LUÍS CUADRADO

GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHERS

#2: From interview [1978]

LUÍS CUADRADO

Born: 1934, Toro [Zamora], Spain, as Luís Enrique Cuadrado Encinar.

Died: 18 January 1980, Madrid, Spain [suicide].

Education: Escuela Oficial de Cinematografía [EOC], Madrid [1957-63].

Career: Abandoned his medical studies after 2 years to work at his father's glassworks. Went to film school. Worked as c.op until 1965.

Ph commercials dir by Basilio Martín Patino, a.o.

Was going blind while making 'El espíritu de la colmena/The Spirit of the Beehive'. An assistant would take Polaroids of the scenes and Cuadrado would direct the lighting by looking through a magnifying glass at these pictures. Later Cuadrado committed suicide after the tumor in his brain became too painful to face.

Awards: Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos Award [1970] for 'El jardín de las delicias', a.o.; Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos 'Mejor Labor Fotográfica' Award [1973] for 'El espíritu de la colmena', 'Ana y los lobos' & 'Habla, mudita'; Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos Award [1974].

'El espíritu de la colmena/The Spirit of the Beehive' [1973]: 'I once showed a dozen or so classic non-American films to students at the Royal College of Art. To my surprise, despite the fact that the list included the work of such world-renowned directors as Luis Buñuel, Satyajit Ray and Kenji Mizoguchi, the film they fell in love with was Victor Erice's 'El espíritu de la colmena/The Spirit of the Beehive'. They rightly thought it close to magic. It is one of the most beautiful and arresting films ever made in Spain, or anywhere in the past 25 years or so. […] The film is cloaked in quiet and sadness, through which its children move almost as if in a dream world of their own. It is brilliantly shot by the great Luís Cuadrado in atmospherically muted colors: the series of dissolves with which he denotes the passing of time outside the makeshift cinema where the children see 'Frankenstein' provides one stunning sequence, but there are many. Few know that Cuadrado was going blind at the time, which makes his work all the more remarkable.' [Derek Malcolm in 'The Guardian', September 16, 1999.]

'El espíritu de la colmena/The Spirit of the Beehive': 'Part of the film's wistful air can be certainly laid down to the remarkable cinematography; Bergman-like interiors are bathed in light streaming through the hexagonal-patterned [beehive-like] windows, betraying a debt to Vermeer both compositionally and in terms of the rich golden hues. Exterior shots are similarly rich in color, the Castilian plains as full and golden as anything we would later see. Cinematographer Luís Cuadrado was slowly going blind around the time in which the picture was shot, and it is all the more remarkable that the subtle nuances of chiaroscuro indoors, as well as the more grandiose outdoor shots, are as superbly photographed as they are.'

FILMS AT THE ACADEMY [EOC]
1960	Día de paro [Antonio Eceiza] b&w; short/6m
1960	Tarde de domingo [Basilio Martín Patino] c.op; ph: Chang Pao-Ching
1961	En el río [José Luis Borau Moradell] c.op; ph: Armando Rodríguez González-Posada
1961	Cuartelazo [Héctor Sevillano] ?
1961	La lágrima del diablo [Julio Diamante] b&w; short/21m
1962	El borracho [Mario Camus] b&w; short/19m
1962	Un martes [Wilhelm Ziener] b&w; short/9m
1962	Jueves Santo [Pascual Cervera] b&w; short/8m
1962	Felipe el Hermoso [Wilhelm Ziener] b&w; short/9m
1962	Turno de noche [Luis Enrique Torán] b&w; short/15m

