title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: Later, Simone informs Dala that Sir Charles wished to call off the theft and asks her to help in his defense. Dala then reveals that she stole the diamond herself, to avoid turning it over to the new government of her homeland. However, the Princess is also smitten with Sir Charles and has a plan to save him from prison. At the trial, the defense calls as their sole witness a surprised Inspector Clouseau. The barrister (John Le Mesurier) asks a series of questions that suggest Clouseau himself could be the Phantom. An unnerved Clouseau pulls out his handkerchief to wipe the perspiration from his brow, and the jewel drops from it.


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: As Clouseau is taken away to prison, he is mobbed by a throng of enamored women. Watching from a distance, Simone expresses regret, but Sir Charles reassures her that when the Phantom strikes again, Clouseau will be exonerated. Sir Charles invites George to join them on the Phantom's next heist in South America. Meanwhile, on the way to prison, two Carabinieri express their envy that Clouseau is now desired by so many women. They ask him with obvious admiration how he committed all of those crimes; Clouseau considers his newfound fame and replies, "Well, you know... it wasn't easy."


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: The film ends after the police car carrying Clouseau to prison runs over a traffic warden—the cartoon Pink Panther from the animated opening credits. He gets back up as we hear the crash that was coming out from the police car, holding a card that reads "THEND" and swipes the letters to read "THE END."


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: The film was "conceived as a sophisticated comedy about a charming, urbane jewel thief, Sir Charles Lytton". Peter Ustinov was "originally cast as Clouseau, with Ava Gardner as his faithless wife in league with Lytton". After Gardner backed out because The Mirisch Company would not meet her demands for a personal staff, Ustinov also left the project, and Blake Edwards then chose Sellers to replace Ustinov. Janet Leigh turned down the lead female role, as it meant being away from the United States for too long.


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: The film was initially intended as a vehicle for Niven, as evidenced by his top billing. As Edwards shot the film, employing multiple takes of improvised scenes, it became clear that Sellers, originally considered a supporting actor, was stealing the scenes. This resulted in his central role in all the film's sequels. When presenting at a subsequent Academy Awards ceremony, Niven requested his walk-on music be changed from the "Pink Panther" theme, stating, "That was not really my film."


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: The film was shot in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Rome and Rocca di Papa; Paris, France; and Los Angeles, U.S., using the Technirama process in an aspect ratio of 2.20:1. According to the DVD commentary by Blake Edwards, the chase scene at the piazza (filmed at Piazza della Repubblica in Rocca di Papa) was an homage to a similar sequence 26 minutes into Alfred Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent" (1940).


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: Fran Jeffries sang the song "Meglio stasera (It Had Better Be Tonight)" in a scene set around the fireplace of a ski lodge. The song was composed by Henry Mancini, with English lyrics by Johnny Mercer and Italian lyrics by Franco Migliacci.


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" wrote: "Seldom has any comedian seemed to work so persistently and hard at trying to be violently funny with weak material"; he called the script a "basically unoriginal and largely witless piece of farce carpentry that has to be pushed and heaved at stoutly in order to keep on the move." "Variety" was much more positive, calling the film "intensely funny" and "Sellers' razor-sharp timing ... superlative."


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: In a 2004 review of "The Pink Panther Film Collection", a DVD collection that included "The Pink Panther", The A.V. Club wrote:


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: Because the later movies were identified so closely with Clouseau, it's easy to forget that he was merely one in an ensemble at first, sharing screen time with Niven, Capucine, Robert Wagner and Claudia Cardinale. If not for Sellers' hilarious pratfalls, "The Pink Panther" could be mistaken for a luxuriant caper movie like "Topkapi" ... which is precisely what makes the movie so funny. It acts as the straight man, while Sellers gets to play mischief-maker.


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: The film holds an approval rating of 89% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus says: "Peter Sellers is at his virtuosically bumbling best in "The Pink Panther", a sophisticated caper blessed with an unforgettably slinky score by Henry Mancini."


title: The Pink Panther (1963 film)

text: The soundtrack album for the film, featuring Henry Mancini's score, was released in 1964 and reached No. 8 on the "Billboard" magazine's pop album chart. It was nominated for Grammy and Academy Awards and was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and selected by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest film scores.


title: Low back pain

text: Low back pain (LBP) or lumbago is a common disorder involving the muscles, nerves, and bones of the back, in between the lower edge of the ribs and the lower fold of the buttocks. Pain can vary from a dull constant ache to a sudden sharp feeling. Low back pain may be classified by duration as acute (pain lasting less than 6 weeks), sub-chronic (6 to 12 weeks), or chronic (more than 12 weeks). The condition may be further classified by the underlying cause as either mechanical, non-mechanical, or referred pain. The symptoms of low back pain usually improve within a few weeks from the time they start, with 40–90% of people recovered by six weeks.


title: Low back pain

text: In most episodes of low back pain, a specific underlying cause is not identified or even looked for, with the pain believed to be due to mechanical problems such as muscle or joint strain. If the pain does not go away with conservative treatment or if it is accompanied by "red flags" such as unexplained weight loss, fever, or significant problems with feeling or movement, further testing may be needed to look for a serious underlying problem. In most cases, imaging tools such as X-ray computed tomography are not useful and carry their own risks. Despite this, the use of imaging in low back pain has increased. Some low back pain is caused by damaged intervertebral discs, and the straight leg raise test is useful to identify this cause. In those with chronic pain, the pain processing system may malfunction, causing large amounts of pain in response to non-serious events.


title: Low back pain

text: Initial management with non-medication based treatments is recommended. NSAIDs are recommended if these are not sufficiently effective. Normal activity should be continued as much as the pain allows. A number of other options are available for those who do not improve with usual treatment. Opioids may be useful if simple pain medications are not enough, but they are not generally recommended due to side effects. Surgery may be beneficial for those with disc-related chronic pain and disability or spinal stenosis. No clear benefit of surgery has been found for other cases of non-specific low back pain. Low back pain often affects mood, which may be improved by counseling or antidepressants. Additionally, there are many alternative medicine therapies, including the Alexander technique and herbal remedies, but there is not enough evidence to recommend them confidently. The evidence for chiropractic care and spinal manipulation is mixed.


title: Low back pain

text: Approximately 9–12% of people (632 million) have LBP at any given point in time, and nearly 25% report having it at some point over any one-month period. About 40% of people have LBP at some point in their lives, with estimates as high as 80% among people in the developed world. Difficulty most often begins between 20 and 40 years of age. Men and women are equally affected. Low back pain is more common among people aged between 40 and 80 years, with the overall number of individuals affected expected to increase as the population ages.


title: Low back pain

text: In the common presentation of acute low back pain, pain develops after movements that involve lifting, twisting, or forward-bending. The symptoms may start soon after the movements or upon waking up the following morning. The description of the symptoms may range from tenderness at a particular point to diffuse pain. It may or may not worsen with certain movements, such as raising a leg, or positions, such as sitting or standing. Pain radiating down the legs (known as sciatica) may be present. The first experience of acute low back pain is typically between the ages of 20 and 40. This is often a person's first reason to see a medical professional as an adult. Recurrent episodes occur in more than half of people with the repeated episodes being generally more painful than the first.


title: Low back pain

text: Other problems may occur along with low back pain. Chronic low back pain is associated with sleep problems, including a greater amount of time needed to fall asleep, disturbances during sleep, a shorter duration of sleep, and less satisfaction with sleep. In addition, a majority of those with chronic low back pain show symptoms of depression or anxiety.


title: Low back pain

text: Low back pain is not a specific disease but rather a complaint that may be caused by a large number of underlying problems of varying levels of seriousness. The majority of LBP does not have a clear cause but is believed to be the result of non-serious muscle or skeletal issues such as sprains or strains. Obesity, smoking, weight gain during pregnancy, stress, poor physical condition, and poor sleeping position may also contribute to low back pain. There is no consensus as to whether spinal posture or certain physical activities are causal factors. A full list of possible causes includes many less common conditions. Physical causes may include osteoarthritis, degeneration of the discs between the vertebrae or a spinal disc herniation, broken vertebra(e) (such as from osteoporosis) or, rarely, an infection or tumor of the spine.


title: Low back pain

text: Women may have acute low back pain from medical conditions affecting the female reproductive system, including endometriosis, ovarian cysts, ovarian cancer, or uterine fibroids. Nearly half of all pregnant women report pain in the lower back or sacral area during pregnancy, due to changes in their posture and center of gravity causing muscle and ligament strain.


title: Low back pain

text: The lumbar (or lower back) region is the area between the lower ribs and gluteal fold which includes five lumbar vertebrae (L1–L5) and the sacrum. In between these vertebrae are fibrocartilaginous discs, which act as cushions, preventing the vertebrae from rubbing together while at the same time protecting the spinal cord. Nerves come from and go to the spinal cord through specific openings between the vertebrae, providing the skin with sensations and sending messages to muscles. Stability of the spine is provided by the ligaments and muscles of the back and abdomen. Small joints called facet joints limit and direct the motion of the spine.


title: Low back pain

text: The multifidus muscles run up and down along the back of the spine, and are important for keeping the spine straight and stable during many common movements such as sitting, walking and lifting. A problem with these muscles is often found in someone with chronic low back pain, because the back pain causes the person to use the back muscles improperly in trying to avoid the pain. The problem with the multifidus muscles continues even after the pain goes away, and is probably an important reason why the pain comes back. Teaching people with chronic low back pain how to use these muscles is recommended as part of a recovery program.


