---
name: "Simon Langton"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/simon-langton"
fi1m_id: "simon-langton"
imdb_id: "nm0486748"
tmdb_id: 126951
wikidata_id: "Q460080"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "5 November 1941"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "director"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-10-07T13:42:38.370007+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."
---

# Simon Langton

## Identity

Simon Langton

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/simon-langton
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** simon-langton
- **IMDb ID:** nm0486748
- **TMDB ID:** 126951
- **Wikidata ID:** Q460080
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Langton_(television_director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q460080, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0486748/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/126951

Director. Born 5 November 1941 in Amersham, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 5 November 1941, Amersham, England, UK
- **Active:** 1965–2002
- **Also known as:** 사이먼 랭턴
- **Frequently works with:** [Anthony Horowitz](https://film.one/person/anthony-horowitz.md), [Andy Hay](https://film.one/person/andy-hay.md), [Bill Bain](https://film.one/person/bill-bain.md), [Brian Eastman](https://film.one/person/brian-eastman.md), [Charles Palmer](https://film.one/person/charles-palmer.md), [Clive Exton](https://film.one/person/clive-exton.md), [Douglas Livingstone](https://film.one/person/douglas-livingstone.md), [Douglas Watkinson](https://film.one/person/douglas-watkinson.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as director, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 83 (1), 1980s 82 (2), 1990s 77 (2), 2000s 81 (1)
- **Score spread:** 5 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Mystery 4, Crime 3, War & Politics 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Langton_(television_director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q460080, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0486748/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/126951

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Upstairs, Downstairs*](https://film.one/tv/upstairs-downstairs.md) (83), [*Foyle's War*](https://film.one/tv/foyles-war.md) (81), [*Midsomer Murders*](https://film.one/tv/midsomer-murders.md) (66)
- **BritBox:** [*Pride and Prejudice*](https://film.one/tv/pride-and-prejudice.md) (88), [*Agatha Christie's Poirot*](https://film.one/tv/agatha-christies-poirot.md) (83)

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

## Fi1m on Simon Langton

> Simon Langton's strength is giving actors time to make complicated feelings clear. We warmly recommend his *Pride and Prejudice*, where wit and attraction survive a tendency to push some of the supporting comedy too hard.

In *Pride and Prejudice* (1995), Jennifer Ehle makes small adjustments while some of the people around her perform at a rather higher volume. Simon Langton is at his best here when he gives her time, trusting that a change in feeling will hold our attention. We were moved by Ehle and Colin Firth's courtship because they make attraction feel like a complicated business. The leisurely pace helps us notice how much the two performances are doing.

His directing career began in television drama in the 1970s, and *Smiley's People* (1982), adapted from John le Carré, established his reputation for literary work. His feature film *The Whistle Blower* (1986) kept him in espionage, but did not mark a permanent departure from television. *Mother Love* (1989), a psychological miniseries starring Diana Rigg, followed before the Austen adaptation. There is reason to look beyond the costume drama, even if *Pride and Prejudice* is the work we recommend most confidently.

The reservation is his handling of comic emphasis. Alison Steadman's Mrs Bennet is funny, but her emphatic delivery gives the worry beneath the fuss too little space. Benjamin Whitrow's Mr Bennet is easier company, though his dryness can make his detachment look more attractive than it should. Beside Ehle, these larger performances can seem to belong to a less observant production. Langton gets the ensemble mostly right, but does not always bring its members to the same level of subtlety.

Langton expands literary sources with additional scenes and visual detail, an approach that makes the choice of writer especially important. Andrew Davies's adaptation gives wit and attraction equal care, and Langton largely keeps that balance. The six-episode length of *Pride and Prejudice* gives us time to notice how confidently these people misjudge one another. Start there, with a little tolerance for Mrs Bennet.

## Biography

Simon Langton (born 5 November 1941) is an English television director and producer. He is the son of actor David Langton, known for playing Richard Bellamy in *Upstairs, Downstairs*.

