Nestor Almendros

"Most cameramen are technicians or liars. When started, I found that my job consisted principally in de-lighting sets, that is removing all the fake, conventioanl movie lighting that had been set up by lighting technicians. They were old-fashioned. They believed in a very glossy kind of photography, that faces should never be in a shadow, that there should always be a lot of back lighting, with no shadows in the sets anywhere." --Nestor Almendros in a 1971 interview (quoted in his The New York Times obituary, March 5, 1992).

Named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government (1976)

Biography

Award-winning international cinematographer who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 70s. Almendros' crisp black-and-white style recalled the early silent masters and he also did brilliant color work for Francois Truffaut (eight features, from 1969's "The Wild Child" to 1982's "Confidentially Yours") and Eric Rohmer (the black-and-white "My Night at Maud's" in 1969 and the sun-dappled "Claire's Knee" in 1970). During this period, Almendros collaborated with producer-director Barbet Schroeder on "More" (1969), "Maitresse" (1975) and the documentaries "General Idi Amin Dada" (1974) and "Koko, the Talking Gorilla" (1978).

By the mid-70s Almendros was alternating between major American films and projects for European directors. With his Oscar-winning work on Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" (1978), Almendros introduced a completely natural look to his films, eschewing traditional studio lighting, filters and trickery for use of existing natural light in such features as "The Blue Lagoon" (1980) and "Sophie's Choice" (1982).

In the 80s, while continuing to create luminous images for the likes of Robert Benton and Martin Scorsese, Almendros also directed two piercing interview-documentaries about political repression and human rights violations in Cuba: "Improper Conduct" (1983, with Orlando Jimenez-Leal) and "Nobody Listened" (1988, with Jorge Ulla). He authored an acclaimed book on cinematography, "A Man With A Camera" (1980).

Filmography

Life Events

1948

Moved to Cuba after WWII, following his father who had moved there at the end of the Spanish Civil War

1961

Directed two non-government sponsored shorts, "Gente en la Playa" and "La Tumba Francesca"; banned by the government

1962

Moved to Paris

1964

First collaboration with Eric Rohmer, the short "Nadia a Paris"

1965

Visited location of "Paris vu par.../Six in Paris" on day that cinematographer walked off in a dispute; volunteered to take over and was hired as director of photography for the Eric Rohmer and Jean Douchet episodes of the omnibus feature

1966

Made shorts and directed documentaries for educational television

1966

First feature as sole director of photography, Rohmer's "La Collectionneuse"; went on to make eight more films with Rohmer

1967

Co-shot first US film, "The Wild Racers" in France

1969

First of nine films with director Francois Truffaut, "The Wild Child"

1974

Went to USA to film Monte Hellman's "Cockfighter/Born to Kill"

1975

Created the appropriate atmosphere through meticulous use of light for Truffaut's study of obsessive love "L'Histoire d'Adele H./The Story of Adele H."