Haskell Wexler
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"I think that film, motion picture film, and I'm including television because television is what people see, is the most potent force to influence people's habits. . . . the media have an opportunity to change people's ideas about what is propoer, what is right, what is desirable. THe potential for social change is there." --Wexler quoted in "Masters of Light: Conversations with Contemporary Cinematographers" by Dennis Schaefer and Larry Salvato (University of California Press, 1984)
Biography
Haskell Wexler initiated his feature filmmaking career as a cinematographer in the late 1950s, having previously shot educational and industrial films. The Chicago native had traveled to California to attend Berkeley, but dropped out after one year. He served as a merchant seaman during WWII and then returned to Illinois. Wexler and his father purchased and refurbished an armory in Des Plaines, turning it into a film studio. The venture was unsuccessful and Wexler set out to learn about film production, beginning as a cameraman and eventually working up to cinematographer. "Stakeout on Dope Street" (1958) marked his first (although uncredited) work as a cinematographer. He went on to shoot several features; many, like "The Hoodlum Priest" (1961), were noted for their social themes. Wexler stated that Elia Kazan's "America, America" (1963) marked the turning point in his Hollywood career and includes "some of the best photography" that he shot. He went on to shoot the intense, claustrophobic black and white images of Mike Nichols' "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), which earned him an Oscar, as well as providing memorable and distinctive looks to Norman Jewison's "In the Heat of the Night" (1967), George Lucas' "American Graffiti" (1973) and Milos Forman's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975). His beautiful rendering of the muted tones of the American Dust Bowl (including several storms) in Hal Ashby's "Bound for Glory" (1976) earned him a second Oscar for Best Cinematography. Wexler also lensed Ashby's Vietnam-era "Coming Home" (1978), John Sayles' union-busting tale "Matewan" (1987), the urban gang drama "Colors" (1988), the biopic "Blaze" (1989) and "The Babe" (1992), Sayles' Irish fable "The Secret of Roan Inish" (1994) and the period crime drama "Mulholland Falls" (1996). Wexler also produced, written, directed and/or photographed a number of documentary films in his long career. Among the highlights are "The Bus" (1965) and its sequel, "Bus II" (1983), the Oscar-winning short "Interviews With My Lai Veterans" (1970), "Brazil: A Report on Torture" (1971), "Introduction to the Enemy" (1974), co-directed with Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden and Bill Yahrans, "CIA: Case Officer" (1978) and "At the Max" (1991), which recorded the 1990 European tour of the Rolling Stones. Wexler was also one of several directors of photography interviewed for the superlative "Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography" (1992). A passionate liberal, Wexler produced, directed, wrote and photographed one of the most devastating and technically sophisticated anti-establishment films ever made, "Medium Cool" (1969). Drawing on the stylistic and theoretical advances made by such vanguard figures as Jean- Luc Godard, and taking its title almost straight from the mouth of media guru Marshall McLuhan, "Medium Cool" was set and filmed during the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention. It chronicles-- in striking, neo-documentary style--the affairs, both professional and amorous, of a detached TV news cameraman (Robert Forster) as he becomes increasingly aware of the political ramifications of his work. The film remains a landmark of political cinema, and an insightful essay on the "cool medium." Wexler also helmed "Latino" (1985), a taut drama about an Hispanic Vietnam veteran (Robert Beltran) assisting in the training of the US-backed Contras in Nicaragua. The film divided critics and audiences along partisan political lines. For TV, Wexler shot footage of the Special Olympics included in the Beau Bridges- directed longform "The Kid From Nowhere" (NBC, 1982), worked with renowned cinematographer Robert Richardson on the second unit work of the thirty-minute film "To The Moon, Alice" (Showtime, 1990) and was primary director of photography for the Japan tour sequences of the documentary "Benny Carter: Symphony in Riffs" (A&E, 1992). Meanwhile, Wexler was the subject of the documentary, "Tell Them Who You Are" (2005), directed by his son, Mark. Wexler maintained a steady working pace for the rest of his career, including the political documentary "Four Days in Chicago" (2013), covering a 2012 protest at a NATO summit by the Occupy movement. Haskell Wexler died of undisclosed natural causes on December 27, 2015 at his home in Santa Monica, California. He was 93.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Cinematography (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Cast (Special)
Cinematography (Special)
Life Events
1958
Landed first film as director of photography (uncredited), "Stakeout on Dope Street"
1959
Scored first on-screen credit for cinematography, "Five Bold Women"
1965
Made documentary directing and screenwriting debut, "The Bus" (also producer; director of photography)
1965
Co-produced (with John Calley) Tony Richardson's "The Loved One" (also director of photography)
1969
Made feature film writing and directing debut (also director of photography; producer), "Medium Cool"
1976
Made first film appearance in "Underground" (documentary)
1996
Received Star No. 2062 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (February 28)
2001
Earned Emmy nomination for lensing of the HBO movie "61*"
2013
Directed documentary feature "Four Days in Chicago"
2016
Was honored by the George Lucas Family Foundation's installation of the Haskell Wexler Endowed Chair in Documentary at The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I think that film, motion picture film, and I'm including television because television is what people see, is the most potent force to influence people's habits. . . . the media have an opportunity to change people's ideas about what is propoer, what is right, what is desirable. THe potential for social change is there." --Wexler quoted in "Masters of Light: Conversations with Contemporary Cinematographers" by Dennis Schaefer and Larry Salvato (University of California Press, 1984)
