American Cinematographer - February 1990 - 29

bound to that model. And in our
film this was the case/' Richardson
avows.

"In the opening scenes,
there is a 4th of July parade which
embodies the character of Kovic's

youthful experiences/' Richardson
said. "A heightened reflection of
reality was sought after. We chose
a dream-like
interpretation of LIFE
magazine photography. Atmos¬
phere prevailed. We used an abun¬
dance of smoke, rain and pollen in
the air. Shadows were reduced and
the colors of a fairytale came to life.
There was a golden ambience
which symbolized the era and his
innocence. In costumes, design
and photography we used prima¬
ries sparingly, working principally
with warm earthen hues. The len-

sing was wide and low to capture
the sense of community from a
child's perspective."
In contrast, Stone origi¬
nally planned to shoot the opening
sequences in Vietnam with a gritty,
black and white newsreel look.

and

But, then he decided that would be
too contrived, so Richardson made

our

last minute
in color.
a

community were intrinsic to
magic of youth in the Kennedy
era. In
general our perspective was
third person during the Vietnam
sequences. We attained a voyeur¬
istic attitude while taking careful

adjustment and shot

On

departing from pre¬
conceptions: "Shooting movies is a
very emotional and instinctual
experience for me. I trust my in¬
stincts. I'm willing to take a chance
and depart from the way we
planned to shoot," Richardson
said.
This is his fifth film with
Stone. The others were Salvador,

phic format. He chose Panavision.
"I think it is the perfect frame for a
theatrical feature," he said. "It gave

Platoon, Wall Street and Talk Radio.

space to tell the story.
Raden at Panavision was

Talk Radio and Born

of
July were shot back to back out of

tremely supportive."

Las Colinas Studios near Dallas.
With the exception of the costume

decide

on

the Fourth

designer, Judy Wong, the key play¬
ers on the production team were
the same people: Bruno Rubeo,
production designer; Todd Mait¬
land, sound; Ray Peschke, gaffer
and Mike Miller, key grip.
It

was

scheduled for 63

days of photography, and actually
finished in 64. In addition to

stage

work, practical locations in Dallas
were used to
represent Mas-

Long Island during the
during the 1968
Republican convention. There
were also 15
days of production in
the Philippines where scenes set in
sapequa,

1950s, and Miami

Vietnam and Mexico

filmed.
This is the first movie for
were

which Richardson used

anamor-

become distant or
cold. Oliver's idea was to massage
the audience with soft reflections
then thrust them into a Vietnam
void.
"We used a Matthews
measures

us more

Phil
ex¬

"It didn't take me long to
could add value to the

we

picture by shooting in anamorphic," he said. "Born on the Fourth
of July is more than a story about
individual. It is about a genera¬
tion of Americans and how they
one

responded to and were affected by
the war. I felt the anamorphic for¬
mat would push us out and keep
us
away from focusing solely on a
central figure."
In the opening scenes,
Richardson used the space inher¬

remote

back and show both exte¬
riors and interiors of the Kovic
household the way it would look
a nine year old - large. This also
allowed him to frame the family in

to
a

collective environment.

"Family, neighborhood
February 1990

camera

to

Vietnam veteran
Ron Kovic, here

sinking into
despondency.
Above: Photo¬

graphing a recrea¬
tion of a sixties

style anti-war
protest. Left:
Richardson

capture unusual

and seductive angles which would
have been inaccessible by any
other means." In one particular
scene
in a wooded ravine,
Richardson used the remote cam¬
era to rush down from tree level to
the eye level of a nine year old.
When the story shifted to

Vietnam, Richardson brought the
audience into more intimate con¬
tact with Kovic and less with the
environment. He forced a sense of
removal by using long lenses, both
the 360mm and 1000mm. In the

opening Vietnam sequence, Kovic
is seated

on a beach isolated
by the
long lensing, which narrowed the
background.

ent to the format to move the
camera

not to

Opposite page:
Tom Cruise plays

For Richardson Vietnam

split into two parts. The first
is "sin" and the second "penance."
Each is approached with its own
visual style.
was

"We

began Vietnam with

intimate

long lens feel. The sun
is setting and warm tones are cast
an

American

Cinematographer

27
American Cinematographer - February 1990

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