Vilmos Zsigmond facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC
Vilmos Zsigmond at the 43rd KVIFF in 2008
Born	(1930-06-16)June 16, 1930 Szeged, Hungary
Died	January 1, 2016(2016-01-01) (aged 85) Big Sur, California, U.S.
Occupation	Cinematographer
Years active	1955–2016
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Fuzes (divorced) (2 children) Susan Roether (his death)

Vilmos Zsigmond (born June 16, 1930 – died January 1, 2016) was a Hungarian-American cinematographer. A cinematographer is the person in charge of how a movie looks. They decide on the lighting, camera angles, and how the film is shot.

Vilmos Zsigmond's work greatly influenced how American movies looked in the 1970s. He became a key figure in a new style of filmmaking called the American New Wave.

He worked with many famous American directors. These included Robert Altman, Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, Michael Cimino, and Woody Allen. He is especially known for his work on the films Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Deer Hunter.

He won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He also won a BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for The Deer Hunter. An Emmy Award was given to him for his work on the TV miniseries Stalin.

His films McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and The Deer Hunter were listed among the top 50 best-shot films by the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). The ASC also gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. In 2003, he was named one of the ten most important cinematographers ever by the International Cinematographers Guild.

Life and Career Journey

Vilmos Zsigmond was born in Szeged, Hungary. His mother, Bozena, was an administrator, and his father, Vilmos, was a soccer player and coach. He became interested in photography when he was 17. His uncle gave him a book of black-and-white photos called The Art of Light.

At that time, Hungary was under Soviet rule. His family was considered "bourgeois," which meant they were seen as middle-class or wealthy. Because of this, he was not allowed to study photography at school. Instead, Vilmos worked in a factory. He bought a camera and taught himself how to take pictures. He even started a camera club for the workers. This helped him gain respect, and he was finally allowed to study cinema. He earned a master's degree in cinematography from the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest. After graduating, he worked for five years in a film studio in Budapest.

In 1956, Vilmos and his friend László Kovács secretly filmed the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. They borrowed a camera from their school and hid it in a shopping bag. They filmed thirty thousand feet of movie footage. Soon after, they escaped to Austria. In 1958, Vilmos and László came to the United States as refugees. They sold their film footage to CBS, which used it in a documentary about the revolution.

In 1962, Vilmos Zsigmond became an American citizen. He settled in Los Angeles. He worked in photo labs as a technician and photographer.

László Kovács, who filmed Easy Rider in 1969, suggested Vilmos to director Peter Fonda. This led to Vilmos working on Fonda's 1971 Western film The Hired Hand. Later that year, Robert Altman hired Vilmos for his film McCabe & Mrs. Miller. This movie was a big breakthrough for Vilmos. It was his first time working on a major Hollywood film.

Over the next ten years, Vilmos became one of the most sought-after cinematographers in Hollywood. Some of the important films he shot in the 1970s include John Boorman's Deliverance and Altman's The Long Goodbye. He also worked on Brian De Palma's Obsession. He filmed Steven Spielberg's The Sugarland Express and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. For Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

In 1978, Vilmos worked on Michael Cimino’s drama The Deer Hunter. This film starred Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken. Vilmos's amazing visuals in the film earned him a BAFTA Award and another Academy Award nomination. He worked with Cimino again on the 1980 Western film Heaven's Gate.

Vilmos Zsigmond continued to be very busy in the years that followed. He worked many times with several directors. He teamed up with De Palma again for Blow Out, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and The Black Dahlia. He worked with Mark Rydell on Cinderella Liberty, The Rose, The River, and Intersection. He also worked with George Miller on The Witches of Eastwick and with Kevin Smith on Jersey Girl. His work with Woody Allen included Melinda and Melinda, Cassandra's Dream, and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.

Vilmos also worked on television shows. He won an Emmy Award in 1993 for his work on the HBO miniseries Stalin. He was nominated for another Emmy for the 2001 miniseries The Mists of Avalon. From 2012 to 2014, he also filmed 24 episodes of The Mindy Project.

A documentary called No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos was made about Vilmos's life and career. It aired on PBS in 2009.

In 2011, Vilmos Zsigmond helped start the Global Cinematography Institute in Los Angeles. This institute offers advanced education in cinematography for students and experienced filmmakers.

Vilmos was known for using special camera filters from a company called Tiffen. He was also associated with a technique called "flashing" or "pre-fogging." This involves carefully exposing the film to a small amount of light. It helps create a softer, more muted color look in the movie.

Death

Vilmos Zsigmond passed away on January 1, 2016, at his home in Big Sur, California. He was 85 years old.

Awards and Honors

• Oscar, 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography, 1978, The Deer Hunter
• National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography, 1973, The Long Goodbye
• Emmy Award, 1993, Stalin
• Nomination, Academy Award, 1978, The Deer Hunter
• Nomination, Academy Award, 1984, The River
• Nomination, Academy Award, 2006, The Black Dahlia
• Lifetime Achievement Award, 1997, from the Camerimage Festival
• Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999, from the American Society of Cinematographers
• Lifetime Achievement Award, 2010, from the Manaki Brothers Film Festival
• Lifetime Achievement Award, 2014, from the Cannes Film Festival

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Vilmos Zsigmond para niños

• No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (2008)