---
name: "Walter Hill"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/walter-hill"
fi1m_id: "walter-hill"
imdb_id: "nm0001353"
tmdb_id: 1723
wikidata_id: "Q350422"
roles: ["Director","Producer","Writer"]
born: "10 January 1942"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 12
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "director"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-04T21:17:03.022317+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."
---

# Walter Hill

## Identity

Walter Hill

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/walter-hill
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** walter-hill
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001353
- **TMDB ID:** 1723
- **Wikidata ID:** Q350422
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hill, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q350422, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001353/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1723

Director and producer. Born 10 January 1942 in Long Beach, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer, Writer
- **Born:** 10 January 1942, Long Beach, California, USA
- **Active:** 1979–present
- **Also known as:** Thomas Lee, Walter L. Hill II
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 12: 1 acting, 4 directing, 2 writing, 5 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [David Giler](https://film.one/person/david-giler.md), [Gordon Carroll](https://film.one/person/gordon-carroll.md), [Nick Nolte](https://film.one/person/nick-nolte.md), [Ridley Scott](https://film.one/person/ridley-scott.md), [Sigourney Weaver](https://film.one/person/sigourney-weaver.md), [Eddie Murphy](https://film.one/person/eddie-murphy.md), [Larry Gross](https://film.one/person/larry-gross.md), [Lawrence Gordon](https://film.one/person/lawrence-gordon.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 2 Emmys (2 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as director, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 92 (1), 1980s 83 (3), 1990s 53 (3), 2000s 91 (1), 2010s 65 (3), 2020s 70 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 70 to 64 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Crime 3, Action 2, Comedy 2, Drama 1, Thriller 1, War 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $232m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hill, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q350422, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001353/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1723

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Southern Comfort*](https://film.one/film/southern-comfort.md) (81), [*48 Hrs.*](https://film.one/film/48-hrs.md) (78)
- **Netflix:** [*Alien*](https://film.one/film/alien.md) (92)
- **HBO Max:** [*Deadwood*](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md) (91)
- **Disney+:** [*Alien: Romulus*](https://film.one/film/alien-romulus.md) (70)
- **Peacock:** [*Prometheus*](https://film.one/film/prometheus.md) (60)

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

## Fi1m on Walter Hill

> Walter Hill makes spare thrillers about men who distrust one another but have a job to finish. We value his tense, unsentimental action, though he too often gives the people doing the fighting too little personality.

In *48 Hrs.* (1982), Eddie Murphy takes a borrowed badge into a hostile country bar and talks as though nobody there can touch him. We laughed, then felt a chill, because Murphy makes that borrowed authority frightening as well as funny. Hill lets him talk, an unusually generous allowance from a director whose men generally say only what the job requires. The plot is thin and the racial abuse has dated badly, but Hill refuses to make either his detective or his convict lovable, which keeps their partnership interesting.

After his first feature, *Hard Times* (1975), the gang pursuit of *The Warriors* (1979) helped establish his lean, heightened style. His model was the Western, even when the setting was contemporary. In *Southern Comfort* (1981), ill-trained National Guardsmen in the Louisiana bayou have as much reason to fear one another's judgement as the Cajun hunters. Hill makes the swamp oppressive and the group's mistakes consequential, though the screenplay he shares with Michael Kane and David Giler gives some soldiers little beyond a fault to demonstrate.

That economy has limits. *Another 48 Hrs.* (1990) still has Murphy and Nick Nolte working well together, but Hill crowds their comedy out with a hurried crime plot and repeated violence. It feels rushed when something needs explaining and slow when somebody might get hurt. His screenplay work on *Alien³* (1992) shows a related problem. The script he shares with Larry Ferguson and Giler gives us too few distinct prisoners for the shouted names to mean much.

His direction of the *Deadwood* (2004) pilot brought him back to period Western territory. We admire the series for making the struggle to live together as absorbing as the violence, though its achievement cannot all be credited to Hill. Its elaborate speeches can be excessive, but nobody could accuse it of having too little to say. Start with *Southern Comfort* if a few sketchily written soldiers will not spoil an evening of sustained unease.

## Biography

Walter Hill is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Born on 10 January 1942 in Long Beach, California, he studied at Mexico City College and Michigan State University. He began working in film as a second assistant director in 1967 and has directed, written and produced films since the mid-1970s.

Hill is known for action films including *The Warriors* (1979), which he directed and co-wrote, and *48 Hrs.* (1982), which he directed. He has maintained a long association with the *Alien* franchise, serving as producer on *Prometheus* (2012) and *Alien: Romulus* (2024), and contributing to the stories or screenplays for *Aliens* (1986) and *Alien³* (1992).

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

## On Fi1m (12)

### Performed in (1)

- *Baby Driver* (2017), Fi1m 79, as Courtroom Interpreter (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/baby-driver.md)

### Directed (4) — the average rests on these

- *Deadwood* (2004), Fi1m 91, Director, Consulting Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md)
- *Another 48 Hrs.* (1990), Fi1m 38, Director, Characters — [page](https://film.one/film/another-48-hrs.md)
- *48 Hrs.* (1982), Fi1m 78, Writer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/48-hrs.md)
- *Southern Comfort* (1981), Fi1m 81, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/southern-comfort.md)

### Wrote (2)

- *Alien³* (1992), Fi1m 62, Producer, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/alien3.md)
- *Aliens* (1986), Fi1m 91, Story, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/aliens.md)