title: Low back pain

text: An intervertebral disc has a gelatinous core surrounded by a fibrous ring. When in its normal, uninjured state, most of the disc is not served by either the circulatory or nervous systems – blood and nerves only run to the outside of the disc. Specialized cells that can survive without direct blood supply are in the inside of the disc. Over time, the discs lose flexibility and the ability to absorb physical forces. This decreased ability to handle physical forces increases stresses on other parts of the spine, causing the ligaments of the spine to thicken and bony growths to develop on the vertebrae. As a result, there is less space through which the spinal cord and nerve roots may pass. When a disc degenerates as a result of injury or disease, the makeup of a disc changes: blood vessels and nerves may grow into its interior and/or herniated disc material can push directly on a nerve root. Any of these changes may result in back pain.


title: Low back pain

text: Pain is generally an unpleasant feeling in response to an event that either damages or can potentially damage the body's tissues. There are four main steps in the process of feeling pain: transduction, transmission, perception, and modulation. The nerve cells that detect pain have cell bodies located in the dorsal root ganglia and fibers that transmit these signals to the spinal cord. The process of pain sensation starts when the pain-causing event triggers the endings of appropriate sensory nerve cells. This type of cell converts the event into an electrical signal by transduction. Several different types of nerve fibers carry out the transmission of the electrical signal from the transducing cell to the posterior horn of spinal cord, from there to the brain stem, and then from the brain stem to the various parts of the brain such as the thalamus and the limbic system. In the brain, the pain signals are processed and given context in the process of pain perception. Through modulation, the brain can modify the sending of further nerve impulses by decreasing or increasing the release of neurotransmitters.


title: Low back pain

text: Parts of the pain sensation and processing system may not function properly; creating the feeling of pain when no outside cause exists, signaling too much pain from a particular cause, or signaling pain from a normally non-painful event. Additionally, the pain modulation mechanisms may not function properly. These phenomena are involved in chronic pain.


title: Low back pain

text: As the structure of the lumbago back is complex and the reporting of pain is subjective and affected by social factors, the diagnosis of low back pain is not straightforward. While most low back pain is caused by muscle and joint problems, this cause must be separated from neurological problems, spinal tumors, fracture of the spine, and infections, among others.


title: Low back pain

text: There are a number of ways to classify low back pain with no consensus that any one method is best. There are three general types of low back pain by cause: mechanical back pain (including nonspecific musculoskeletal strains, herniated discs, compressed nerve roots, degenerative discs or joint disease, and broken vertebra), non-mechanical back pain (tumors, inflammatory conditions such as spondyloarthritis, and infections), and referred pain from internal organs (gallbladder disease, kidney stones, kidney infections, and aortic aneurysm, among others). Mechanical or musculoskeletal problems underlie most cases (around 90% or more), and of those, most (around 75%) do not have a specific cause identified, but are thought to be due to muscle strain or injury to ligaments. Rarely, complaints of low back pain result from systemic or psychological problems, such as fibromyalgia and somatoform disorders.


title: Low back pain

text: Low back pain may be classified based on the signs and symptoms. Diffuse pain that does not change in response to particular movements, and is localized to the lower back without radiating beyond the buttocks, is classified as "nonspecific", the most common classification. Pain that radiates down the leg below the knee, is located on one side (in the case of disc herniation), or is on both sides (in spinal stenosis), and changes in severity in response to certain positions or maneuvers is "radicular", making up 7% of cases. Pain that is accompanied by red flags such as trauma, fever, a history of cancer or significant muscle weakness may indicate a more serious underlying problem and is classified as "needing urgent or specialized attention".


title: Low back pain

text: The symptoms can also be classified by duration as acute, sub-chronic (also known as sub-acute), or chronic. The specific duration required to meet each of these is not universally agreed upon, but generally pain lasting less than six weeks is classified as "acute", pain lasting six to twelve weeks is "sub-chronic", and more than twelve weeks is "chronic". Management and prognosis may change based on the duration of symptoms.


title: Low back pain

text: The presence of certain signs, termed "red flags", indicate the need for further testing to look for more serious underlying problems, which may require immediate or specific treatment. The presence of a red flag does not mean that there is a significant problem. It is only suggestive, and most people with red flags have no serious underlying problem. If no red flags are present, performing diagnostic imaging or laboratory testing in the first four weeks after the start of the symptoms has not been shown to be useful.


title: Low back pain

text: The usefulness of many red flags is poorly supported by evidence. The most useful for detecting a fracture are: older age, corticosteroid use, and significant trauma especially if it results in skin markings. The best determinant of the presence of cancer is a history of the same.


title: Low back pain

text: With other causes ruled out, people with non-specific low back pain are typically treated symptomatically, without exact determination of the cause. Efforts to uncover factors that might complicate the diagnosis, such as depression, substance abuse, or an agenda concerning insurance payments may be helpful.


title: Low back pain

text: Imaging is indicated when there are red flags, ongoing neurological symptoms that do not resolve, or ongoing or worsening pain. In particular, early use of imaging (either MRI or CT) is recommended for suspected cancer, infection, or cauda equina syndrome. MRI is slightly better than CT for identifying disc disease; the two technologies are equally useful for diagnosing spinal stenosis. Only a few physical diagnostic tests are helpful. The straight leg raise test is almost always positive in those with disc herniation, and lumbar provocative discography may be useful to identify a specific disc causing pain in those with chronic high levels of low back pain. Therapeutic procedures such as nerve blocks can also be used to determine a specific source of pain. Some evidence supports the use of facet joint injections, transforminal epidural injections and sacroiliac injections as diagnostic tests. Most other physical tests, such as evaluating for scoliosis, muscle weakness or wasting, and impaired reflexes, are of little use.


title: Low back pain

text: Complaints of low back pain are one of the most common reasons people visit doctors. For pain that has lasted only a few weeks, the pain is likely to subside on its own. Thus, if a person's medical history and physical examination do not suggest a specific disease as the cause, medical societies advise against imaging tests such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. Individuals may want such tests but, unless red flags are present, they are unnecessary health care. Routine imaging increases costs, is associated with higher rates of surgery with no overall benefit, and the radiation used may be harmful to one's health. Fewer than 1% of imaging tests identify the cause of the problem. Imaging may also detect harmless abnormalities, encouraging people to request further unnecessary testing or to worry. Even so, MRI scans of the lumbar region increased by more than 300% among United States Medicare beneficiaries from 1994 to 2006.


title: Low back pain

text: Exercise appears to be useful for preventing low back pain. Exercise is also probably effective in preventing recurrences in those with pain that has lasted more than six weeks. Medium-firm mattresses are more beneficial for chronic pain than firm mattresses. There is little to no evidence that back belts are any more helpful in preventing low back pain than education about proper lifting techniques. There is no quality data that supports medium firm mattresses over firm mattresses. A few studies that have contradicted this notion have also failed to include sleep posture and mattress firmness. The most comfortable sleep surface may be preferred. Shoe insoles do not help prevent low back pain.


title: Low back pain

text: Most people with acute or subacute low back pain improve over time no matter the treatment. There is often improvement within the first month. Recommendations include remaining active, avoiding activity that worsen the pain, and understanding self-care of the symptoms. Management of low back pain depends on which of the three general categories is the cause: mechanical problems, non-mechanical problems, or referred pain. For acute pain that is causing only mild to moderate problems, the goals are to restore normal function, return the individual to work, and minimize pain. The condition is normally not serious, resolves without much being done, and recovery is helped by attempting to return to normal activities as soon as possible within the limits of pain. Providing individuals with coping skills through reassurance of these facts is useful in speeding recovery. For those with sub-chronic or chronic low back pain, multidisciplinary treatment programs may help. Initial management with non–medication based treatments is recommended Non–medication based treatments include superficial heat, massage, acupuncture, or spinal manipulation. If these are not sufficiently effective, NSAIDs are recommended. Acetaminophen and systemic steroids are not recommended as both medications are not effective at improving pain outcomes in acute or subacute low back pain.


title: Low back pain

text: Physical therapy stabilization exercises for lumbar spine and manual therapy have shown decrease in pain symptoms in patients. Manual therapy and stabilization effects have similar effects on low back pain which overweighs the effects of general exercises.


title: Low back pain

text: Increasing general physical activity has been recommended, but no clear relationship to pain or disability has been found when used for the treatment of an acute episode of pain. For acute pain, low- to moderate-quality evidence supports walking. Aerobic exercises like progressive walking appears useful for subacute and acute low back pain, is strongly recommended for chronic low back pain, and is recommended after surgery. Directional exercises, which try to limit low back pain, are recommended in sub-acute, chronic and radicular low back pain. These exercises only work if they are limiting low back pain. Treatment according to McKenzie method is somewhat effective for recurrent acute low back pain, but its benefit in the short term does not appear significant. There is tentative evidence to support the use of heat therapy for acute and sub-chronic low back pain but little evidence for the use of either heat or cold therapy in chronic pain. Weak evidence suggests that back belts might decrease the number of missed workdays, but there is nothing to suggest that they help with the pain. Ultrasound and shock wave therapies do not appear effective and therefore are not recommended. Lumbar traction lacks effectiveness as an intervention for radicular low back pain. It is also unclear whether lumbar supports are an effective treatment intervention. Exercise programs that incorporate stretching only are not recommended for low back pain. Generic or non-specific stretching has also been found to not help with acute low back pain. Yoga and Tai chi are not recommended in case of acute or subacute low back pain, but are recommended in case of chronic back pain. Stretching, especially with limited range of motion, can impede future progression of treatment like limiting strength and limiting exercises.


