Tony Rayns

Tony Rayns
Rayns in 2006
Born
Antony Keith Graham Rayns

(1948-09-20)20 September 1948
Oxford, England
DiedJuly 2026(2026-07-00) (aged 77)
London, England
Occupations
  • Writer
  • commentator
  • screenwriter

Antony Keith Graham Rayns (20 September 1948 – 2026) was a British writer, commentator, film festival programmer and screenwriter. He wrote for the underground publication Cinema Rising before contributing to the Monthly Film Bulletin from the December 1970. He contributed writings to Sight & Sound from the 1970s, and also contributed to Time Out, Melody Maker, and Film Comment.

Life and career

Rayns was born on 20 September 1948 in Oxford. His parents, Donald and Zelma Rayns (née Osmond-Jones), operated a photography studio. Rayns was the eldest of two other siblings, Stephanie and Nicholas. After his father found a position as a grocery executive, Rayns' family moved to Norwich. He received a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, where he studied English. Rayns became a film enthusiast after joining a society at his secondary school.

From 1988 to 2006, Rayns ran the Dragons and Tigers competition. This was an event that spotlighted Asian films at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Rayns served on festival juries in Cannes Film Festival, Sapporo, San Sebastian, San Francisco, Vladivstok and Beijing.

Rayns provided commentary tracks for DVD releases of Asian films. He coordinated the Dragons and Tigers competition for Asian films at the Vancouver International Film Festival from 1988 to 2006. In the 1980s, he presented a series called New Chinese Cinema on British television, showing (sometimes rare) films and biographies of eminent Chinese directors. He also worked as a translator for English subtitles on films from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.[citation needed] For example, he wrote the English subtitles for the films of Huang Ming-chuan in the 1990s in Taiwan. For his global advocacy of Japanese cinema, Rayns was awarded the Kawakita Prize [ja] in 2004, and the Foreign Ministry of Japan's Commendation in 2008.

He wrote the screenplay for Away with Words, a feature film directed by cinematographer Christopher Doyle, starring Asano Tadanobu. He has written books about Seijun Suzuki, Wong Kar-wai and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In the 1970s, he began a book on Kenji Mizoguchi, which he had not completed at the time he recorded audio commentary for the Criterion Collection DVD release of Ugetsu in 2005. In 2000, he began writing and directing The Jang Sun-woo Variations (장선우 변주곡, 2001), a documentary film on South Korean director Jang Sun-woo.

Rayns died at his home in London in July 2026, after a fall down his stairs. According to his sister, his body was discovered on 7 July.

Legacy

Rayns is remembered for being an influential advocate of East Asian cinema who helped introduce many prominent Asian film directors to Western audiences.

Works

Documentary film

DVD commentary tracks

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ramachandran, Naman (8 July 2026). "Tony Rayns, British Critic and Champion of East Asian Cinema, Dies at 78". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gabriel, Trip (13 July 2026). "Tony Rayns, Who Helped Bring Asian Film to the World, Dies at 77". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 Rosser, Michael (8 July 2026). "Tony Rayns, Film Critic, Programmer and Asia Cinema Expert, Dies Aged 77". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Bordwell, David; Thompson, Kristin (7 October 2006). "Vancouver Envoi". DavidBordwell.net. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Park, Soo-mee (4 August 2004). "Critic Turns Spotlight on Local Films". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Tony Rayns". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Mr. David Farrell, Mr. Tony Rayns and Mr. Annesley Wright Receive Foreign Minister's Commendation" (Press release). Embassy of Japan, London. 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Tony Rayns". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Bae Jang-su (배장수) (7 December 2000). "'문제감독'장선우 다큐로 재조명" ['Problematic director' Jang Sun-woo re-examined in documentary]. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 Foundas, Scott (25 March 2001). "The Jang Sun-Woo Variations". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  11. ↑ Wigley, Sam (8 July 2026). "Tony Rayns (1948 to 2026)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Na, Won-jeong (8 July 2026). "Tony Rayns, British Critic Who Championed Korean Cinema Abroad, Dies at 78". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Yoo, Hong (8 July 2026). "Tony Rayns, British Critic Who Introduced Korean Films to the World, Dies at 77". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Johnston, Trevor (June 2012). "Films by Pier Paolo Pasolini". Sight and Sound. Vol. 22, no. 6. London, England: British Film Institute. p. 90. ISSN 0037-4806. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "The Fate of Lee Khan (Blu-ray)". Eureka Entertainment. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.