant Director
- *Captain Clegg* (1962), Second Assistant Director
- *The Breaking Point* (1961), Assistant 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/peter-medak