title: Low back pain

text: Exercise therapy is effective in decreasing pain and improving physical function, trunk muscle strength and the mental health for those with chronic low back pain. It also improves long-term function and appears to reduce recurrence rates for as long as six months after the completion of the program. The observed treatment effect for the exercise when compared to no treatment, usual care or placebo, improved pain (low‐certainty evidence), but improvements were small for functional limitations outcomes (moderate‐certainty evidence). There is no evidence that one particular type of exercise therapy is more effective than another, so the form of exercise used can be based on patient or practitioner preference, availability and cost. The Alexander technique appears useful for chronic back pain, and there is a very small evidence to support the use of yoga. If a person with chronic low back pain is motivated, it is recommended to use yoga and tai chi as a form of treatment, but this is not recommended to treat acute or subacute low back pain. Motor control exercise, which involves guided movement and use of normal muscles during simple tasks which then builds to more complex tasks, improves pain and function up to 20 weeks, but there was little difference compared to manual therapy and other forms of exercise. Motor control exercise accompanied by manual therapy also produces similar reductions in pain intensity when compared to general strength and condition exercise training, yet only the latter also improved muscle endurance and strength, whilst concurrently decreased self-reported disability. Aquatic therapy is recommended as an option in those with other preexisting conditions like extreme obesity, degenerative joint disease, or other conditions that limit progressive walking. Aquatic therapy is recommended for chronic and subacute low back pain in those with a preexisting condition. Aquatic therapy is not recommended for people that have no preexisting condition that limits their progressive walking. There is low-to-moderate quality evidence that supports pilates in low back pain for the reduction of pain and disability, however there is no conclusive evidence that pilates is better than any other form of exercise for low back pain.


title: Low back pain

text: Patients with chronic low back pain receiving multidisciplinary biopsychosocial rehabilitation (MBR) programs are likely to experience less pain and disability than those receiving usual care or a physical treatment. MBR also has a positive influence on work status of the patient compared to physical treatment. Effects are of a modest magnitude and should be balanced against the time and resource requirements of MBR programs.


title: Low back pain

text: Peripheral nerve stimulation, a minimally-invasive procedure, may be useful in cases of chronic low back pain that do not respond to other measures, although the evidence supporting it is not conclusive, and it is not effective for pain that radiates into the leg. Evidence for the use of shoe insoles as a treatment is inconclusive. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has not been found to be effective in chronic low back pain. There has been little research that supports the use of lumbar extension machines and thus they are not recommended.


title: Low back pain

text: The management of low back pain often includes medications for the duration that they are beneficial. With the first episode of low back pain the hope is a complete cure; however, if the problem becomes chronic, the goals may change to pain management and the recovery of as much function as possible. As pain medications are only somewhat effective, expectations regarding their benefit may differ from reality, and this can lead to decreased satisfaction.


title: Low back pain

text: The medication typically recommended first are acetaminophen (paracetamol), NSAIDs (though not aspirin), or skeletal muscle relaxants and these are enough for most people. Benefits with NSAIDs; however, is often small. High-quality reviews have found acetaminophen (paracetamol) to be no more effective than placebo at improving pain, quality of life, or function. NSAIDs are more effective for acute episodes than acetaminophen; however, they carry a greater risk of side effects, including kidney failure, stomach ulcers and possibly heart problems. Thus, NSAIDs are a second choice to acetaminophen, recommended only when the pain is not handled by the latter. NSAIDs are available in several different classes; there is no evidence to support the use of COX-2 inhibitors over any other class of NSAIDs with respect to benefits. With respect to safety naproxen may be best. Muscle relaxants may be beneficial.


title: Low back pain

text: If the pain is still not managed adequately, short-term use of opioids such as morphine may be useful. These medications carry a risk of addiction, may have negative interactions with other drugs, and have a greater risk of side effects, including dizziness, nausea, and constipation. The effect of long-term use of opioids for lower back pain is unknown. Opioid treatment for chronic low back pain increases the risk for lifetime illicit drug use. Specialist groups advise against general long-term use of opioids for chronic low back pain. , the CDC has released a guideline for prescribed opioid use in the management of chronic pain. It states that opioid use is not the preferred treatment when managing chronic pain due to the excessive risks involved. If prescribed, a person and their clinician should have a realistic plan to discontinue its use in the event that the risks outweigh the benefit.


title: Low back pain

text: For older people with chronic pain, opioids may be used in those for whom NSAIDs present too great a risk, including those with diabetes, stomach or heart problems. They may also be useful for a select group of people with neuropathic pain.


title: Low back pain

text: Antidepressants may be effective for treating chronic pain associated with symptoms of depression, but they have a risk of side effects. Although the antiseizure drugs gabapentin, pregabalin, and topiramate are sometimes used for chronic low back pain evidence does not support a benefit. Systemic oral steroids have not been shown to be useful in low back pain. Facet joint injections and steroid injections into the discs have not been found to be effective in those with persistent, non-radiating pain; however, they may be considered for those with persistent sciatic pain. Epidural corticosteroid injections provide a slight and questionable short-term improvement in those with sciatica but are of no long-term benefit. There are also concerns of potential side effects.


title: Low back pain

text: Surgery may be useful in those with a herniated disc that is causing significant pain radiating into the leg, significant leg weakness, bladder problems, or loss of bowel control. It may also be useful in those with spinal stenosis. In the absence of these issues, there is no clear evidence of a benefit from surgery.


title: Low back pain

text: Discectomy (the partial removal of a disc that is causing leg pain) can provide pain relief sooner than nonsurgical treatments. Discectomy has better outcomes at one year but not at four to ten years. The less invasive microdiscectomy has not been shown to result in a different outcome than regular discectomy. For most other conditions, there is not enough evidence to provide recommendations for surgical options. The long-term effect surgery has on degenerative disc disease is not clear. Less invasive surgical options have improved recovery times, but evidence regarding effectiveness is insufficient.


title: Low back pain

text: For those with pain localized to the lower back due to disc degeneration, fair evidence supports spinal fusion as equal to intensive physical therapy and slightly better than low-intensity nonsurgical measures. Fusion may be considered for those with low back pain from acquired displaced vertebra that does not improve with conservative treatment, although only a few of those who have spinal fusion experience good results. There are a number of different surgical procedures to achieve fusion, with no clear evidence of one being better than the others. Adding spinal implant devices during fusion increases the risk but provides no added improvement in pain or function.


title: Low back pain

text: It is unclear if alternative treatments are useful for non-chronic back pain. Chiropractic care or spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) appear similarly effective to other recommended treatments. National guidelines differ, with some not recommending SMT, some describing manipulation as optional, and others recommending a short course for those who do not improve with other treatments. A 2017 review recommended SMT based on low-quality evidence. There is insufficient evidence to recommend manipulation under anaesthesia, or medically assisted manipulation. SMT does not provide significant benefits compared to motor control exercises.


title: Low back pain

text: Acupuncture is no better than placebo, usual care, or sham acupuncture for nonspecific acute pain or sub-chronic pain. For those with chronic pain, it improves pain a little more than no treatment and about the same as medications, but it does not help with disability. This pain benefit is only present right after treatment and not at follow-up. Acupuncture may be a reasonable option for those with chronic pain that does not respond to other treatments like conservative care and medications.


title: Low back pain

text: Massage therapy does not appear to provide much benefit for acute low back pain. According to a 2015 Cochrane review, massage therapy was more effective for acute low back pain than no treatment; the benefits were limited to the short term and there was no effect for improving function. For chronic low back pain, massage therapy was no better than no treatment for both pain and function, though only in the short-term. The overall quality of the evidence was low and the authors conclude that massage therapy is generally not an effective treatment for low back pain. Massage therapy is recommended for selected people with subacute and chronic low back pain, but it should be paired with another form of treatment like aerobic or strength exercises. For acute or chronic radicular pain syndromes massage therapy is recommended only if low back pain is considered a symptom. Mechanical massage tools are not recommended for the treatment of any form of low back pain.


title: Low back pain

text: Prolotherapy – the practice of injecting solutions into joints (or other areas) to cause inflammation and thereby stimulate the body's healing response – has not been found to be effective by itself, although it may be helpful when added to another therapy.


title: Low back pain

text: Herbal medicines, as a whole, are poorly supported by evidence. The herbal treatments Devil's claw and white willow may reduce the number of individuals reporting high levels of pain; however, for those taking pain relievers, this difference is not significant. Capsicum, in the form of either a gel or a plaster cast, has been found to reduce pain and increase function.


title: Low back pain

text: Behavioral therapy may be useful for chronic pain. There are several types available, including operant conditioning, which uses reinforcement to reduce undesirable behaviors and increase desirable behaviors; cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps people identify and correct negative thinking and behavior; and respondent conditioning, which can modify an individual's physiological response to pain. The benefit however is small. Medical providers may develop an integrated program of behavioral therapies. The evidence is inconclusive as to whether mindfulness-based stress reduction reduces chronic back pain intensity or associated disability, although it suggests that it may be useful in improving the acceptance of existing pain.


title: Low back pain

text: Tentative evidence supports neuroreflexotherapy (NRT), in which small pieces of metal are placed just under the skin of the ear and back, for non-specific low back pain. Multidisciplinary biopsychosocial rehabilitation (MBR), targeting physical and psychological aspects, may improve back pain but evidence is limited. There is a lack of good quality evidence to support the use of radiofrequency denervation for pain relief.


title: Low back pain

text: KT Tape has been found to be no different for management of chronic non-specific low back pain than other established pain management strategies.


title: Low back pain

text: There is strong evidence that education may improve low back pain, with a 2.5 hour educational session more effective than usual care for helping people return to work in the short- and long-term. This was more effective for people with acute rather than chronic back pain.


title: Low back pain

text: Overall, the outcome for acute low back pain is positive. Pain and disability usually improve a great deal in the first six weeks, with complete recovery reported by 40 to 90%. In those who still have symptoms after six weeks, improvement is generally slower with only small gains up to one year. At one year, pain and disability levels are low to minimal in most people. Distress, previous low back pain, and job satisfaction are predictors of long-term outcome after an episode of acute pain. Certain psychological problems such as depression, or unhappiness due to loss of employment may prolong the episode of low back pain. Following a first episode of back pain, recurrences occur in more than half of people.