### Produced (5)

- *Alien: Romulus* (2024), Fi1m 70, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/alien-romulus.md)
- *Alien: Covenant* (2017), Fi1m 57, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/alien-covenant.md)
- *Prometheus* (2012), Fi1m 60, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/prometheus.md)
- *Alien Resurrection* (1997), Fi1m 60, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/alien-resurrection.md)
- *Alien* (1979), Fi1m 92, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/alien.md)

## Complete filmography (61)

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

- *Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern* (2026), Actor
- *Alien: Romulus* (2024), Producer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/alien-romulus.md)
- *Dead for a Dollar* (2022), Director, Screenplay, Story
- *Baby Driver* (2017), as Courtroom Interpreter (voice) · Thanks — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/baby-driver.md)
- *Alien: Covenant* (2017), Producer — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/alien-covenant.md)
- *The Assignment* (2016), Director, Story, Screenplay
- *Bullet to the Head* (2012), Director
- *Prometheus* (2012), Producer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/prometheus.md)
- *Madso's War* (2010), Director
- *Aliens vs Predator: Requiem* (2007), Producer
- *Becoming John Ford* (2007), as John Ford (voice)
- *Broken Trail* (2006), series, Director, Producer
- *Broken Trail: The Making of a Legendary Western* (2006), Director
- *AVP: Alien vs. Predator* (2004), Producer
- *Deadwood* (2004), series, Director, Consulting Producer — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md)
- *Ritual* (2002), Producer
- *Undisputed* (2002), Director, Producer, Writer
- *Supernova* (2000), Director
- *Alien Resurrection* (1997), Producer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/alien-resurrection.md)
- *Perversions of Science* (1997), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Last Man Standing* (1996), Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Bordello of Blood* (1996), Executive Producer
- *Wild Bill* (1995), Director, Screenplay
- *W.E.I.R.D. World* (1995), Executive Producer
- *Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight* (1995), Executive Producer
- *The Getaway* (1994), Screenplay
- *Geronimo: An American Legend* (1993), Director, Producer
- *Trespass* (1992), Director
- *Alien³* (1992), Producer, Screenplay — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/alien3.md)
- *Two-Fisted Tales* (1992), Executive Producer
- *Grand Canyon* (1991), Thanks
- *Another 48 Hrs.* (1990), Director, Characters — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/another-48-hrs.md)
- *Johnny Handsome* (1989), Director
- *Tales from the Crypt* (1989), series, Director, Screenplay, Executive Producer
- *Red Heat* (1988), Director, Screenplay, Producer, Story
- *Martini Ranch: Reach* (1988), Thanks
- *Extreme Prejudice* (1987), Director
- *Aliens* (1986), Story, Executive Producer — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/aliens.md)
- *Blue City* (1986), Writer, Producer
- *Crossroads* (1986), Director
- *Brewster's Millions* (1985), Director
- *Rustlers' Rhapsody* (1985), Producer
- *Streets of Fire* (1984), Director, Writer
- *48 Hrs.* (1982), Director, Writer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/48-hrs.md)
- *Southern Comfort* (1981), Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/southern-comfort.md)
- *The Long Riders* (1980), Director
- *Alien* (1979), Producer — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/alien.md)
- *The Warriors* (1979), Director, Screenplay
- *The Driver* (1978), Director, Screenplay
- *Dog and Cat* (1977), series, Creator
- *Dog and Cat* (1977), Writer
- *Hard Times* (1975), Director, Screenplay
- *The Drowning Pool* (1975), Screenplay
- *Messiah of Evil* (1975), as Stabbing Victim in Prologue
- *The MacKintosh Man* (1973), Screenplay
- *The Thief Who Came to Dinner* (1973), Screenplay
- *The Getaway* (1972), Screenplay
- *Hickey & Boggs* (1972), Writer
- *The G.I. Executioner* (1971), as Gregg Morrison
- *The Thomas Crown Affair* (1968), Second Assistant Director
- *St. Vincent*, Director, Screenplay

## Gallery

- ![Walter Hill](https://film.one/media/person/237/gallery-437bcc9b57a6.jpg) Walter Hill — Harald Bischoff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Walter_Hill_1137_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Walter Hill at munich filmfestival 2014](https://film.one/media/person/237/gallery-8abfc21041b3.jpg) Walter Hill at munich filmfestival 2014 — Harald Bischoff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Walter_Hill_1150.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![lors du festival Reims Polar. (2022)](https://film.one/media/person/237/gallery-d400666b4269.jpg) lors du festival Reims Polar. (2022) — G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Walter_hill_1400006_Reims_Polar.jpg/1280px-Walter_hill_1400006_Reims_Polar.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Walter Hill](https://film.one/media/person/237/gallery-12488c86cafa.jpg) Walter Hill — Image via TMDB
- ![Walter Hill](https://film.one/media/person/237/gallery-4f06c27f889a.jpg) Walter Hill — Image via TMDB
- ![Walter Hill](https://film.one/media/person/237/gallery-7431f89d9972.jpg) Walter Hill — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 2 won

- 2007: Outstanding Limited Miniseries (won), for *Broken Trail*
- 2004: Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (won), for *Deadwood*

### Other awards — 4 won, 1 nominated

- Time Machine Award 2009: Time Machine Award (won)
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Television Film 2006: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Television Film (won), for *Broken Trail*
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series 2004: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series (won), for *Deadwood*
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture 1987: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (nominated), for *Blue City*
- Hugo Awards 1987: Best Dramatic Presentation (won), for *Aliens*

*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/walter-hill