Vilmos Zsigmond’s prize as a cinematographer

23rd October; a Hungarian celebration in Hollywood

Vilmos Zsigmond will get a prize for his work as a cinematographer on the 10th Hollywood Filmfestival – said the Variety. The 50th anniversary of the Revolution 1956 will be on the 23rd October. The prize-list will also include: Joel Cox, cutter; Gustavo Santaolalla, composer; John Myhre, art director; Penny Rose, costume designer and Francine Maisler, director.

Vilmos Zsigmond finished his studies at the Film and Drama Academy as a student of György Illés. During the Revolution of ’56 he shot forbidden scenes with a camera hidden in a plastic bag with his friend and schhoolmate László Kovács. For making this film they were forced to leave the country.

In the United States his carreer went uphill slowly but surely. His laboratory work in the beginning was later replaced by photographing B-category films. His first mainstream production took place in 1971 (The Hired Hand).

Az első szakmai siker Warren Beatty a McCabe és Mrs. Millerben

Steven Spielberg’s first two feature films were photographed by Vilmos Zsigmond. In the movie ’The Sugarland Express’ he used a handheld camera to build up tension. In the ’Close Encounters of 3rd Kind’, years before the digital advanteges of sci-fi movies, he produced marvellous scenes with almost prehistoric technology. For this performance he recieved the Oscar-prize. His latest work is, Brian de Palma’s ’The Black Dahlia’ wich was filmed after James Ellroy’s novel under the same title.

Joel Cox recieved his Oscar-prize in 1992 for cutting Clint Eastwood’s western-movie the ’Unforgiven’. In Hollywood, he is simply called Clint Eastwood’s cutter because he has worked on almost all of his movies since the 70’s.

Gustavo Santaolalla composed the themes of films ’21 Grams’, ’Che Guevara: The Motorcycle Diaries’ or ’The Brokeback Mountain’ for which he recieved the Oscar-prize.

John Myhre got the little golden statue twice during his carreer. Both of them for Rob Marshall’s movie’s design. In 2002 for ’Chicago’ and this year for the ’Memoirs of a Geisha’.

Penny Rose started designing costumes for the dreamfactory in the 70’s but she was only discovered in the 90’s by the different studios. Among working on many other movies she also did the costumes of the ’Mission:Impossible’ series and the ’Pirates of the Carrebbean’.