British director Mike Hodges, known for films like `Flash Gordon` and `Croupier`, has died. He was 90. His death was confirmed to NBC News by producer and `I`ll Sleep When I`m Dead` collaborator Mike Kaplan, reports `People` magazine. According to Kaplan, Hodges died at his home in Dorset, England, due to heart failure. Hodges` long standing career dates back to the 1950s. Before getting a start in films, he spent two years in mandatory national service on a royal navy minesweeper, which he credits as the inspiration for his first film `Get Carter`.
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In a letter published by The Guardian in May, quoted by `People`, he said: “For two years, my middle-class eyes were forced to witness horrendous poverty and deprivation that I was previously unaware of. I went into the navy as a newly qualified chartered accountant and complacent young Tory, and came out an angry, radical young man.”
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“Twenty years later, when I was asked to adapt Ted Lewis`s great book, I recognised that world and attached my own experiences to it,” he added. His second film, `Pulp` came only a year after `Get Carter` release in 1971, with Hodges` directorial talent rising to prominence with 1980`s `Flash Gordon`.
