Gordon Willis | |
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Born | Gordon Hugh Willis Jr. May 28, 1931 Astoria, New York, U.S. |
Died | May 18, 2014 | (aged 82)
Burial place | Massachusetts National Cemetery Bourne, Massachusetts |
Occupation | Cinematographer |
Years active | c. 1970–1997 |
Known for | The Godfather (1972) The Godfather Part II (1974) Annie Hall (1977) Manhattan (1979) All the President's Men (1976) Interiors (1978) Stardust Memories (1982) Zelig (1983) Broadway Danny Rose (1984) The Godfather Part III (1990) |
Awards | Academy Honorary Award (2009) |
Gordon Hugh Willis Jr., ASC (May 28, 1931 – May 18, 2014) was an American cinematographer and film director. He is best known for his photographic work on eight Woody Allen films (including Annie Hall and Manhattan), six Alan J. Pakula films (including All the President's Men), four James Bridges films, and all three films from Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather series.
Fellow cinematographer William A. Fraker called Willis's work a "milestone in visual storytelling",[1] while one critic suggested that Willis "defined the cinematic look of the 1970s: sophisticated compositions in which bolts of light and black put the decade's moral ambiguities into stark relief".[2] When the International Cinematographers Guild conducted a survey in 2003, they placed Willis among the ten most influential cinematographers in history.[3]