|
In Remembrance: Laszlo Kovacs
Laszlo Kovacs, the Hungarian born cinematographer who shot Easy
Rider, The Last Picture Show, Ghostbusters and
other classic films, has passed away on July 22, 2007 in Beverly
Hills. He was 74.
Born May 14, 1933 on a farm 60 miles from Budapest, Kovacs spent
much of his childhood watching movies in a makeshift cinema in a
school auditorium. He graduated Budapest College of Drama and Motion
Picture Art in 1956. Fresh out of school, Kovacs and classmate
Vilmos Zsigmond, shot footage of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution with
a 35mm camera borrowed from their school and hidden in a shopping
bag, before immigrating to the United States, smuggling their film
out of the country. Unfortunately, upon arriving in 1957, the film
footage was no longer considered newsworthy and Kovacs and Zsigmond
were unable to sell it. It would finally air years later on the CBS
television network.
After working several odd jobs, Kovacs soon found work as a
cameraman for two low budget comedies from producer Arch Hall Sr. –
What’s Up Front! And The Nasty Rabbit (both 1964) –
and also shot footage for some National Geographic Specials.
Kovacs graduated to full scale cinematography work with the horror
exploitation flick The Incredible Strange Creatures Who Stopped
Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?. Work on several other low
budget films such as The Notorious Daughter Of Fanny Hill
(1964) and Hells Angels On Wheels (1967) followed.
Kovacs first major film was 1969’s Easy Rider, a film he
almost didn’t work on until talked into it by star Dennis Harper.
Kovacs accepted as he relished the challenge of turning the vast
exterior landscapes that the film would shoot in into its own
character. Filmed almost entirely on practical locations over a
12-week period during which the production traveled from Los Angeles
to New Orleans, Kovacs was limited to what equipment he could carry
in one five-ton truck. He ultimately shot virtual the entire film
with available light. To heighten the film’s realism, Kovacs
utilized lens flares, at that time considered a “mistake,” in many
shots. It’s a technique that has since become standard.
Kovacs paired with Peter Bogdanovich for the director’s first film,
Targets, in 1968. They enjoyed the experience of working with
each other so much that they would collaborate on five more films-
What’s Up, Doc? (1972), Paper Moon (1973), At Long
Last Love (1975), Nickelodeon (1976) and Mask
(1985). Kovacs’ black and white photography for Paper Moon is
considered a masterpiece of modern cinematography.
Over the course of his career, Kovacs continued to hone his craft,
impressing moviegoers and his colleagues with his work on such films
as Five Easy Pieces (1970), The King Of Marvin Gardens
(1972), Shampoo (1975), New York, New York (1977),
The Last Waltz (1978), Ghostbusters (1984), Say
Anything… (1989) and My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997).
Although never nominated for an Academy Award, Kovacs was awarded
the American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award
in 2002.
Most recently, Kovacs worked on the documentary Torn From The
Flag (2006), which combined the Hungarian Revolution footage he
shot in 1956 with new material. |
