by Tony Dayoub Whatever happened to Nicolas Roeg? Wait a second... who IS Nicolas Roeg? That is the unfortunate response I would get today, as the once promising British director has faded into obscurity to all but the most avid cinephile. His latest film, Puffball: The Devil's Eyeball
, is languishing in the On Demand sector rather than getting major distribution in theaters or even on DVD.So who is Nicolas Roeg? A promising camera operator and cinematographer on such classics as Lawrence of Arabia
, Doctor Zhivago
, and Fahrenheit 451
, he quickly made the transition to director. With Performance
(1970), he was called upon to co-direct with the movie's writer Donald Cammell. This film is the first to feature his now oft-imitated non-linear techniques in storytelling. Though the movie faced some controversy due to its explicit sexuality (a recurring issue in Roeg's career), it propelled him to early success.
