American Cinematographer - January 1993 - 42

1 KISH
OPTICS

to form

EXTREME

QUALITY

critical bond with the

ac¬

"I

am

not used to

working

with stand-ins/' he states. "In Swe¬

den,

FOR

a

tors.

don't usually have the

we

money. I remember a funny story
that explains the difficulty: We
made a picture called Autumn So¬

nata, with Ingrid Bergman. The first

day, Ingrid said to me, 'Sven, how
can you work without stand-ins?'
For a moment I wasn't sure what to

say.

I didn't want to admit that the
mostly economic. But

reasons were

what I said is true: 'It's different to

light with the stand-in, because the
actors and the actresses give me
inspiration, if I can light them. They
move
right! Also, the contact be¬
tween the actor and the cinematog¬
rapher means a lot.' When I ex¬
plained this to her, she said, 'I will
sit behind the

camera

you
less time. This 23 minute video
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Send $10 which will be
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40

Even if we've been up

working the

whole night, in the morning he ar¬
rives with a laugh in his heart. He
never
says anything bad to anyone.
This is not calculation - it's just the

way

he is. And through

many

dif¬

ficulties, he gets everything done. I
should say that I would be happy
if I was more like him in that re¬

gard."

Nykvist may be subject to
Scandinavian mood swing now

and again, but it's plain that his sen¬

People forget that the personality
connection between the cinematog¬
rapher and the actor or actress is so
important."
Recently, Nykvist had a

sitivity is what makes him one of
the true legends of motion picture
photography. Yet, when he recalls
taking his place among the greats
as a

member of the ASC, he sud¬

denly turns boyish with excite¬
ment. "I came to a meeting in the
early '70s, after Cries and Whispers
the Oscar," he remembers,

time, fulfill his early dream of mak¬

won

ing his own film. Prior to Chaplin,
Nykvist directed and photo¬
graphed The Ox, an intimate retell¬
ing of a story told to him by his fa¬
ther. It takes place, and was filmed,
in Beckshire, the region of southern

"and I met my

lies, however, but those who stayed

exciting visually, it tells
how to produce them in

duction, and the wonderful thing
is, he is always in a good mood.

will

trace their heritage. Nykvist was
interested not in the emigrant fami¬

more

"Attenborough has made many
very big pictures, so he knows how
his mood can affect the entire pro¬

a

Sweden to which most SwedishAmerican families in Minnesota

demonstrate how to make them

His admiration is obvious.

time, and whenever you want, I

chance to return to small-scale, in¬
timate filmmaking and, at the same

It shows you how to make your
films move. Not only does it

running for last year's For¬
eign Film Oscar.
Flaving made his directo¬
rial debut (at age 69), Nykvist sees
the work of Chaplin director
Attenborough in a new light.

the whole

come
up and stand where you
need me.' She was wonderful.

SPECIALIZED LENSES FOR PROFESSIONAL
MOTION PICTURE AND VIDEO

in the

heroes. I was so
happy just to be sitting in the room
with James Wong Howe, [then
ASC President] Robert Surtees,
William Daniels and the rest. I had
the feeling that I already knew
these people, because I had seen all
their pictures and I knew exactly
how they were lit. It was fantastic
for me to sit and discuss it with
them. They were my teachers, al¬

behind and endured the ravages of
famine. Not surprisingly, the story
is told as much with images as with
words.
"It's not difficult to under¬

though before that I had
ally met them.

stand why I wanted to make the
film," Nykvist says. "There is very
that I would tell the

many pictures and I have made
many, many mistakes. It took me 30
years to find simplicity in lighting
and movement. But I will not for¬

camera,

get my lesson."

little dialogue, and

I had the feeling

story with the
making it as visual as pos¬

sible. But the main reason is that the

story has followed me my whole
life. I told myself that I wasn't go¬
ing to die before I made that pic¬
ture." The Ox represented Sweden

January 1993

"The

best

though, have been

never re¬

teachers,

my own

pic¬

tures," he concludes. "I have shot

A
American Cinematographer - January 1993

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