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INTRO FROM VILMOS ZSIGMOND
There are many films, both American and European, which influenced my work in cinematography. One of the most important milestones in my life was September 1951 when I was admitted to the Academy of Film and Theater Arts in Budapest, Hungary. Most of our studies there were focused on Soviet revolutionary classic films. I have always admired silent movies because of their powerful visual style. Pudovkin’s ”MOTHER” and Eisenstein’s “POTEMKIN” opened my eyes to the power of IMAGES, COMPOSITION and EDITING. The Odessa steps sequence is probably one of the most memorable in the history of movies.
In the worst years of Stalin’s dictatorship, ordinary people in the Eastern bloc couldn’t see any movies made in western countries. In the academy we felt lucky to be able to study Chaplin’s “THE GREAT DICTATOR” and Orson Welles’ “CITIZEN KANE”.
“CITIZEN KANE” was a real eye opener for me. The use of DEEP FOCUS (wide angle) LENSES, innovative SOUND RECORDING and extreme LOW ANGLE COMPOSITIONS (by cinematographer GREGG TOLAND) – influenced me for years to come.
I remember the first screening of the Chaplin film very vividly. The auditorium was packed with students from all departments --actors, dancers, directors, cinematographers were sitting in the aisles, standing in the back. Chaplin made fun of Hitler’s fascism. At the end of the movie Chaplin has an incredibly moving speech about democracy – it almost caused a riot – we thought that he was talking about our miserable communist dictatorship in Hungary. After this screening it was forbidden to show us any more western movies.
December 1956: The revolution in Hungary is over. We lost against the soviet tanks. I escaped to Vienna, waiting to find out which country might accept me as a refugee. I saw a big crowd waiting in line for Fellini’s “LA STRADA”. I joined the line – unfortunately it was in Italian. But this was the first film I enjoyed seeing in a free country, and WHAT A FILM! Direction, acting, cinematography, editing…an UNFORGETTABLE MASTERPIECE! I can’t even understand the dialogue! THE POWER OF THE IMAGES! A truly moving and human story. Coming out of the film academy and of my country – it isn’t a bad start to be influenced by a real artistic film…
May 1957: I am in New York. I rent an apartment on West 97th Street -half block away from an art theater called THALIA on Broadway. It shows nothing but old classic art films from the past. Ticket price: One dollar for two different movies every night. You can imagine how hungry I was for these movies we were not able to see in Hungary. Attending these movies was a like a film festival for me. At the THALIA I saw “MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, “UMBERTO D” and “GRAPES of WRATH”.
Max Reinhardt and Wiliam Dieterle’s “MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM” was really a dream to watch. Cinematographer Hal Mohr’s artistic and technical skill captured the mood of this fairytale with gorgeous expressionistic lighting. The use of shadows, sparkling highlights, artificial fog, diffusion filters, high angles, low angles made this film memorable for me. And all this in BLACK&WHITE!!!
Vittorio
de Sica’s “UMBERTO D” is a true neo-realist masterpiece, a poetic film
about loneliness and old age. You can enjoy the power of the images in
this work without a lot of dialogue.
John Ford’s
“GRAPES OF WRATH” – An amazing social drama of the late 1930s about
thousands of migrant families leaving their “Dust Bowl” farmland to
find a better future in the west. The cinematography by Gregg Toland is
extraordinary; shot in a journalistic, documentary style in black &
white. Critics praised Toland for his chiaroscuro low-key lighting,
which reproduced the effect of candles and lanterns. The images remind
you of Dorothy Lange’s photographs of the poor people she found in
camps during that period. Personally this movie reminded me of the
miserable life of Hungarian farmers in the 1950s during collective
farming. The cinematography was not even nominated for the Academy
Award!
June 1958: I decide to move to the city of dreams – Hollywood. I have no job, no place to stay. A Hungarian friend gives me shelter until I start working on all kinds of photography oriented jobs (color labs, home portrait traveling photographer, black&white custom photo printer etc.). I don’t see any hope that I can get a job making studio films because I am not fluent in English and the camera union won’t accept me for membership. The only place to try to stay in my profession is to visit the movie theaters and watch movies. Also I am getting to know the best still photographer’s work in “LIFE” and “LOOK” magazines. I had the greatest influence in these years from studying the realistic world of newsreel and documentary photographs.
Around
1962 and 1965 I was admiring the movies of the French NOUVELLE VAGUE
(Francois Truffaut) and was mesmerized by the “big canvas” movies
created by David Lean and Freddy Young, such as“LAWRENCE OF ARABIA” and
“ DOCTOR ZHIVAGO.”
In 1971, “THE CONFORMIST”
Bertolucci’s visual masterpiece photographed by Vittorio Storaro,
opened up a new page in my life. This movie set a new standard for
powerful, artistic cinematography, for use of colors, compositions,
camera movements. Just think about the sequence shot in the woods,
beautiful warm sunshine streaming between the trees where the
assassination takes place.
1971: This is when my new life starts. I am not only watching and studying the masters, but I am back into photographing movies! It is The 70’s!!! The most beautiful decade in American filmmaking…Making friends with a new generations of cinematographers: Gordon Willis, Owen Roizman, Conrad Hall, Haskell Wexler, Laszlo Kovács, Vittorio Storaro, Bill Fraker, John Alonzo and many others.
My movies of the 70s include “HIRED HAND”, “McCABE and MRS MILLER”, “DELIVERANCE”, “SUGARLAND EXPRESS”, “OBSESSION”, “CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND”, “THE DEER HUNTER”, and “THE ROSE”.
While I was shooting the above movies I couldn’t help but be influenced by filmmakers from all over the world: INGMAR BERGMAN and SVEN NYKVIST; BERTOLUCCI and STORARO; FREDERICO FELLINI, ISTVÁN SZABO, KUROSAWA and many others. In this period, four movies stand out in my mind : “BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID,” “ The GODFATHER,” “BOUND FOR GLORY,” and “DAYS OF HEAVEN”. Four great movies and four great cinematographers!
In “BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID,” cinematographer Conrad Hall used a lot of overexposure to create a very hot, dusty look. He taught me the importance of simplicity in lighting and artistry in compositions.
”GODFATHER” shot by Gordon Willis influenced me for stylistic lighting, creating very dark film noir mood with simple underexposure and desaturated color interiors.
“BOUND FOR GLORY” is Haskell Wexler’s “Grapes of Wrath”. Stunning documentary-style photography captures the beautiful earthiness of the open road.
“DAYS OF HEAVEN”s photography by Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler was released on 70 mm. It’s a true lyrical masterpiece. Shot mostly in the early morning and late afternoon hours. The visual beauty of brilliantly composed, naturally lit images remind you of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings.
My selections of the above mentioned movies date back before the 80’s. Next time I will try to select movies from the 80’s until today.
I HOPE THAT YOU WILL ENJOY SOME OF MY SELECTED MOVIES
Vilmos Zsigmond ASC
VILMOS ZSIGMOND