title: Low back pain

text: For persistent low back pain, the short-term outcome is also positive, with improvement in the first six weeks but very little improvement after that. At one year, those with chronic low back pain usually continue to have moderate pain and disability. People at higher risk of long-term disability include those with poor coping skills or with fear of activity (2.5 times more likely to have poor outcomes at one year), those with a poor ability to cope with pain, functional impairments, poor general health, or a significant psychiatric or psychological component to the pain (Waddell's signs).


title: Low back pain

text: Prognosis may be influenced by expectations, with those having positive expectations of recovery related to higher likelihood of returning to work and overall outcomes.


title: Low back pain

text: Low back pain that lasts at least one day and limits activity is a common complaint. Globally, about 40% of people have LBP at some point in their lives, with estimates as high as 80% of people in the developed world. Approximately 9 to 12% of people (632 million) have LBP at any given point in time, and nearly one quarter (23.2%) report having it at some point over any one-month period. Difficulty most often begins between 20 and 40 years of age. Low back pain is more common among people aged 4080years, with the overall number of individuals affected expected to increase as the population ages.


title: Low back pain

text: It is not clear whether men or women have higher rates of low back pain. A 2012 review reported a rate of 9.6% among males and 8.7% among females. Another 2012 review found a higher rate in females than males, which the reviewers felt was possibly due to greater rates of pains due to osteoporosis, menstruation, and pregnancy among women, or possibly because women were more willing to report pain than men. An estimated 70% of women experience back pain during pregnancy with the rate being higher the further along in pregnancy. Current smokers – and especially those who are adolescents – are more likely to have low back pain than former smokers, and former smokers are more likely to have low back pain than those who have never smoked.


title: Low back pain

text: Low back pain has been with humans since at least the Bronze Age. The oldest known surgical treatise – the Edwin Smith Papyrus, dating to about 1500 BCE – describes a diagnostic test and treatment for a vertebral sprain. Hippocrates ( – ) was the first to use a term for sciatic pain and low back pain; Galen (active mid to late second century CE) described the concept in some detail. Physicians through the end of the first millennium recommended watchful waiting. Through the Medieval period, folk medicine practitioners provided treatments for back pain based on the belief that it was caused by spirits.


title: Low back pain

text: At the start of the 20th century, physicians thought low back pain was caused by inflammation of or damage to the nerves, with neuralgia and neuritis frequently mentioned by them in the medical literature of the time. The popularity of such proposed causes decreased during the 20th century. In the early 20th century, American neurosurgeon Harvey Williams Cushing increased the acceptance of surgical treatments for low back pain. In the 1920s and 1930s, new theories of the cause arose, with physicians proposing a combination of nervous system and psychological disorders such as nerve weakness (neurasthenia) and female hysteria. Muscular rheumatism (now called fibromyalgia) was also cited with increasing frequency.


title: Low back pain

text: Emerging technologies such as X-rays gave physicians new diagnostic tools, revealing the intervertebral disc as a source for back pain in some cases. In 1938, orthopedic surgeon Joseph S. Barr reported on cases of disc-related sciatica improved or cured with back surgery. As a result of this work, in the 1940s, the vertebral disc model of low back pain took over, dominating the literature through the 1980s, aiding further by the rise of new imaging technologies such as CT and MRI. The discussion subsided as research showed disc problems to be a relatively uncommon cause of the pain. Since then, physicians have come to realize that it is unlikely that a specific cause for low back pain can be identified in many cases and question the need to find one at all as most of the time symptoms resolve within 6 to 12 weeks regardless of treatment.


title: Low back pain

text: Low back pain results in large economic costs. In the United States, it is the most common type of pain in adults, responsible for a large number of missed work days, and is the most common musculoskeletal complaint seen in the emergency department. In 1998, it was estimated to be responsible for $90 billion in annual health care costs, with 5% of individuals incurring most (75%) of the costs. Between 1990 and 2001 there was a more than twofold increase in spinal fusion surgeries in the US, despite the fact that there were no changes to the indications for surgery or new evidence of greater usefulness. Further costs occur in the form of lost income and productivity, with low back pain responsible for 40% of all missed work days in the United States. Low back pain causes disability in a larger percentage of the workforce in Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden than in the US or Germany. In the United States, low back pain is highest of Years Lived With Disability (YLDs) rank, rate, and rercentage Change for the 25 leading causes of disability and injury, between 1990 and 2016.


title: Low back pain

text: Workers who experience acute low back pain as a result of a work injury may be asked by their employers to have x-rays. As in other cases, testing is not indicated unless red flags are present. An employer's concern about legal liability is not a medical indication and should not be used to justify medical testing when it is not indicated. There should be no legal reason for encouraging people to have tests which a health care provider determines are not indicated.


title: Low back pain

text: Total disc replacement is an experimental option, but no significant evidence supports its use over lumbar fusion. Researchers are investigating the possibility of growing new intervertebral structures through the use of injected human growth factors, implanted substances, cell therapy, and tissue engineering.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The Devil Judge () is a South Korean television series starring Ji Sung, Kim Min-jung, Park Jin-young and Park Gyu-young. It aired on tvN from July 3 to August 22, 2021, for 16 episodes. It was also available for streaming on Viu and iQIYI in selected territories, and on Netflix from December 24.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The series is set in a dystopian version of South Korea, where people harbor hatred towards their leaders and live in chaos. Trials are held through a courtroom live show aired on television, where three judges come together to bring justice and peace.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The drama, which was originally planned to run for 20 episodes instead of 16, is written by former judge Moon Yoo-seok. In June 2018, during the airing of the second half of his first drama, "Ms. Hammurabi", Moon began to think about what it would be like to write about a judge with completely opposite tones and ways. He then talked about his idea with actor Ji Sung, imagining a judge who would join Batman and Joker together.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The setting of the series was inspired by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and by the "terrifying" changes that occurred in the world, defined by Moon as scarier than the virus itself: after seeing patients in hospices in Spain die because they were abandoned by nurses, the global economy collapsing in an instant, the world population struggling to make ends meet, the advent of fanatical groups attacking Congress, and the president of the United States of America treating doctors' advice as fake news, he decided to do a "thought experiment" similar to "Black Mirror" and "V for Vendetta" about what the world of the future would have been like if such a chaotic situation continued.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The characters of "The Devil Judge" moves in a hypothetical dystopian Republic of Korea in which, two years after a mysterious epidemic, the deterioration of the economy, the rapid growth of unemployment and the feeling of not being safe have accelerated the polarization of the city and transformed the suburbs into slums destined for the collapsing poor class, while the center of the city is inhabited by the wealthiest social classes. Amplified by the media and political power, the anger of the population has led to a society dominated by violence, extremism and hatred towards its leaders, and it has become impossible to think of uniting in solidarity to find a solution; for this reason, the "devil" judge Kang Yo-han, who punishes evil without scruples, is designated by the population as the hero who will save them and through whom to vent discontent and anger.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The series has been defined by the writer as "chaotic and full of heterogenous elements", in which dystopian cartoon setting, classic tragedy narratives and theatrical dialogues are exasperated. Believing that "Dystopia is where authority becomes religion and religion becomes authority", Moon inserted religious overtones "to add a tragic feeling": the three judges who preside over the media tribunal, with their robes, resemble the Trinity, while the courtroom itself refers to an amphitheatre, and the name of the app used by the public to vote, Dike, to the homonymous deity of the Greek religion. References to Christianity are present in the crucifix worn on the wrist by Kang Yo-han, in the cross-shaped scar on his back, and in the names of the members of the Kang family, which recall those of the prophets of the Old Testament.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The script also merged some of the writer's favorite novels, such as "Wuthering Heights", "Jane Eyre", "Rebecca", "Beauty and the Beast" and "Faust", and a tribute to "The Dark Knight Rises"; the opening scene of episode 12, in which Yo-han's aide, K, tells Ga-on that he'll lose everything if he stays with Yo-han, was written while thinking of the movie "Let Me In", and in particular to the characters of Håkan, a middle-aged man who dies miserably living next to the lonely vampire Eli, and of Oskar, a child who bears the same fate. Other occurrences in the series draw inspiration from real events, such as Donald Trump's presidency, Brexit, Duterte's regime in the Philippines, and the tweet published by terrorist Anders Breivik before carrying out the attacks of July 22, 2011, which is recalled in episode 10 in the first sentence of extremist Jukchang's manifesto, "One person who has faith is equal to the power of a million people who pursue only profit."


title: The Devil Judge

text: "The Devil Judge" addresses the growing popularity of series featuring dark heroes battling evil with evil, such as "Vincenzo" and "Taxi Driver", and questions why they are so loved by the public. The final message, conveyed by Kim Ga-on who wonders what needs to be done to create a world that doesn't need Kang Yo-han, is that, through everyone's joint efforts to change the system, it's not too late to prevent the social and political situation told by the series from transforming in reality. Through the death of Yoon Soo-hyun, a character who represents the only person who has ever loved Kim Ga-on unconditionally, giving him the will to go on living, and who continues to worry about him despite being dying, the writer also wanted to highlight how love is the final form of redemption, and the belief that the world would be different if everyone had at least one person who truly loves them.


title: The Devil Judge

text: Moon, however, made it clear that, in writing the series, he focused more on the relationship between the characters rather than on conveying his own message, believing that, in telling their stories in certain situations and with certain narratives, the message would naturally arise as by-product. The relationships between the main characters are of three types: Kang Yo-han and Jung Sun-ah's relationship is expressed by the key phrase "I want to have you", Kang Yo-han and Kim Ga-on's by "I want to know you", and Kim Ga-on and childhood friend Yoon Soo-hyun's by "I want to protect you", although these three wishes are sometimes one-sided. The relationship between Yo-han and Ga-on has been described as a "bromance" in which the two characters attract each other like magnets due to their differences. Speaking of how he wrote the characters, Moon stated: "When I created the characters, I completely ignored the genders. [...] Cha Kyung-hee is simply a powerful and ambitious figure, and Yoon Soo-hyun is just a detective who wants to protect her first love. They are both familiar characters who often appear as men in Korean dramas. In contrast, the role of Kim Ga-on is often given to female characters. Characters trapped in conventional gender roles are obvious and monotonous, and I think the prejudice that all women must be autonomous and men can be flat is also artificial. Every human being is an individual."


