Iconic cinematographer Gordon Willis died early Sunday at age 82 after a battle with cancer, surrounded by family at his Cape Cod home. Most famous for his distinctive cinematography work on Francis Ford Coppola‘s Godfather series, Willis’s also worked with Woody Allen on some of his great New York-based movies, including Manhattan, Annie Hall, Zelig, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose, and The Purple Rose Of Cairo. He was a fixture with New York-based directors, also working with the late Alan J. Pakula on the classic All The President’s Men, Klute, and The Parallax View, and worked with Herbert Ross’s Pennies From Heaven; and Malice, The Devil’s Own. Official cause of death has not been disclosed, but expect Monday morning to be Gordon Willis appreciation day around the cinephile set. Phone calls and social media posts about Willis’s passing began trickling in Sunday evening. “This is a momentous loss,” confirmed ASC President Richard Crudo late Sunday night. “He was one of the giants who absolutely changed the way movies looked. Up until the time of The Godfather 1 and 2, nothing previously shot looked that way. He changed the way films looked and the way people looked at films.”
Queens, NY-born Willis cultivated a background in photography and served in the Korean War as an Air Force Photographic and Charting Serviceman before starting his film career as an assistant cameraman, working his way up with commercials and documentaries. He made his debut as a cinematographer with four features in 1970: comedy End of the Road, Irvin Kershner’s Loving, drama The People Next Door, and Hal Ashby’s The Landlord. His deft use of shadows and light for Coppola’s 1972 mafia classic The Godfather was a career-maker for Willis, who came to be known as one of the most influential cinematographers in the field. Despite his landmark contributions, Willis didn’t win either of the Oscar nods earned for films with two of his most frequent collaborators – Woody Allen’s Zelig and Coppola’s The Godfather Part III. He also shot 1986’s The Money Pit, 1988’s Bright Lights, Big City, 1990’s Presumed Innocent, and his own lone directorial effort, the 1980 thriller Windows. In 2009 the Academy awarded him an Honorary Academy Award “for unsurpassed mastery of light, shadow, color and motion.”
Here’s Willis discussing his cinematography style for The Godfather:
RIP
GREAT D.P.
R.I.P.
GORDON
RIP “The Prince of Darkness”
A legend. A legend. No doubt about it. Changed the look of American Films in the 70s.
He, along with Conrad Hall, did more to author the ‘look’ of modern films – ie the default lens, composition and lighting style we regularly see in the multiplexes – than anyone else I know.
In short, a Titan.
He changed the way movies were shot with The Godfather I and II… yet his fellow DPs couldn’t be bothered to nominate him for either film. Shame.
I worked on 5 films with Gordie. There was none better. While some DP’s saw how to make a shot, others a sequence, still others an act , Gordie knew how each set up would affect the whole film. I watched him make the directors and actors we worked with better.
A giant of our industry !! I will miss him dearly
Hawk Koch
Thank you Mr Willis! Your work is beyond inspirational. May your spirit now find some light!
simply an amazing man and an inspiration to us all. he specifically altered the gamma levels of black and white negative in processing to give MANHATTAN that dense, dreamy look. The best black and white film ever shot IMHO. Had the pleasure of meeting him at DuArt in NYC once.
Was he as great at his job as anyone else ever was at theirs in the history of cinema?
Arguably, yes. He was foundational to film, not just modern film.
Absolute legend. One of the less than perhaps 10 DP’s that changed filmmaking forever. He is the sole reason toplighting became a part of the pallet and acceptable, amongst many other things. His importance for modern filmmaking can not be overstated.
A giant and true artist. No other words…
I got to meet him and he was a master R.I.P
One enchanted evening of nightshooting on “Manhattan” during the summer of 1978, I finally mustered up the courage to ask Gordie exactly what the “magic hour” was. And he told me, patiently, eloquently and brilliantly. I shall miss him.
His work is influential to this day. Just look at the TV series The Good Wife. The look of that show is quite obviously heavily influenced by Gordon Willis’ Godfather work.
Gordon will never be forgotten.
Condolences to surviving family and dear/close friends. A wonderful career.
He not only made impressive films, he also made impressive humans. His son Gordon Jr. is without question one of the most caring, kind, honest and talented souls on Earth. Our condolences to his family and loved ones.
Without Willis. it’s unlikely that Coppola and Woody Allen would have taken the upward steps in their careers with THE GODFATHER and ANNIE HALL. Willis demanded discipline and respect on the set and made sure that the directors and actors understood the scenes. Remember, the director of photography has complete control of the set. It’s ironic that neither director ever did anything as good again after working with Willis.There is a story that on the first day of shooting with a young director and arrogant actor, the actor walks into the scene and wanders around, performing. After the scene Willis says to the director, “Please tell the actor to hit his mark, or you’ll have to give me two ours to relight the scene.” Another great story is from a Woody Allen shoot with Diane Keaton. Allen says that it’s so dark that you cannot see the actors and Willis responds, “…but you can hear them.” It’s criminal that Willis didn’t get an Academy Award for THE GODFATHER or MANHATTAN. There is a fabulous NEW YORKER article about the making of MANHATTAN that describes the famous scene where Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are sitting on a park bench overlooking the 59th Street Bridge and Willis waits for the precise moment to turn the cameras on. It’s the best description in print of his abilities and control. An underrated film that defines his skills is STARDUST MEMORIES that visits and revisits film history from the mundane to the surreal, echoing Bergman, Tarkovsky, and Truffaut. In many ways, Willis was ignored by the Academy, much like Scorsese, because he was a New Yorker. No matter, because his work lives on and his greatness is there for all to see (and hopefully learn from). There are stories that he drifted away from the business because of the lack of discipline and order of newer directors and actors. Both Willis and Conrad Hall had the ability to make the camera another character placing the camera in the perfect position for the moment, a skill that few, if any, are capable of today. Thankfully, they left a great legacy of work to be enjoyed and hopefully emulated forever.
great post. thank you.
really a shame that kodak will stop manufacturing film later this year. I haven’t met a DP yet that told me he’s capable of emulating certain looks digitally yet. we’re just not there. nothing will ever beat emulsion coupled with photochemical timing. everything looks homogenized. (partly due to the limiting DI process, i’m aware some technical ASC members are working to expand this)
Another one of the greats in the industry will be missed. Check out this man’s work and see how it should be done.
He was absolutely the best there is. Thank-you for telling us your beautiful stories. RIP.
Sad to hear of his passing. His legacy will move on through his films. We made an online memorial in his honor: http://www.thememorium.com/Memorials/gordon-willis RIP