American Cinematographer - April 2014 - 108

Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC

When you were a child, what film made the strongest impression on you?
At 16, I was hardly a child when I saw Peter Watkins' The War Game
(1965) at a local Torquay film-society screening. Two women fainted
in the theater, and the film had such a powerful effect on audiences
elsewhere that it was subsequently banned for 25 years. I have never
forgotten seeing that film, nor Watkins' Culloden (1964).

What has been your most satisfying moment on a project?
Probably just making it home after nine months on that yacht!
Have you made any memorable blunders?
I can't remember any, but that probably says most about the selective nature of my memory.
What is the best professional advice you've ever received?
A onetime producer and
studio head advised me to
forget my ambition of becoming a cinematographer. Luckily, for me at least, I am not
good at taking advice.

Which cinematographers,
past or present, do you
most admire?
Eduard Tisse, for the power of
his compositions, as in Ivan
the Terrible and Alexander
Nevsky; Vadim Yusov, for the
atmospheres he created for
Ivan's Childhood and Solaris;
Kasuo Miyagawa, for the
sheer beauty of his lighting for
Ugetsu and Sansho; Haskell
Wexler [ASC], for his heart
and passion; and Conrad Hall
[ASC], for the subtlety and
diversity of everything he did.

What recent books, films or
artworks have inspired
you?
Always the photographs of
Alex Webb. All Is Lost inspired
me to revisit Bresson's A Man
Escaped. I was lucky to see a
pristine archival print of The
Mirror at the Brisbane Film
Festival recently; Tarkovsky is a constant inspiration.

What sparked your interest in photography?
I imagine it was seeing the photography of Bill Brandt and Henri
Cartier-Bresson. I had wanted to be a painter, but I just painted life in
a naturalistic way, so photography seemed to be a better medium.
Where did you train and/or study?
I studied at Bath Academy of Art and, later, at the National Film
School.
Who were your early teachers or mentors?
Roger Mayne, famous for his London street photography, was a tutor
at Bath Academy.
What are some of your key artistic influences?
I think it's hard to single out 'key' influences. Surely we are all influenced by everything we see and come into contact with, be it an
exhibition by Edvard Munch, a film by Jean-Pierre Melville or the view
from my Sydney hotel window as I am typing this.

Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like to
try?
I would love to shoot a science-fiction film, something in the vein of
Stranger in a Strange Land, maybe, or The Man in the High Castle.
If you weren't a cinematographer, what might you be doing
instead?
I applied for a job as a beach photographer once, during my school
summer holidays, but I was turned down. So I guess that would not
be an option.
Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for
membership?
John Bailey, Allen Daviau and Steven Poster.
How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?
For me, the ASC is foremost a group of good friends, and it is a great
help to have friends in this business.
●

How did you get your first break in the business?
I was a member of the crew and shot a documentary aboard a yacht
in an around-the-world race. To get the job, I 'exaggerated' my experience of the sea, but as I am from Devon, I was never closely questioned.

108

April 2014

American Cinematographer

Photo by François Duhamel.

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American Cinematographer - April 2014

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