I was sad to learn this morning the great Cinematographer Gordon Willis passed away yesterday. Horribly unappreciated by the idiot voters in the Academy (only two nominations and zero Oscars), he was best known for his work on the Godfather series and All The Presidents Men. I have always felt his best work - and a style I sought to emulate in my previous life - ironically was a pair of Woody Allen movies, one of which has been completely forgotten. Manhattan might be the most beautifully shot B&W film in the post-monochrome era (Raging Bull fans will shriek), demonstrating that Woody had enough brains to simply let Willis tell the story through light and composition. Yet sandwiched between Annie Hall and Manhattan was Interiors, a darkly beautiful exploration of a dysfunctional American family - Directed by Allen and told through Willis haunting images. My sense is that Interiors was more thoughtful and beautifully shot than Ordinary People - another gloomy look at family relationships gone awry - but largely ignored as it was such a drastic departure from Woody Allens oeuvre. Perhaps Stardust Memories is the pair thumbing their nose at Hollywood - something both excelled at. My favorite Gordon Willis line is when asked by a young Director to make a certain homely actress look beautiful, he replied, Im a D.P., not a plastic surgeon. For that alone, along with John Alcott, Vittorio Storaro and Roger Deakins, a bust of Willis sits in my personal Pantheon of Cinematographers.
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 19:25:30 +0000
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