In 1969 he directed "The Virgin and the Gypsy" based on the D. H. Lawrence novella, which was voted the best film by both the British Critics Circle and the New York Press, and was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1970. It ran for 18 months in London’s West End and broke Box Office records in New York and established his reputation. The film, a Dimitri de Grunwald production, was screened at Cannes in 1970, but wasn't entered into the main competition.