Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Giving Sight To Vision

William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC. (1923 -2010)

William Fraker is not a household name, but he will be remembered by filmmakers as one of the most noteworthy cinematographers of the 1970's and 80's. Nominated for Academy Awards in Best Cinematography in films such as Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, Spielberg's 1941 and Ralph Bakshi's Coonskin (I didn't know that until today!). Perhaps he will be most remembered for one of the most memorable film sequences that "upped the bar" for car chases in cinema: Bullit, starring Steve McQueen.



He should be remembered for being a solid cinematographer who helped his directors visualize the story in the best and most suitable way.

His work doesn't yell and scream "William Fraker, ASC, BSC". However for me, he does define a certain look that was consistent with the cinema in the 1970's. I love that clean look of 70's cinema and those earlier film stocks that were always a little grainy (which gave it life in my opinion) and favored cooler tones.

I think 1970's cinematography and William Fraker comes to mind.

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