RIP Douglas Slocombe

[Kymmy]

RIP Douglas Slocombe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35635360

Never heard of him? Well you've probably seen a couple of his films that he made. It's amazing how everyone knows the actors, directors and even a producer but never the guy actually behind the camera.

Awards Edit

Academy Awards

Nominee Best Cinematography – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Nominee Best Cinematography – Julia (1977)
Nominee Best Cinematography – Travels with My Aunt (1972)
BAFTA

Nominee Best Cinematography – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Nominee Best Cinematography – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Winner Best Cinematography – Julia (1977)
Nominee Best Cinematography – Rollerball (1975)
Winner Best Cinematography – The Great Gatsby (1974)
Nominee Best Cinematography – Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Nominee Best Cinematography – Travels with My Aunt (1972)
Nominee Best Cinematography – The Lion in Winter (1968)
Nominee Best Cinematography (Color) – The Blue Max (1966)
Nominee Best Cinematography (B&W) – Guns at Batasi (1964)
Winner Best Cinematography (B&W) – The Servant (1963)
Saturn Awards

Winner Best Cinematography – Rollerball (1975)
American Society of Cinematographers

Winner International Award (2002)
British Society of Cinematographers

Winner Lifetime Achievement Award (1995)
Nominee Best Cinematography – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Winner Best Cinematography – Julia (1977)
Winner Best Cinematography – The Great Gatsby (1974)
Winner Best Cinematography – Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Winner Best Cinematography – The Lion in Winter (1968)
Winner Best Cinematography – The Servant (1963)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Winner Best Cinematography – Julia (1977)
Selected filmography Edit

The Big Blockade (1942)
Dead of Night (1945)
Painted Boats (1945)
The Captive Heart (1946)
Hue and Cry (1947)
The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947)
Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)
It Always Rains on Sunday (1948)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Mandy (1952)
The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
Touch and Go (1955)
The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)
Man in the Sky (1957)
Circus of Horrors (1960)
The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960)
Taste of Fear (1961)
The Young Ones (1961)
Freud the Secret Passion (1962)
The L-Shaped Room (1962)
The Servant (1963)
The Third Secret (1964)
Guns at Batasi (1964)
Promise Her Anything (1965)
A High Wind in Jamaica (1965)
The Blue Max (1966)
Robbery (1967)
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
The Italian Job (1969)
The Buttercup Chain (1970)
The Music Lovers (1970)
Murphy's War (1971)
Travels with My Aunt (1972)
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
The Great Gatsby (1974)
The Maids (1974)
Love Among the Ruins (1974)
Rollerball (1975)
Hedda (1975)
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1976)
Nasty Habits (1977)
Julia (1977)
Caravans (1978)
The Lady Vanishes (1979)
Lost and Found (1979)
Nijinsky (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Never Say Never Again (1983)
The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Lady Jane (1986)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989

[denphone]

Looking at the list there and there are a few classics there the man was a master of his art.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Kymmy

RIP Douglas Slocombe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35635360

Never heard of him? Well you've probably seen a couple of his films that he made. It's amazing how everyone knows the actors, directors and even a producer but never the guy actually behind the camera.

I think the problem is that there can be a *lot* of people involved in making films.. Take Star Wars. Everyone knows Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Harison Ford & George Lucas. Quite a few also know Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew. Very few people know who shot the film (Gilbert Taylor), who produced it with George Lucas (Gary Kurtz) or who create most of the sound effects (Ben Burtt).

That's not to say these people aren't important. They are. From what I have read, George Lucas has always been more interested in the spectacle of the film (the special effects) than anything else, and it was apparently Gary Kurtz that was able to rein that in. i don't know if that's true, but he was not involved in the prequels, and look what happened there.

[Kymmy]

What makes this guy more fascinating is the fact that Ealing hired him based on his wartime films with most of the early Nazi invasion of Poland films coming from Mr Slocombe

[General Maximus]

Originally Posted by Stuart

I think the problem is that there can be a *lot* of people involved in making films.. Take Star Wars. Everyone knows Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Harison Ford & George Lucas. Quite a few also know Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew. Very few people know who shot the film (Gilbert Taylor), who produced it with George Lucas (Gary Kurtz) or who create most of the sound effects (Ben Burtt).

When they made the prequel trilogy George Lucas made a website for fans (can't remember the name) where you could subscribe for £15//year and you basically got exclusive behinds the scenes access to the movies as they were being made with loads of featurettes and production videos so I do know Ben Hurt and Jon Knoll etc. Star Wars in the exception though.

The Oscars is this weekend and the main reason why I watch it is specifically for the reasons we are discussing above. When you get an amazing film like Star Wars, Titanic, Avatar, Saving Private Ryan (the list goes on) I love to see all the "behind the scenes" people get acknowledged for the work because without them the movie wouldn't have been what it was. They aren't the main actors or stars but think what something like Game of Thrones or Gladiator (my favourite movies ever) would be like without the set designers, costume designers and makeup artists!

Hopefully it isn't too late for Douglas Slocombe to be added to the in memorium segment.