Zsigmond, Vilmos
Zsigmond, Vilmos,
1930–2016, Hungarian-American cinematographer. As a film student in Budapest, he and fellow student (and later cinematographer) Laszlo Kovacs secretly filmed the street fighting as the Soviets crushed the 1956 anti-Communist Hungarian revolution; the footage they smuggled out was used in several documentaries. Zsigmond immigrated to the United States the following year, found work in low-budget movies, and became a citizen in 1962. In his work on feature films beginning in the early 1970s, he used mainly natural light and muted hues to create a realistic look in both outdoor and interior shots, and subsequently was important in forming the appearance of American motion pictures into the 21st cent. His breakthrough film was Robert AltmanAltman, Robert,1925–2006, American film director, b. Kansas City, Mo. One of the most original talents in late-20th-century American filmmaking, he created complex, often loosely plotted movies marked by brilliant and often huge ensemble casting, sharply delineated
..... Click the link for more information. 's elegiac Western McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971). Subsequently working with some of Hollywood's best-known directors, he was the cinematographer for some 100 films. Among them were John Boorman's Deliverance (1972), Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973), Brian De PalmaDe Palma, Brian,
1940–, American film director, b. Newark, N.J. Heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock, he is especially known for bloody, shocking, and suspenseful thrillers.
..... Click the link for more information. 's Obsession (1973) and The Black Dahlia (2006), Steven SpielbergSpielberg, Steven,
1946–, American film director, b. Cincinnati, Ohio. Spielberg began his career as a television director, admired for his understanding portrayal of human character.
..... Click the link for more information. 's Sugarland Express (1974) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977; Academy Award, Best Cinematography), Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter (1978) and Heaven's Gate (1980), Martin ScorseseScorsese, Martin
, 1942–, American film director; b. Queens, N.Y. A major figure in contemporary cinema, he grew up in Manhattan's Little Italy, attended film school at New York Univ.
..... Click the link for more information. 's The Last Waltz (1978), and Woody AllenAllen, Woody,
1935–, American actor, writer, and director, one of contemporary America's leading filmmakers, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Allen Stewart Konigsberg. Allen began his career writing for television comedians and performing in nightclubs.
..... Click the link for more information. 's Melinda and Melinda (2004) and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010). Zsigmond also worked in television on such shows as HBO's Stalin (1992, Emmy Award) and The Mists of Avalon (2001).