title: The Devil Judge

text: On June 9, 2020, it was reported that Ji Sung had been offered the main role. Apart from his friendship with writer Moon Yoo-seok, Ji Sung decided to appear in the series to "look back at the idea of justice in the present age", to find and express a new side of himself, and because attracted by the unrealistic character of Kang Yo-han. Ji had difficulty understanding the role; as he found some similarities with Goethe's Faust, he shared that he initially played Kang Yo-han as a good character who draws his strength from evil, only to learn from the writer that he was, instead, Faust's seducer, Mephistopheles, and that he was "shocked" and "confused" by the revelation that Kang was completely evil. Kang's hairstyle, clothes and speech were instead agreed with the director.


title: The Devil Judge

text: Park Jin-young and Park Gyu-young joined the possible line up in August, while Kim Min-jung's agency confirmed she was in talks to star in the drama on December 3. The four leads were confirmed on February 3, 2021, and Kim Jae-kyung also joined on May 12 in a recurring role. "The Devil Judge" is Ji Sung and Kim Min-jung's second collaboration after the medical drama "New Heart" (2007–08).


title: The Devil Judge

text: Park Jin-young wanted to act in "The Devil Judge" after being fascinated by Kim Ga-on's gradual change over the course of the series. At the audition, when Moon Yoo-seok asked him if, given the character's difficulty, he had read the script many times, Park answered no and that most likely they would cast someone more famous than him. The writer stated that he was struck by Park's defiant gaze and later discovered that he had actually read the synopsis and the script dozens of times, and that he even knew details unknown to him: this made him think he had found the perfect Ga-on, "sincere, competent and eager, but with an indistinct sense of resignation and anger." Later, Park commented that he sometimes felt embarrassed and regretful at his response because he probably gave the impression that he was spoiled.


title: The Devil Judge

text: Kim Min-jung was chosen at the director's suggestion, wanting an actress who could portray Jung Sun-ah as innocent and terrifying at the same time. Kim Jae-kyung received the script for "The Devil Judge" shortly after finishing "Brave New World", the reading of which helped her understand the dystopian world. Impressed, in particular, by the idea of broadcasting the trials live throughout the nation, she met and interviewed a real judge to get a basic knowledge and understand how to play the role. She then auditioned wearing a Harry Potter cloak, having nothing more suitable, to immerse herself in the character of a judge.


title: The Devil Judge

text: "The Devil Judge" is directed by Choi Jung-kyu, who, to create the dystopian atmosphere, has combined futuristic and virtual elements with classic elements of the genre; in the photography, on the other hand, darkness has been emphasized, preferring dark settings. Lee Yong-seop of Westworld took care of computer graphics, representing a "sophisticated but excessive, realistic but clumsy, possible but non-existent Seoul", placing buildings familiar to viewers in unknown places and assigning them to different uses. The color yellow, which in Christian religious art is associated with the robes of Judas Iscariot, was used for negative scenes and object; at the same time, the color, usually identified with light, is a reference to the character of Kim Ga-on, described in the synopsis as "The light of this world", and who is sent by his professor Min Jung-ho to spy on Kang Yo-han to steal his secrets and then betray him.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The sets were curated by artistic director Jo Hwa-seong. After highlighting the keywords "the poor gets poorer and the rich gets richer" (), "lawlessness" and "chaos" by reading the script, he chose to give the exteriors a "desperate", rough, dark and humble atmosphere in representation of the poor, and the interiors a feeling of order, flashiness and superfluous luxury, typical of the rich. Kang Yo-han's house is a classic dark mansion, similar to Batman's, to show his dark hero side; Kim Ga-on's rooftop room, decorated with plants that have been abandoned on the street, conveys hope and that happiness is not proportional to wealth, while the Foundation's offices are designed to show its inclinations for drama and exploitation of people's desires through almost shamanic rituals and devotions. The courtroom is purposely circular to refer to popular participation in the trials of ancient Greece.


title: The Devil Judge

text: Filming began in December 2020, after Ji Sung's return to South Korea from Hawaii and a two-week self-quarantine, and ended in early July 2021. Locations include Osstem's headquarters in Magok District, Seoul, for the exterior of Kang Yo-han's office, Balan Outlet in Hwaseong and Le Papillon Barber Shop in Gangnam, while, for the Blue House, the crew used the reconstruction at the Hapcheon theme park.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The first poster was released on May 20, 2021, followed on May 28 by a 15-second video teaser. The character posters were released on June 11, and the 15-second trailer for episode 1 was released on June 18. On June 28 and July 1, two videos of 90 and 190 seconds were released, the latter coinciding with the press conference, to introduce the setting of the first episodes.


title: The Devil Judge

text: The music of the drama was composed by Jung Se-rin, who preferred the use of the electric guitar over the acoustic guitar. Kang Yo-han's and Kim Ga-on's suffering was expressed with instrumental strings solos, while for the moments in which Jung Sun-ah plots, the choice fell on the EDM genre; in addition to original pieces, the soundtrack makes use of Erik Satie's Gnossienne No. 1 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata No. 2, rearranged to fit the mood of the scenes.


title: The Devil Judge

text: After the first episode, it was observed that the unfamiliar dystopian background and virtual setting of the series were complicated to understand. Lee Jung-hyun of "Yonhap News" commented that it seemed to focus more on action and visuals, and that cohesion was missing, an opinion shared by pop culture critic Kim Seong-soo and Korean literature professor and drama critic Yoon Seok-jin of Chungnam National University, who found the directing excessive and that the message was not clearly revealed. Instead, Choi Sang-jin of "Seoul Economic Daily" felt that the first episode had struck a perfect balance by combining "exhilarating rapid development, sophisticated directing and excellent performances by the actors".


title: The Devil Judge

text: Pop culture critic Jung Deok-hyun pointed out that the fictional world represented by "The Devil Judge" showed the existence, in the real world, of scarecrows behind which the real forces in power are hidden, and that there was no fairness and justice, commenting: "The fictional dystopian Korea portrayed by "The Devil Judge" is drawn as if it were another parallel world in our reality. But, the more you insist it is virtual and just fiction, the more bitter it becomes. That's because the story [...] is getting more and more real as the story goes on. The more I say it's show and fiction, the more disgust arises from the discomfort I feel seeing an overlap, which should not happen, with reality". He attributed the diverse audience reactions to the series to its "terribly skeptical elitism", commenting that the way the population was swayed made sad and bitter even the reminiscence to the Gwangju massacre of May 18, 1980 and to the candlelit vigils calling for Park Geun-hye's resignation, which are recalled in the indiscriminate assaults suffered by the residents of Hyeongsan-dong in episode 13. Moreover, seeing secondary characters' tendency to sacrifice themselves for no apparent reason, Jung felt that the same elitism was reflected in the way Moon had decided to write the characters, making it seem that they were created on purpose to disappear from the scene at the right moment and unleash the emotions of the protagonists. Speaking of Kang Yo-han, he stated: "He is represented as a dark hero who lives alone in a mansion, like Bruce Wayne in "The Dark Knight Rises", but it's hard to see him trying to save people in need".


title: The Devil Judge

text: In reviewing the first ten episodes, Bryan Tan of "Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore" called the series "a chaotic dystopian circus of greed and corruption," whose hallmarks are theatrics, drama and pageantry, deeming it "explosively dramatic" and continually improving. He praised Park Jin-young, writing, "[he] has been spectacularly pleasurable to watch. The young actor is extremely authentic in his portrayal of the tortured and righteous associate judge Kim Ga-on, and his ambiguous romantic feelings towards his friend Yoon Soo-hyun adds flavour to the side plot, and his presence adds a lighter and youthful dimension in contrast to Kang Yo-han's direct and merciless methods."


title: The Devil Judge

text: At the end of the broadcast, Kim Hyun-rok of "SpoTV News" complimented the acting and chemistry of the actors, believing they harmonized with "detailed narrative development that caught us off guard and sophisticated direction that vividly displayed a virtual dystopian Korea." Kim Hee-kyung and Kim Hye-rang of "Hankyung" praised the refreshing and unconventional development, the contrasts between rich and poor, and appreciated that it opened a debate on the correctness of Kang Yo-han's methods and what true justice was. Choi Hee-jae of "XsportsNews" complimented the bromance between Ji and Park, and the characters in general for showing their presence and leading a solid story, "a 'virtual dystopia' not far from the past and the present," adding: "Moving back and forth between reality, "The Devil Judge" made me think about what justice was and what is right" and concluding that "the ending crosses reality and fantasy, exhilaration and displeasure, and sin and atonement."


title: The Devil Judge

text: On the contrary, Lee Jung-hyun of "Yonhap News" argued that "The Devil Judge" had shown "no attraction beyond spectacle and vicarious satisfaction" and that, despite the broadcaster's emphasis on promoting social justice, ordinary people were relegated to "bridesmaids" while the protagonists faced the government that had hidden the truth. The same comparison was used by critic Jung Deok-hyun, who said: "Taking away the provocative verdicts and glamorous images, "The Devil Judge" is a more bare-bones work than you think. Like "The Dark Knight Rises", which treated the dilemma of justice seriously, this drama often shows a dilemma, but what it reveals is the weakness of a human being swayed by lust. I don't think it's coherent to put social justice as a message and not let ordinary people be seen." Park Chang-gi of "TenAsia" criticized the unconvincing and hardly credible development of the story, decreed that the conclusion drawn by "The Devil Judge" was that killing for personal revenge was justified, and deemed that the ending was empty and left only a sense of disappointment.


