American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 42

◗

Persistence of Vision

Gordon Willis, ASC
on location during
the filming of
Annie Hall, his
first project with
Woody Allen.
"When you're
collaborating with
Woody, it's like
working with
your hands in
your pockets,"
Willis recalled. "It's
an easygoing
atmosphere,
which I found
very pleasant."

Gordon Willis, ASC helped define a generation
of American filmmaking, and in the process left
an indelible mark on his collaborators' lives.
Here, a number of his peers and colleagues
share their memories.
Interviews by Andrew Fish, Jean Oppenheimer, Stephen Pizzello,
Jon Silberg, Iain Stasukevich and Jon D. Witmer
*|*
Owen Roizman, ASC: Gordon
and I worked together [at commercial
company MPO] for a year in the Sixties
before he just wanted to go out on his
own, but during that year we got to do
a lot of things together - I was the
assistant and he was the operator for
Jerry Hirschfeld, ASC. Gordon knew
the equipment inside and out, which
42

October 2014

inspired me to learn the equipment just
as well. He was really handy.
Gordon displayed signs of his
creativity and independence while he
was shooting for Jerry, who, being one
of the owners of the company, would
sometimes have to leave early. He
would leave Gordon to stay late to shoot
for him, or to set the lighting for the
American Cinematographer

first shot the next morning. Jerry was a
very strict taskmaster, and he lit a
certain way, mostly with hard lights. But
Gordon would change things to his
own personal preferences. As soon as
Jerry left, Gordon would set the key
light with a soft light. I would watch
keenly, marveling at his daring and
thinking, 'Oh boy, Jerry's not going to
like that.'
I admired Gordon for having the
balls to do things his own way. He had
a mind and vision of his own, and the
will to do things a certain way. I learned
a lot from that. It helped set the foundation for me to become a bit ballsy
myself, to be bold and take chances.
Simply put, he was a great influence not
only on my work, but on my life in
general. I had a great deal of respect and
admiration for him.

Annie Hall photo courtesy of Brian Hamill.

Remembering "Gordy"



American Cinematographer - October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - October 2014

Contents
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 1
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 2
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - Contents
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 4
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 5
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 6
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 7
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 8
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 9
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 10
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 11
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 12
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 13
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 14
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 15
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 16
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 17
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 18
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 19
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 20
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 21
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 22
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 23
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 24
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 25
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 26
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 27
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 28
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 29
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 30
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 31
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 32
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 33
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 34
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 35
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 36
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 37
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 38
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 39
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 40
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 41
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 42
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 43
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 44
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 45
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 46
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 47
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 48
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 49
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 50
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 51
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 52
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 53
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 54
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - I3
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - I4
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 55
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 56
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 57
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 58
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 59
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 60
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 61
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 62
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 63
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 64
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 65
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 66
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 67
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 68
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 69
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 70
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 71
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 72
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 73
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 74
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 75
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 76
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 77
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 78
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - I1
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - I2
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 79
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 80
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 81
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 82
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 83
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 84
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American Cinematographer - October 2014 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - October 2014 - Cover4
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