Gordon Willis

Born in the largest neighborhood in New York, Queens, Gordon Willis (May 28, 1931) was the son of a make-up artist who worked for Warner Bros. After finishing his studies at the Manhasset Institute in his hometown, he tried his luck as an actor and builder. sets in the theater, although he was passionate about photography from a young age. In the early 1950s, he enlisted in the Air Force, where he served as a photographer during the Korean War. By the time he graduated, the television industry was kicking off, and Gordon Willis had plenty of work as a valet for assorted jobs. “Those days you could easily find work as an operator of documentaries and commercials. And in my opinion I couldn’t have had a better school,” Willis stated.

In 1970, Willis made his cinematographer’s film debut with End of the Road , a drama with Stacy Keach . Right away he met one of the directors who has best exploited his talent, Alan J. Pakula , who recruited him for Klute , a grueling thriller for which Jane Fonda won an Oscar for playing a prostitute. Willis’s style, as artistic as it was realistic, marked the 70s. And his talent drew so much attention that right after he received a call from Francis Ford Coppola himself , who wanted to recruit him for a film he was preparing at the time and which it was going to be titled The Godfather. The rest is history with capital letters of the Seventh Art. Willis’s fabulous visual contrasts made the film an unforgettable experience for moviegoers. He repeated as a camera operator in a very similar style in the two sequels, although curiously Coppola –always worried about giving a different air to all of his films– has only called him to shoot the Corleone family journey.

On the other hand, Pakula made him his fetish operator, as he claimed him again for five other films: The Last Witness , All the President’s Men , A Free and Wild Rider Arrives , Presumed Innocent and The Devil’s Shadow . Another who took advantage of Willis was Woody Allen after their providential meeting at Annie Hall . Although they have collaborated on Interiors , Memories , A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy , Zelig , and The Purple Rose of Cairo , both were especially inspired by Manhattan ., an authentic declaration of love for the city where they were born, New York, which has rarely been portrayed in such a spectacular way. Supported by the music of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, the black and white photography gave a rather unreal tone to corners as characteristic as the Brooklyn Bridge, MoMa or Central Park. Especially timeless is the image of Allen and Diane Keaton surrounded by stars in the planetarium.

As those who have worked with him remember, Willis is an irritable guy, who in his perfectionist desire suffered continuous fits of anger, but did not stop until he found the ideal framing and lighting. Not the best for his own display, but the one that best expressed what he had to narrate the shot in question. He was nicknamed ‘The Prince of Darkness’ in the industry, due to his tendency to wear shadows to the point that you can’t see the actors’ eyes. Interestingly, between 1971 and 1977, seven of the incomparable films he shot amassed 39 Oscar nominations, and three of them ( The Godfather , The Godfather Part II and Annie Hall) triumphed in the best picture category, a feat that could not have been achieved without his painstaking work. And yet, they didn’t even get to nominate him. He only subsequently obtained two unsuccessful nominations, for Zelig and The Godfather III .

Willis has worked exceptionally with other directors at times, including Harold Becker ( Malice ), Stuart Rosenberg ( Up in the Water ), Herbert Ross ( Money from Heaven ) and Richard Benjamin ( This House Is a Ruin ). And he decided to make his debut as a director with the thriller Ventanas , which was widely criticized, and in which it is true that he prioritizes photography over the rest of the film elements.

Married with three children, his last collaboration with Pakula, the aforementioned La sombra del diablo , was his last film job. It is possible that his decision to retire was precipitated by the unexpected death of Pakula in a car accident, but the fact is that since then he has not returned behind the cameras.