title: The Devil Judge

text: Pierce Conran of the "South China Morning Post" found the start of the series strong and promising, then he commented that it veered towards a middle stretch "full of ups and downs as the story meanders between fun moments and finger-twiddling lulls." Evaluating it with 3 out of 5 stars, he concluded that it was "devilishly entertaining and derived thrilling catharsis from its live courtroom scenes", but that it showed an "almost pathological disregard for women", given that, out of five female characters, four were disabled or ended up losing their lives.


title: The Devil Judge

text: "The Devil Judge" figured in tenth place on "Forbes"' list of the best Korean dramas of 2021 for "strong performances and the parody of some too-close-for-comfort political realities".


title: The Devil Judge

text: "The Devil Judge" was among the five most anticipated Korean dramas of 2021. According to Nielsen Korea, the first episode recorded an average share of 6% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 5.6% nationwide, with a real-time peak of 6.9% and 6.6% respectively. The last episode marked the highest ratings, with an average national share of 8% and a real-time peak of 10.1%, occupying the first place among the programs of the same time slot. The series was the most watched program in its time slot for the entire broadcast period.


title: The Devil Judge

text: Interviewed about a possible second season at the end of the airing, writer Moon Yoo-seok declared his willingness to write it and that he wanted to try a more light-hearted action series, like "Sherlock" and "Lupin".


title: Scott Forstall

text: Scott James Forstall (born 1969) is an American software engineer, known for leading the original software development team for the iPhone and iPad, and Broadway producer, known for co-producing the Tony award-winning "Fun Home" and "Eclipsed" with Molly Forstall, his wife, among others. Having spent his career first at NeXT and then Apple, he was the senior vice president (SVP) of iOS Software at Apple Inc. from 2007 until October 2012.


title: Scott Forstall

text: Forstall grew up in a middle-class family in Kitsap County, Washington, the second-born of three boys to a registered-nurse mother Jeanne and an engineer father Tom Forstall. His older brother Bruce is also a senior software design engineer, at Microsoft.


title: Scott Forstall

text: A gifted student for whom skills such as programming "came easily where they were difficult for others", Forstall qualified for advanced-placement science and math class in junior high school, and gained experience programming on Apple IIe computers.


title: Scott Forstall

text: He was skipped forward a year, entering Olympic High School in Bremerton, Washington early, where classmates recall his immersion in competitive chess, history, and general knowledge, on occasion competing at the state level. He achieved a 4.0 GPA and earned the position of valedictorian, a position he shared with a classmate, Molly Brown, who would later become his wife. He had established the goal of being a "designer of high-tech electronics equipment", as he proclaimed in an interview with a local newspaper.


title: Scott Forstall

text: Enrolling at Stanford University, he graduated in 1991 with a degree in symbolic systems. The next year he received his master's degree in computer science, also from Stanford. During his time at Stanford, Forstall was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.


title: Scott Forstall

text: Forstall joined Steve Jobs's NeXT in 1992 and stayed when it was purchased by Apple in 1997. Forstall was then placed in charge of designing user interfaces for a reinvigorated Macintosh line. In 2000, Forstall became a leading designer of the Mac's new Aqua user interface, known for its water-themed visual cues such as translucent icons and reflections, making him a rising star in the company. He was promoted to SVP in January 2003. During this period, he supervised the creation of the Safari web browser. Don Melton, a senior developer on the Safari team, credited Forstall for being willing to trust the instincts of his team and respecting their ability to develop the browser in secret.


title: Scott Forstall

text: In 2005, when Jobs began planning the iPhone, he had a choice to either "shrink the Mac, which would be an epic feat of engineering, or enlarge the iPod". Jobs favored the former approach but pitted the Macintosh and the iPod team, led by Forstall and Tony Fadell respectively, against each other in an internal competition. Forstall won that fierce competition to create iOS. The decision enabled the success of the iPhone as a platform for third-party developers: using a well-known desktop operating system as its basis allowed the many third-party Mac developers to write software for the iPhone with minimal retraining. Forstall was also responsible for creating a software developer's kit for programmers to build iPhone apps, as well as an App Store within iTunes.


title: Scott Forstall

text: In 2006, Forstall became responsible for Mac OS X releases after Avie Tevanian stepped down as the company's Chief Software Technology Officer and before being named SVP of iPhone Software. Forstall received credit as he "ran the iOS mobile software team like clockwork and was widely respected for his ability to perform under pressure".


title: Scott Forstall

text: He has spoken publicly at Apple Worldwide Developers Conferences, including talks about Mac OS X Leopard in 2006 and iPhone software development in 2008, later after the release of iPhone OS 2.0 and iPhone 3G, and on January 27, 2010, at Apple's 2010 iPad keynote. At WWDC 2011, Forstall introduced iOS 5. Forstall also appears in the iOS 5 video, narrating about three-quarters of the clip, and in almost every major Apple iOS special event. At the "Let's talk iPhone" event launching the iPhone 4S, he took the stage to demonstrate the phone's Siri voice recognition technology, which was originally developed at SRI International.


title: Scott Forstall

text: The aftermath of the release of iOS 6, on September 19, 2012, proved a troubled period for Apple. The newly introduced Maps application, completely designed in-house by Apple, was criticized for being underdeveloped, buggy and lacking in detail. In addition, the clock app used a design based on the trademarked Swiss railway clock, which Apple had failed to license, forcing Apple to pay Swiss railways a reported $21 million in compensation. In October, Apple reported third-quarter results in which revenues and profits grew less than predicted, the second quarter in a row that the company missed analysts' expectations.


title: Scott Forstall

text: On October 29, 2012, Apple announced in a press release "that Scott Forstall will be leaving Apple [in 2013] and will serve as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook in the interim." Forstall's duties were divided among four other Apple executives: design SVP Jonathan Ive assumed leadership of Apple's Human Interface team, Craig Federighi became the new head of iOS software engineering, services chief Eddy Cue took over responsibilities for Maps and Siri, and Bob Mansfield (previously SVP of hardware engineering) "unretired" to oversee a new technology group. On the same day, John Browett, who was SVP of retail, was dismissed immediately after only six months on the job.


title: Scott Forstall

text: Neither Forstall nor any other Apple executive has commented publicly on his departure beyond the initial press statement, but it is generally presumed that Forstall left his position involuntarily. All information about the reasons for his departure therefore come from anonymous sources. Cook's aim since becoming CEO has been reported to be building a culture of harmony, which meant "weeding out people with disagreeable personalities—people Jobs tolerated and even held close, like Forstall," although former Apple senior engineer Michael Lopp "believes that Apple's ability to innovate came from tension and disagreement." Steve Jobs was referred to as the "decider" who had the final say on products and features while he was CEO, reportedly keeping the "strong personalities at Apple in check by always casting the winning vote or by having the last word", so after Jobs' death many of these executive conflicts became public. Forstall had such a poor relationship with Ive and Mansfield that he could not be in a meeting with them unless Cook mediated; reportedly, Forstall and Ive did not cooperate at any level. Being forced to choose between the two, Cook reportedly chose to retain Ive since Forstall was not collaborative. Forstall was very close to and referred to as a mini-Steve Jobs, so Jobs' death left Forstall without a protector. Forstall was also referred to as the CEO-in-waiting by "Fortune" magazine and the book "Inside Apple" (written by Adam Lashinsky), a profile that made him unpopular at Apple. Forstall was said to be responsible for the departure of Jean-Marie Hullot (CTO of applications) in 2005 and Tony Fadell (SVP of hardware engineering) in 2008; Fadell remarked in an interview with the BBC that Forstall's firing was justified and he "got what he deserved". Jon Rubinstein, Fadell's predecessor as SVP of hardware, also had a strained relationship with Forstall. After Jobs' death in 2011, it had been reported that Forstall was trying to gather power to challenge Cook.


title: Scott Forstall

text: The Siri intelligent personal voice assistant that Forstall introduced in September 2011 has received a mixed reception with some observers regarding it as a "flop". Forstall was vigorously criticized after the new Maps app, introduced in iOS 6, received criticism for inaccuracies that were not up to Apple standards. According to Adam Lashinsky of "Fortune", when Apple issued a formal apology for the errors in Maps, Forstall refused to sign it. Under long-standing practice at Apple, Forstall was the "directly responsible individual" for Maps, and his refusal to sign the apology convinced Cook that Forstall had to go.


title: Scott Forstall

text: Forstall's skeuomorphic design style, strongly advocated by former CEO Steve Jobs, was reported to have also been controversial and divided the Apple design team. In a 2012 interview, Ive, then head of hardware design only, refused to comment on the iOS user interface, "In terms of those elements you're talking about, I'm not really connected to that."


title: Scott Forstall

text: Forstall did not make public appearances after his departure from Apple for a number of years. A report in December 2013 said that he had been concentrating on travel, advising charities, and providing informal advice to some small companies.


title: Scott Forstall

text: On April 17, 2015, Forstall made his first tweet, which revealed that he is a co-producer of the Broadway version of the musical "Fun Home". It was his first public appearance since departing from Apple in 2012. On June 7, 2015, the Forstall-produced musical won five awards at the Tonys.


title: Scott Forstall

text: On June 20, 2017, Forstall gave his first public interview after leaving Apple. He was interviewed in the Computer History Museum by John Markoff about the creation of the iPhone on the 10th anniversary of its sales launch.


title: Scott Forstall

text: On April 18, 2020, Forstall announced that he was a producer for the Broadway musical Hadestown. The musical went on to win 8 Tony Awards.


title: Scott Forstall

text: On December 17, 2020, Forstall was revealed to be one of the co-creators of WordArt alongside Apple engineer Nat Brown, while interning for Microsoft in 1991.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: FernGully: The Last Rainforest is a 1992 animated musical fantasy film, directed by Bill Kroyer and scripted by Jim Cox. Adapted from the "FernGully" stories by Diana Young, the film is an Australian and American venture produced by Kroyer Films, Inc., Youngheart Productions, FAI Films and 20th Century Fox. The film stars the voices of Samantha Mathis, Tim Curry, Christian Slater, Jonathan Ward, Robin Williams, and Grace Zabriskie. "FernGully" is set in an Australian rainforest inhabited by fairies including Crysta, who accidentally shrinks a young logger named Zak to the size of a fairy. Together, they rally the fairies and the animals of the rainforest to protect their home from the loggers and Hexxus, a malevolent pollution entity. Wayne Young, the film's producer, said the film was "blatantly environmental" though made an effort to avoid "preaching".


