Born in 1923, he studied stage direction at the Royal Conservatory of Music and Theatre in Bucharest, and was also a student of architecture. He made over 20 films as director, screenwriter or actor. His most important film, The Forest of the Hanged/Pădurea spânzuraţilor won Best Director Award in Cannes 1965, and Waves of the Danube/Valurile Dunării was awarded with Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary 1969.

He also directed the films The Eruption/Erupţia (1957) and A Lost Letter/O scrisoare pierdută (1977). His most important films as an actor were Waves of the Danube/Valurile Dunării and The Forest of the Hanged/Pădurea spânzuraţilor. Although his film output was smaller than some other directors, he is perceived as one of the most important Romanian directors. Forest of the Hanged/Pădurea spânzuraţilor was voted the second best Romanian film of all time by Romanian film critics in 2008.

Sidelined by the communist regime and transferred to work at the studio Sahia Film as documentary filmmaker, Liviu Ciulei left Romania during the making of a documentary about the life of the sailors in 1980. After establishing his reputation as the artistic director of Teatrul Bulandra of Bucharest for more than 10 years, he worked in several European countries, as well as in the USA, Canada and Australia. He was the artistic director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between 1980-1985 and later taught at Columbia University and New York University. After 1990 he returned to work in Romania.

He is survived by his wife and his son, Thomas Ciulei.