Sunday, January 03, 2016

Vilmos Zsigmond, R. I. P.

Filmmaker Magazine: Legendary cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who shot a string of iconic pictures for Robert Altman, Steven Spielberg, Michael Cimino and Brian DePalma, among others, died January 1, Variety reports. Hungarian-born, Los Angeles-residing, Zsigmond was a steadfast proponent of shooting on film his entire life, and he was known for innovative techniques — such as flashing the stock on films like McCabe and Mrs. Miller — and his ability to create unique looks for his various movies. His work encompassed rugged styles in films like Deliverance or The Sugarland Express to composed, dense, painterly work in Heaven’s Gate. He won an Oscar for Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Feww people remember that after he fled Hungary, Zsigmond labored for years in the sub-B-movies, with things like IT'S WHAT'S UP FRONT,MONDO MOD and PSYCHO A GO-GO.

mybillcrider said...

Everybody has to start somewhere.

Todd Mason said...

His work was often the best thing about the likes of THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO... and of THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS and HEAVEN'S GATE...

Todd Mason said...

Damn...little did I know, I was one tennis degree of separation away from him...once friendly acquaintance in my Hawaiian high school homeroom, Maile Berger, worked as a producer with him on the miniseries version of THE MISTS OF AVALON. It looked good, too.

Todd Mason said...

That was tenuous. I'm pretty sure Maile and I never played tennis.

Don Coffin said...

I bet he only worked for Cimino once.

And the cinematography on *McCabe and Mrs. Miller* was incredible. One of my favorite movies of all time. Maybe my favorite Altman movie, Warren Beatty movie. And a great score.