The director of photography for classics like The Godfather and Manhattan was a master of light and shadow. “I never thought of anything as being iconic,” he once said.
Paramount / Via drafthouse.com
Gordon Willis, who died on Sunday at 82, was one of the great cinematographers of the 20th century. Between his work on The Godfather, Manhattan, All The President's Men, Annie Hall, and many more classic films, he leaves behind an exquisite body of work.
When an interviewer asked about his process, Willis chided, "You're looking for the formula. There is no formula. The formula comes out of you."
A small sampling of his most memorable shots are below.
In this shot of the attempt on Don Corleone's life in The Godfather (1972), Willis shot from above, keeping the street pitch black to offset the oranges rolling in the street.
"It was only about 20 minutes before the movie started that I decided how the movie ultimately should look overall," Willis said.
Paramount
Even moments of more explicit violence in The Godfather have an eerie beauty to them, thanks to Willis' use of a long lens and diffuse lighting.
Paramount Pictures
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