American director Harold Becker began his career as a still photographer and later moved to direct TV commercials and short films. He made his feature film directorial debut with the drama
The Ragman's Daughter (1972). His second feature was the acclaimed
The Onion Field (1979), a dark cop thriller starring John Savage and James Woods in a remarkable role that brought him recognition from the public and several award nominations as Best Supporting Actor in the role of a dangerous and menacing cop killer.
Throughout the 1980's, Becker directed films across many different genres: comedy
The Black Marble (1980); military drama
Taps (1981) where he directed youngsters Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn and Tom Cruise alongside veteran George C. Scott; sports drama
Vision Quest (1985); two musical videos for Madonna; the heavy drug drama
The Boost (1988) again collaborating with Woods; and the neo-noir
Sea of Love (1989) where he resurrected the career of Al Pacino.
The box-office suspense
Malice (1993), the political thriller
City Hall (1996) and the action
Mercury Rising (1998) compose Becker's career in the 1990's directing big Hollywood stars and establishing him as one of the most versatile directors of the period.