S'inicià en la televisió, com a guionista i director de curtmetratges. Director eclèctic, ha rodat Cars that Eat Paris (1973), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), The Last Wave (1977), Gallipoli (1980), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Witness (1985), Mosquito Coast (1986), The Dead Poets Society (1989, premi César 1991), Green Card (1991), Fearless (1994), The Truman Show (1998, premi BAFTA), Master and Commander. The Far Side of the World (2003) i The Way Back (2010). Premi honorífic del Festival de Sitges (2018).