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: The film was released to mainly positive reviews, and was also generally considered a moderate financial success at both the box office and in home video sales. In 1998, it was followed by a direct-to-video sequel "", though none of the original voice cast reprised their roles.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Crysta is a fairy of curious nature who lives in FernGully, a picturesque rainforest free from human pollution. The fairies of FernGully once lived in harmony with humans, but believe them to have gone extinct after having been driven away by a dark spirit named Hexxus. Crysta is the apprentice of Magi, a fairy who imprisoned Hexxus in a tree. One day, Crysta explores a new part of the forest and meets Batty Koda, a bat who claims to have been experimented on by humans, giving him a manic and deluded personality. However, fairies refuse to believe him except for Crysta who volunteers to investigate the situation. She meets Zak, a young lumberjack whom Crysta accidentally shrinks when she tries to save him from being crushed by a falling tree, though does not know how to restore him to normal size.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: The tree that Hexxus is imprisoned in is cut down by Zak's supervisors Tony and Ralph. Hexxus quickly begins to regain his powers by feeding on pollution. He manipulates Tony and Ralph to drive to FernGully. In FernGully, Zak meets Pips, a fairy jealous of Zak's relationship with Crysta. Zak begins to fall in love with Crysta, but hides the true reason that the humans had returned. When the signs of Hexxus's resurrection begin to manifest themselves in poisoned trees and rivers, Zak finally admits that humans are destroying the forest. The fairies mount an attempt to defend their homes. Knowing their fight is hopeless, Zak convinces Batty to aid him in stopping the machine before it destroys them. When Zak makes his presence known to Tony and Ralph, Hexxus takes over the machine and begins to wildly destroy the forest.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Magi sacrifices herself to give the fairies a chance, and she tells Crysta to remember everything she's learned. Zak manages to stop the machine, depriving Hexxus the source of his power, but he manifests himself within the oil in the machine and begins to ignite the forest ablaze. Crysta sacrifices herself by allowing herself to be devoured by Hexxus and all seems lost until he begins to sprout limbs and leaves like a tree. Batty, Pips and the rest of the fairies rally to the powers they have been given, which causes the seed that Crysta fed Hexxus to start growing wildly. Hexxus and the machine are both simultaneously imprisoned by the newly grown tree at the very border of FernGully which bursts into bloom.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Crysta appears after the fight, having survived and succeeds Magi as a magical fairy. She gives Zak a seed, begging him to remember everything that has transpired and she forlornly restores him to his human size. Remembering the seed in his hand, Zak promises to remember his adventure, and buries the seed in the soil before telling Tony and Ralph that things need to change as they leave the forest behind. The seed sprouts new growth for FernGully as Crysta playfully chases Pips with Batty following.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: In the book "Disney, Pixar, and the Hidden Messages of Children's Films", M. Keith Booker states that "FernGully" "focuses on the theme of the destruction of the Earth's rainforests. In this case the rainforest is located near Mount Warning, on the eastern coast of Australia, but the theme is global and the specific location is not particularly emphasized". Despite the environmental theme, Booker stated the film was "somewhat vague in its explanation of the dire consequences of rainforest destruction and it addresses the economic impetus behind this destruction hardly at all"; the fact that the rainforest was saved at the end of the film "diminishes the urgency of its environmentalist message" and that the character of Hexxus "displaces the real blame for environmental destruction from its real perpetrators onto nonexistent supernatural perpetrators, further diluting the political message." The character of Batty was said to introduce "the secondary theme of animal experimentation, though with a light touch that presents this potentially horrifying motif as essentially humorous."


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: In the book "Eco-Impacts and the Greening of Postmodernity", Tom Jagtenberg and David McKie comment that radical views of ecology flourished in the film, perhaps because it was "aimed at a younger generation ... and belong[s] to relatively discredited genres". As Zak is shrunk to fairy size and integrated into the fairy world, more similarities rather than differences are implied with the nonhuman characters. Crysta is said to defeat the evil Hexxus "in the manner of classic western genre heroes", though with the key difference that her weapon is a seed rather than a revolver, allowing the produce of nature to share the heroic role with her.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Producer Wayne Young said his passion for the environment was his motivation for making the film, saying the film was "blatantly environmental, although we have gone to a lot of trouble to avoid preaching. We also want it to be viewed as entertainment." The inspiration for "FernGully" came from stories written by his former wife, Diana Young. Diana first wrote the story of "FernGully" 15 years before the film's release. Wayne said the couple planned a film adaptation for five years, then spent "seven years of dreaming and hustling, followed by another three years of production". Wayne stated their dream was not possible until the success of Walt Disney Feature Animation's 1989 film "The Little Mermaid", which brought popularity back to animation. Hand-drawn scenes in the film were complemented by computer animation, which was used to create elements such as flocks of birds that would have taken much longer to animate traditionally. Kroyer states 40,000 frames of computer-generated graphics were used in the film, and that the use of such animation halved the production time. Most of the film's $24 million budget was spent on the animation and the soundtrack.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: The film marked Robin Williams's first animation role, with the character Batty Koda being created specifically for him. Williams provided 14 hours' worth of improvised lines for the part, which had been originally conceived as an eight-minute role. Director Bill Kroyer was so impressed with the voice work he ended up tripling the screen time given to the character. Williams went on to provide the voice of the Genie in Disney's "Aladdin" later the same year, receiving critical acclaim. Williams had already agreed to voice Batty Koda before being approached to do "Aladdin". Jeffrey Katzenberg, then-chairman of Walt Disney Studios, tried to force Williams to withdraw from "FernGully", on the grounds he did not want him voicing two animated characters around the same time, but Williams refused. According to Wayne Young, Disney repeatedly interfered with the production of "FernGully", twice taking over spaces the producers had rented by offering to pay more. When the producers eventually set up studio in a former brewery in the San Fernando Valley, Disney attempted to purchase it. Katzenberg declined to comment on the issue when approached by "Vanity Fair" in 2017.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: The voice cast of "FernGully" agreed with the film's message, and worked for scale wages. The film marked the first time that both members of Cheech & Chong had worked together in six years, with the two voicing beetle brothers Stump and Root. Cheech Marin said "It was just like old times, but we only worked for two or three hours, had a pizza and split."


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: The film's score was composed and produced by Alan Silvestri. It was released as an album and consisted of 14 tracks, running just under 44 minutes in length.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: The soundtrack album was released by MCA Records. Peter Fawthrop from Allmusic gave the album three out of five stars, commenting that the songs were "lighter and more pop-driven than Disney soundtracks from the '90s, but they are not childish." All songs on the soundtrack were performed in the film.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: "FernGully" was released in the United States on April 10, 1992, and in Australia on September 17. The film was shown at the United Nations General Assembly on Earth Day, April 22, 1992.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: "FernGully" grossed US$32.7 million worldwide, including $24.7 million from the United States, and A$3.4 million in Australia. The box office performance was described as a moderate success though it grossed below expectations, possibly because of its ecological message. Joseph Gelmis from "Newsday", however, described "FernGully"s box office performance as "dismal", though noted it was the most successful recent non-Disney animated film. Co-executive producer Jaime Willett and Josh Baran, who worked on the film's marketing, both spoke of the difficulties of getting attention to an animated film that was not produced by Disney, with Willett stating box office revenue would have at least doubled by simply having the headline "Walt Disney presents" on the film. "USA Today" noted that the combined box office gross of "FernGully" and the five other non-Disney animated films released in 1992 did not even equal a third of the gross for Disney's 1991 film "Beauty and the Beast".


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from 18 critics, with an average rating of 6.4/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67 out of 100 based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A" on scale of A to F.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave it three out of four stars, saying the film was visually "very pleasing," told a "useful lesson", "and although the movie is not a masterpiece it's pleasant to watch for its humor and sweetness." Hollis Chacona from "The Austin Chronicle" added that the film was "funny, pretty, touching, scary, magical stuff." Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" had an unfavorable impression of the film, describing it as "[a]n uncertain blend of sanctimonious principles and Saturday-morning cartoon aesthetics". According to Wayne Young, Jeffrey Katzenberg called the producers of "FernGully" to tell them that he loved the film.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Wayne Young stated that portions of the film's gross would be donated to Greenpeace, the Rainforest Foundation Fund, and the Sierra Club, as well as a special fund benefiting environmental projects worldwide that was administered by the Smithsonian Institution, though he did not disclose exact figures. The film also inspired a 1992 video game by Capstone Software and IntraCorp called "The FernGully Computerized Coloring Book". In 1998 the film was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, "".