Langton directed numerous television drama series and serials from the 1970s onwards. His 1982 adaptation of John le Carré's *Smiley's People* received BAFTA and Emmy Award nominations. He won a BAFTA for the 1989 miniseries *Mother Love*, starring Diana Rigg.

He is best known for directing the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's *Pride and Prejudice*, starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, for which he received a further BAFTA nomination. Langton has also directed episodes of series including *Midsomer Murders* and *Rosemary and Thyme*, as well as the feature film *The Whistle Blower* (1986).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, screenonline.org.uk.*

## On Fi1m (6)

- *Foyle's War* (2002), Fi1m 81, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/foyles-war.md)
- *Midsomer Murders* (1997), Fi1m 66, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/midsomer-murders.md)
- *Pride and Prejudice* (1995), Fi1m 88, Director, Series Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/pride-and-prejudice.md)
- *Agatha Christie's Poirot* (1989), Fi1m 83, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/agatha-christies-poirot.md)
- *Smiley's People* (1982), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/smileys-people.md)
- *Upstairs, Downstairs* (1971), Fi1m 83, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/upstairs-downstairs.md)

## Complete filmography (58)

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

- *Rough Diamond* (2007), series, Director
- *Rosemary & Thyme* (2003), series, Director
- *Foyle's War* (2002), series, Director — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/foyles-war.md)
- *Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes* (2001), series, Director
- *Nancherrow* (1999), series, Director
- *The Scarlet Pimpernel* (1999), series, Director
- *Nancherrow* (1999), Director
- *Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone* (1997), Director
- *Midsomer Murders* (1997), series, Director — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/midsomer-murders.md)
- *Pride and Prejudice* (1995), series, Director, Series Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/pride-and-prejudice.md)
- *The Cinder Path* (1994), series, Director
- *Headhunters* (1994), series, Director
- *The Good Guys* (1992), series, Director
- *Jeeves and Wooster* (1990), series, Director
- *Mother Love* (1989), series, Director
- *Agatha Christie's Poirot* (1989), series, Director — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/agatha-christies-poirot.md)
- *Laguna Heat* (1987), Director
- *Casanova* (1987), Director
- *The Whistle Blower* (1986), Director
- *Anna Karenina* (1985), Director, Producer
- *The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck* (1984), Director
- *Afterward* (1983), Director
- *Shades of Darkness* (1983), series, Director
- *Smiley's People* (1982), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/smileys-people.md)
- *I Remember Nelson* (1982), series, Director
- *The Gate of Eden: Part Three - Peter* (1980), Director
- *The Gate of Eden: Part Two - Sue* (1980), Director
- *The Gate of Eden: Part One - Mr. Falconer* (1980), Director
- *Therese Raquin* (1980), series, Director
- *The Beast* (1979), Director
- *Tales of the Unexpected* (1979), series, Director
- *Rebecca* (1979), series, Director
- *Danger UXB* (1979), series, Director
- *Do You Remember?* (1978), series, Director
- *Love for Lydia* (1977), series, Director
- *Supernatural* (1977), series, Director
- *The Duchess of Duke Street* (1976), series, Director
- *You're On Your Own* (1975), series, Director
- *Intimate Strangers* (1974), series, Director
- *Microbes and Men* (1974), series, Director
- *Seven Faces of Woman* (1974), series, Director
- *Dial M for Murder* (1974), series, Director
- *The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd* (1974), Director
- *The Pearcross Girls* (1973), series, Director
- *Dead of Night* (1972), series, Director
- *Crown Court* (1972), series, Director
- *No Exit* (1972), series, Director
- *The Man Outside* (1972), series, Director
- *The Befrienders* (1972), series, Director
- *Upstairs, Downstairs* (1971), series, Director — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/upstairs-downstairs.md)
- *Barlow* (1971), series, Director
- *Menace* (1970), series, Director
- *Paul Temple* (1969), series, Director
- *ITV Playhouse* (1967), series, Director
- *Softly, Softly* (1966), series, Director
- *Thirty-Minute Theatre* (1965), series, Director
- *Public Eye* (1965), series, Director
- *Dr. Finlay's Casebook* (1962), series, 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/simon-langton