Introduction
Mark Rappaport (Brighton Beach, New York, 15 January 1942) is an American independent/underground film director who has been working sporadically since the early 1970s.
A lifelong New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Brooklyn College in 1964.
Recognition
Rappaport has been noted by Roger Ebert, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Ray Carney, J. Hoberman, Dave Kehr, and Stuart Klawans. Ray Carney considers him the greatest contemporary American film director.
Lawsuit
In May 2012, Rappaport filed a lawsuit against Carney for refusing to return digital masters of Rappaport's movies which the filmmaker had previously entrusted to Carney to transport to Paris. The suit was later dropped due to rising legal costs, and Rappaport started an online petition demanding that Carney return the masters.
Films
Rappaport made the 1978 drama The Scenic Route. His last three features, all made in the 1990s were Rock Hudson's Home Movies,From the Journals of Jean Seberg, and The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender.