Inside the career of the cinematographer who
helped create the look of modern cinema with
The French Connection, The Exorcist,
Network, Three Days Of The Condor
and many more classic films
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In the new biography OWEN ROIZMAN: LIFE BEHIND THE CAMERA, one of the most respected cinematographers of the modern age discusses his career in comprehensive detail, diving deep into his Oscar-nominated work in The French Connection, The Exorcist, Network, Tootsie and Wyatt Earp.
The trendsetting artist explains how he helped revolutionize the look of Hollywood movies with his use of new lighting techniques and also documents his mentors and early influences while building his career in New York City, his visual approach to storytelling, his key collaborators, and his methodology to understanding ever-changing imaging technology.
In 2017, Roizman was presented with an honorary Oscar for his contributions to the art of cinematography and the motion-picture community.
OWEN ROIZMAN: LIFE BEHIND THE CAMERA offers insight based on his vast experience, using specific examples to illustrate his creative process. He also discusses his working relationships with directors including William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist), Sidney Lumet (Network), Sydney Pollack (Three Days of the Condor, Tootsie, Havana), John Huston (Independence), Lawrence Kasdan (I Love You to Death, Grand Canyon, Wyatt Earp), Elaine May (The Heartbreak Kid), Harold Becker (The Black Marble, Taps) and Ulu Grosbard (Straight Time, True Confessions).
OWEN ROIZMAN: LIFE BEHIND THE CAMERA presents numerous never-before-published production photos from many of the cinematographer’s films, as well as exhaustive research that brings together a complete, candid portrait of his creative genius.
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SAYS OWEN ROIZMAN:
“Cinematography is about problem solving, pure and simple.
If you are presented with a problem, you have to solve it. And every shot is a problem.”
“I became known as the ‘location guy,’ this ‘gritty New York street photographer.’
I thought that was funny but so be it — I wasn’t going to tell them the truth.”
“I’ve always thought of myself as a mood maker. I try to feel the mood of a scene, of the set, of the film, and then try to translate that mood into the cinematography.”
Author David E. Williams is a former editor and publisher at American Cinematographer magazine and executive features editor of The Hollywood Reporter. For this in-depth survey of Owen Roizman’s career, he conducted numerous on-on-one interviews with the subject and was given unprecedented access to his personal photo archives. Accompanied by hundreds of film images illustrating Roizman’s innovative camerawork, the result is a detailed, insightful portrait of one of the century’s most influential visual artists.
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Published by Life Behind the Camera Media, LLC
ISBN 979-8-90119-921-3
328 pages 12" x 9" $99.95