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: FAI Films, which only ever produced "FernGully" and its sequel, was acquired by HIH Insurance in 1998. HIH closed in 2001. In June 2012, administrators for HIH placed advertisements trying to sell the rights to both films. On November 11th, 2021 Shout! Factory announced a deal with Machine Media Advisors, stated to be the owner of the rights to "FernGully", for worldwide distribution rights to the film.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Some reviewers have commented that the 2009 James Cameron film "Avatar" plagiarized thematic and plot elements from "FernGully", though others have stated it is simply one of many films that "Avatar" is similar to, or have dismissed the comparison entirely. The 2013 film "Epic" was also said to have an unoriginal plot similar to "FernGully".


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Four months after the theatrical release, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, under its previous name "Fox Video", released "FernGully" on VHS and LaserDisc on August 26, 1992. Sales were strong, with approximately five million units sold by 1998, including 125,000 in Australia.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: Fox re-released the film on DVD in 2001. Christopher Simons from DVD Talk gave the 2001 DVD three-and-a-half stars out of five for both audio and video, though only one star for special features, noting that the only extras included were trailers for other films. A "Family Fun Edition" DVD was released in 2005. Special features included commentary with director Bill Kroyer, art director Ralph Eggleston, and coordinating art director Susan Kroyer, several featurettes including the original featurette from 1992, the music video for "If I'm Gonna Eat Somebody (It Might As Well Be You)" by Tone Loc, as well as trailers and TV spots. Scott Weinberg from "DVD Talk" gave this version four stars out of five for both audio and video, and also four stars for special features.


title: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

text: For its 20th anniversary, "FernGully" was released on Blu-ray Disc on March 6, 2012, containing the same special features as the "Family Fun Edition". Aaron Peck from "High Def Digest" gave it three out of five stars for video quality, four stars for audio and three-and-a-half stars for extras. Brian Orndorf from Blu-ray.com gave the release three out of five stars for video quality, three-and-a-half stars for audio and four stars for special features. Shout! Factory released Ferngully on Blu-ray in 2022 as part of its 30th anniversary.


title: Roisin Conaty

text: Roisin Marcella Conaty ( ; born 26 March 1979) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She won the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010 for her show "Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar". She played Jo in Channel 4 sitcom "Man Down" from 2013 to 2017.


title: Roisin Conaty

text: In early 2014, the pilot of the sitcom "GameFace", of which she is the writer, lead actress and executive producer, aired on Channel 4. The first full series aired in 2017 on both E4 and Hulu in the US. The second series aired on Channel 4 and Hulu in July 2019. Conaty won the 'Heat Unmissables' Comedian of the Year award in 2019. She played Roxy in the first two series of the Ricky Gervais Netflix comedy-drama programme "After Life".


title: Roisin Conaty

text: Conaty was born in Camden, London. Her parents were both from Ireland but met in London. Her father, from Virginia, County Cavan, worked for Aer Lingus and her mother, from Dromcolliher, County Limerick, was a nurse. Conaty grew up in Camden with her younger sister, Siobhan, and spent summers in Ireland in County Kerry and County Cork. She studied film at Middlesex University and had several office jobs before starting her comedy career at the age of 24.


title: Roisin Conaty

text: In 2010, Conaty won the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival for her show "Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar". In April 2011, she performed her show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. She followed that show up with "Lifehunter" in 2013.


title: Roisin Conaty

text: In November 2010, she appeared on series 3, episode 4 of "Russell Howard's Good News". Other stand-up performances include "The Angina Monologues", alongside Victoria Wood, Jo Brand, Andi Osho, Isy Suttie and Katy Brand for Sky Television, "Russell Howard's Stand Up Central" on Comedy Central and "Live at the Apollo" in December 2015. In 2016, she was a guest on the "Jonathan Ross Show".


title: Roisin Conaty

text: Conaty has appeared on a number of panel shows, including "Have I Got News for You", "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown", "Insert Name Here", "A League of Their Own", "Would I Lie to You?", "Hypothetical", and "Room 101". She starred in the BBC Three version of "Impractical Jokers". She was one of the original cast of comedians in series 1 of "Taskmaster" on Dave. "Taskmaster" creator and co-host Alex Horne said that she was "the worst. But also one of my favourites."


title: Roisin Conaty

text: Conaty played Jo in the Channel 4 sitcom "Man Down", alongside Greg Davies, from 2013 to 2017; and appeared in Ricky Gervais' film "". In March 2019, she featured in the Netflix comedy-drama series "After Life" as Daphne/Roxy.


title: Roisin Conaty

text: In 2014, she wrote and starred in the pilot of her sitcom "GameFace", in which she plays a struggling actress named Marcella. The pilot aired on Channel 4 in April 2014, following which a full series was commissioned, which premiered on E4 in October 2017. The second series debuted in July 2019 with critical acclaim.


title: Peter Finch

text: Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.


title: Peter Finch

text: Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville and radio before becoming a star of Australian films. Joining the Old Vic Company after World War II, he achieved widespread critical success in Britain for both stage and screen performances. One of British cinema's most celebrated leading men of the time, Finch won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role five times, and won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of crazed television anchorman Howard Beale in the 1976 film "Network".


title: Peter Finch

text: According to the British Film Institute, "it is arguable that no other actor ever chalked up such a rewarding CV in British films, and he accumulated the awards to bolster this view.." He died only two months before the 49th Academy Awards, making him the first person to win a posthumous Oscar in an acting category. As of 2022, the only other person to have done so was fellow Australian Heath Ledger.


title: Peter Finch

text: Finch was born as Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch in London to Alicia Gladys Fisher. At the time, Alicia was married to George Finch.


title: Peter Finch

text: George Finch was born in New South Wales, Australia, but was educated in Paris and Zürich. He was a research chemist when he moved to Britain in 1912 and later served during the First World War with the Royal Army Ordnance Depot and the Royal Field Artillery. In 1915, at Portsmouth, Hampshire, George married Alicia Fisher, the daughter of a Kent barrister. However, Peter only learned in his mid-40s that Wentworth Edward Dallas "Jock" Campbell, an Indian Army officer, not George Finch, was his biological father. George Finch divorced his wife in 1920 on the grounds of her adultery with Campbell. Alicia Finch married Jock Campbell in 1922.


title: Peter Finch

text: George gained custody of Peter, who was taken from his biological mother and brought up by his adoptive paternal grandmother, Laura Finch (formerly Black), in Vaucresson, France. In 1925 Laura took Peter with her to Adyar, a theosophical community near Madras, India, for a number of months, and the young boy lived for a time in a Buddhist monastery. Undoubtedly, as a result of his childhood contact with Buddhism, Finch always claimed to be a Buddhist. He is reported to have said: "I think a man dying on a cross is a ghastly symbol for a religion. And I think a man sitting under a bo tree and becoming enlightened is a beautiful one."


title: Peter Finch

text: In 1926 he was sent to Australia to live with his great-uncle Edward Herbert Finch at Greenwich Point in Sydney. For three years he attended the local school, then North Sydney Intermediate High School, until 1929. RAF pilot and author Paul Brickhill was a school friend.


title: Peter Finch

text: After graduating, Finch went to work as a copy boy for the Sydney "Sun" and began writing. However, he was more interested in acting, and in late 1933 appeared in a play, "Caprice", at the Repertory Theatre.


title: Peter Finch

text: In 1934–35 he appeared in a number of productions for Doris Fitton at the Savoy Theatre, some with a young Sumner Locke Elliott. He also worked as a sideshow spruiker at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, in vaudeville with Joe Cody and as a foil to American comedian Bert le Blanc. At age 19 Finch toured Australia with George Sorlie's travelling troupe.


title: Peter Finch

text: He did radio acting work with Hugh Denison's BSA Players (for Broadcasting Service Association, later to become Macquarie Players). He came to the attention of Australian Broadcasting Commission radio drama producer Lawrence H. Cecil, who was to act as his coach and mentor throughout 1939 and 1940. He was "Chris" in the Children's Session and the first Muddle-Headed Wombat.


title: Peter Finch

text: He later starred with Neva Carr Glyn in an enormously popular series by Max Afford as husband-and-wife detectives "Jeffery and Elizabeth Blackburn" as well as other ABC radio plays.


title: Peter Finch

text: Finch's first screen performance was in the short film "The Magic Shoes" (1935), an adaptation of the "Cinderella" fairy tale, where Finch played Prince Charming.


title: Peter Finch

text: He made his feature film debut in Ken G. Hall's "Dad and Dave Come to Town" (1938), playing a small comic role. His performance was well received and Hall subsequently cast Finch in a larger role in "Mr. Chedworth Steps Out" (1939), supporting Cecil Kellaway.


title: Peter Finch

text: Finch appeared in a war propaganda film, "The Power and the Glory" (1941), playing a fifth columnist.


title: Peter Finch

text: Finch enlisted in the Australian Army on 2 June 1941. He served in the Middle East and was an anti-aircraft gunner during the Bombing of Darwin.


title: Peter Finch

text: During his war service Finch was given leave to act in radio, theatre and film. He appeared in a number of propaganda shorts, including "Another Threshold" (1942), "These Stars Are Mine" (1943), "While There is Still Time" (1943) and "South West Pacific" (1943), the latter for Ken G. Hall. He also appeared in two of the few Australian feature films made during the war, "The Rats of Tobruk" (1944) and the less distinguished "Red Sky at Morning" (1944).


title: Peter Finch

text: Finch produced and performed Army Concert Party work, and in 1945 toured bases and hospitals with two Terence Rattigan plays he directed, "French Without Tears" and "While the Sun Shines". He narrated the widely seen documentaries "Jungle Patrol" (1944) and "Sons of the Anzacs" (1945).


title: Peter Finch

text: After the war, Finch continued to work extensively in radio and established himself as Australia's leading actor in that medium, winning Macquarie Awards for best actor in 1946 and 1947. He also worked as a compere, producer and writer.


title: Peter Finch

text: In 1946, Finch co-founded the Mercury Theatre Company, which put on a number of productions in Sydney over the next few years (initially in the diminutive St James' Hall), as well as running a theatre school.