ping
WOW the texture and feel of the first 2 Godfather movies were more than superb. The industry lost an artistic geniius.
Photographed Woody Allen’s Manhattan too.
A real genius behind the camera. ‘Cinematography’ these days too often consists of computer generated effects (see the cinematography Oscar for ‘Gravity’ this year). Looks like Willis faded out along with the film medium he loved.
From the article:
He was given the nickname “The Prince of Darkness” by fellow cinematographer Conrad Hall for his daring use of using as little light as possible.
Willis was on the leading edge of a new wave of cinematographers in the 1970s who were changing film in radical ways. In The Godfather, he masked Marlon Brando’s eyes to conceal his thoughts from the audience.
“I still can’t believe the reactions,” he said in an interview with the ASC before he received their highest honor. “People said, ‘You can’t see his eyes (Brando’s).’ Well, you didn’t see his eyes in 10 percent of the movie, and there was a reason why. I remember asking, ‘Why do you have to see his eyes in that scene? Based on what?’ Do you know what the answer was? ‘That’s the way it was done in Hollywood.’ That’s not a good enough reason. There were times when we didn’t want the audience to see what was going on in there (Brando’s eyes), and then suddenly (snaps his fingers), you let them see into his soul for a while.”
One of the giants in his field. RIP.