Monday, May 19, 2014

‘The Godfather’ Cinematographer Gordon Willis Dies at 82


Influential cinematographer Gordon Willis, whose photography for “The Godfather” series and Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan” helped define the look of 1970s cinema, has died, according to his close associate Doug Hart’s Facebook page. He was 82.

Willis  was known as the Prince of Darkness for his artful use of shadows, and he was the director of photography on seminal 1970s films including  “Klute,” “The Paper Chase,” “The Parallax View” and “All the President’s Men.”

He received an honorary Academy award in 2009 at the first Governor’s Awards ceremony.
Among the other Woody Allen films he shot were “Interiors,” “Stardust Memories,” “Broadway Danny Rose,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo” and “Zelig,” for which he was Oscar-nommed. His other Oscar nomination was for “The Godfather III.”

Regarding his work on “The Godfather,” Variety wrote in 1997, “Among “The Godfather’s” many astonishments, the photography by Gordon Willis — a rich play with light and shadow — confirmed Willis’ genius but was especially striking as an extension of Francis Ford Coppola’s creative intelligence. “

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