American Cinematographer - June 2014 - 120

James A. Chressanthis, ASC

When you were a child, what film made the strongest
impression on you?
Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most admire?
Freddie Young, BSC, whose work on Lawrence of Arabia is still astonishing. He and director David Lean told the story visually. Young made
the invisible subtext palpable. His book The Work of the Motion Picture
Cameraman opened a new world to me.
What sparked your interest in
photography?
My father brought back amazing
Kodachrome transparencies from his trips in
Micronesia. He let me use his 35mm reflex
camera, a big deal for a kid in the 1960s.

Have you made any memorable
blunders?
Sure, but I can't seem to remember one!

Where did you train and/or study?
I studied engineering and physics and then
switched to fine arts: drawing, sculpture and
photography. On my own, I made films in
Super 8mm, 16mm and black-and-white
video at Arizona State University and Southern Illinois University, and when I taught at Western Michigan University, I directed and shot a documentary about a Greek mountain village
and the harvest cycle. Later, I received my first real formal training in
film at the American Film Institute. The visiting artists included Jane
Fonda; David Lean; Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC; Conrad Hall, ASC;
Laszlo Kovacs, ASC; Sydney Pollack; Sam Shepard; James Stewart; and
Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC.
Who were your early teachers or mentors?
At AFI, Howard Schwartz, ASC conducted great screenings and Q&As
with working cinematographers. He recommended me to Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC.
What are some of your key artistic influences?
The New Wave filmmakers and films of France, Italy and America,
especially François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Five Easy Pieces, McCabe &
Mrs. Miller and Deliverance. Also, artists Robert Rauschenberg and
Anselm Kiefer.
How did you get your first break in the business?
I was the AFI camera intern to Vilmos Zsigmond on The Witches of
Eastwick and later shot second unit for him on commercials. He and
his crew gave me a breadth of knowledge and confidence I applied to
the smaller projects I was shooting in those days, breakthrough music
videos for Hammer, NWA, Dr. Dre and even the great James Brown.

120

June 2014

What has been your most satisfying moment on a project?
There have been many, to be sure. Early on, I filmed Cesar Chavez on
his 36-day fast to protest pesticides in our food. For the climactic race
in Four Minutes, with Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute-mile
barrier, I was able to use the camera expressively to convey the
supreme difficulty and ecstatic elation of his run; it was a perfect
collaboration on a gem of a film. Recently, I shot the civil-rights drama
The Watsons Go to Birmingham, which reconstructs a national
tragedy and the good that was born from it.
I try to photograph films that touch on my
own experience in some way.

What is the best professional advice
you've ever received?
Vilmos Zsigmond told me, 'Jim, it takes 10
years to become a cinematographer, so be
patient and remember, nice guys finish first.
And promise me that when you are successful, you will help the next person.'
What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you?
20,000 Days on Earth (2014), a hybrid documentary/art film about
singer/songwriter Nick Cave that vividly exposes the artistic process
and how dreams, memory and our experience are fused into new art.
Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like
to try?
I've shot many genres: intimate drama, action, musicals, romantic
fantasy, science fiction and thrillers. What I look for is not a particular
genre but stories that have a human scale and offer the opportunity
to try something new.
If you weren't a cinematographer, what might you be doing
instead?
I'd be a painter or a mixed-media artist.
Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for
membership?
Donald M. Morgan, George Spiro Dibie and Steven Poster.
How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?
Only cinematographers grasp the tremendous artistic and underlying
technical achievement that make the most successful film image
appear effortless. It's the shared recognition of this and the comradeship that results from membership that are so enjoyable.
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American Cinematographer

Photo by Robert Arnold.

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American Cinematographer - June 2014

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