Milton Moses Ginsberg

Milton Moses Ginsberg (September 22, 1935 – May 23, 2021) was an American film director and editor. He was noted for writing and directing Coming Apart, a 1969 film starring Rip Torn and Sally Kirkland, and The Werewolf of Washington starring Dean Stockwell.

Early life Ginsberg was born in the New York City borough of The Bronx on September 22, 1935, to Jewish parents Elias, a cutter in Manhattan's garment district, and Fannie ( Weis), a housewife. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, before studying literature at Columbia University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree.

Career Coming Apart Ginsberg directed his first feature film, Coming Apart, in 1969. It starred Rip Torn as a mentally disturbed psychologist who secretly films his sexual encounters with women. Sally Kirkland, who was simultaneously filming Futz! at the time, also stars. The film was shot in a one-room, apartment in Kips Bay Plaza, on a budget of $60,000. Shooting lasted three weeks. Ginsberg filmed the entire movie with one static camera setup, in a manner simulating a non-constructed "fake documentary" style, influenced by Jim McBride's David Holzman's Diary.

Critical reception was mixed. Life reviewer Richard Schickel praised Torn's performance, Ginsberg's inventive use of camera and sound, and the "illuminating" portrayal of a schizophrenic breakdown. Critic Andrew Sarris gave it a less-favorable review, and the film was a commercial failure.

Subsequent work In 1973, Ginsberg wrote and directed the satirical horror film The Werewolf of Washington starring Dean Stockwell. Eschewing the minimalism of his previous feature, Ginsberg demonstrated a more technically complex film style.

After a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1975, Ginsberg became depressed and withdrew from filmmaking.

Personal life Ginsberg married Nina Posnansky, a painter, in 1983. They remained married until his death. 1995 Catwalk Editor 1997 Pronto Editor 1998 The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years Editor 2000 Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light Editor 2002 Fidel Editor 2005 A Father... A Son... Once upon a Time in Hollywood Editor