FILMS
1961	[Minas de] Río Tinto [Luis Enrique Torán] c; doc/38m
1962	Capital Madrid [José Luis Borau] c; doc/30m; cph: Luis Enrique Torán
1962	A través del fútbol [Antonio Eceiza & Elías Querejeta] b&w; doc/11m
1962	Playa insólita [Javier Aguirre] c; short/20m
1964	Los seis días [Jesús Yagüe] b&w; doc/14m; cph: Luis Enrique Torán
1964	Vitoria Stop [Javier Sagastizábal] c; doc/17m; cph: Luis Enrique Torán
1964	Potencia para el desarrollo [Manuel del Río] c; doc/90m; cph: Luis Enrique Torán, Fernando Arribas, Raúl Artigot, Fernando Espiga & Lorenzo de Pablo
1964	Vizcaya 4 [Javier Aguirre] c; doc/14m; cph: Luis Enrique Torán
1964	España insólita [Javier Aguirre] c; doc/78m; cph: Manuel Rojas & Milton Stefani
1965	El memorial del agua [Luis Enrique Torán] c; doc/18m; cph: L.E. Torán & Fernando Arribas
1965	San Juan del Toro [Nadia Werba] c; doc/11m; cph: Diego Úbeda
1965	De cuerpo presente [Antonio Eceiza] b&w (+ 1 scene in color)
1965	La caza/The Hunt [Carlos Saura] b&w
1965	Lejos de los árboles [Jacinto Esteva] b&w; doc/101m; cph: Juan Amorós, Milton Stefany, Juan Julio Baena & Francisco Marín; filmed 1965-70; released in 1972
1965	Algo de amor [Gabriel Blanco] b&w; doc/22m; cph: Fernando Arribas & José Miguel López Sáez
1965	Cualquier mañana [Gabriel Blanco] b&w; doc/22m; cph: Fernando Arribas & Jesús Jiménez
1965	Juguetes rotos/Broken Toys [Manuel Summers] b&w; cph: Francisco Fraile
1966	Maestros del duende [Nadia Werba] b&w; doc/12m
1966	Unos chicos, unas chicas [Nadia Werba] b&w; doc/13m
1966	Último encuentro/The Last Meeting [Antonio Eceiza] b&w
1966	Mañana será otro día [Jaime Camino] ts/c
1966	Ama Lur - Tierra Madre [Néstor Basterretxea & Fernando Larruquert] ts/c; doc/103m; cph: Julio Amóstegui
1967	Catch [Nadia Werba] b&w; doc/14m
1967	La Costa Brava [José Luis Font] c; doc/20m; cph: Luis Enrique Torán
1967	No conteu amb els oits/No contéis con los dedos/Carmen [Pere (= Pedro Portabella)] b&w-c; exp short/33m
1967	Peppermint frappé [Carlos Saura] c
1967	Si volvemos a vernos/Smashing Up [Francisco Regueiro] ts/c
1967	Sábado en la playa [Esteban Farré] b&w
1968	Nocturno 29 [Pedro Portabella] b&w-c
1968	El Baldiri de la costa [José María Font Espina] ts/c
1968	-Stress-es tres-tres-/Stress Is Three [Carlos Saura] b&w
1968	Los desafíos/The Challenges [Claudio Guerín, José Luis Egea & Víctor Erice] c; 3 seg
1968	España otra vez/Spain Again [Jaime Camino] c
1968	Cantando a la vida [Angelino Fons] c; 2uc: Julio Ortas
1968	La madriguera/Honeycomb [Carlos Saura] c
1969	Del amor y otras soledades/Love and Other Solitudes [Basilio Martín Patino] ts/c
1969	Alcántara, un millón de kilowatios [Luciano González Egido] c; doc/553mtr; cph: Antonio Pérez Olea, José Luis Alcaine, José Miguel López Sáez & Miguel Angel Martín
1969	Deseoconsumo [Miguel Cañones] b&w-c; doc/15m; cph: José Luis Alcaine, Roberto Gómez & Gilberto Azevedo
1969	Jurtzenka [Un invierno en Mallorca, ó George Sand y Federico Chopin] [Jaime Camino] c
1969	Las secretas intenciones/Secret Intentions [Antonio Eceiza] c
1969	Un, dos, tres... al escondite inglés [Iván Zulueta] c
1969	Urtain, el rey de la selva... o así/Urtain, King of the Mountains [Manuel Summers] c
1970	Las sepulcrales [Tomás Aznar] c; short/14m
1970	El jardín de las delicias/The Garden of Delights [Carlos Saura] scope/c
1970	Goya. Historia de una soledad [Nino Quevedo] ts/c; cph: José F. Aguayo
1970	Los jóvenes amantes/Adoro [Benito Alazraki] c
1971	Consejos a los rumiantes [Jesús García de Dueñas] c; short/11m
1971	Permanencia del arabesco [Jaime Chávarri] c; doc/8m
1971	Adiós, cigüeña, adiós [Manuel Summers] c
1971	Condenados a viver/Bronson's Revenge/Cut-Throats Nine [Joaquín Luis Romero-Marchent] c
1971	Mi querida señorita/My Dearest Senorita [Jaime de Armiñán] c
1971	Diabólica malicia/Child of the Night/Night Hair Child/What the Peeper Saw [James Kelley & Andrea Bianchi] c; cph: Harry Waxman
1971	Pastel de sangre/Blood Pie/Cake of Blood [José María Vallés, Emilio Martínez Lázaro, Francisco Bellmunt & Jaime Chávarri] ts/c
1972	La casa sin fronteras [Pedro Olea] c

1972	La banda J. & S. Cronaca criminale del far-west/Los hijos del día y de la noche/Sonny and Jed/Bandera Bandits/Far West Story [Sergio Corbucci] ts/c; cph (?): Alejandro Ulloa; + small part
1972	Ciento treinta y ocho [José Luis Alexanco] ?; short/50m
1972	Mi profesora particular [Jaime Camino] c
1972	Carta de amor de un asesino [Francisco Regueiro] c

1972	Ana y los lobos/Anna and the Wolves [Carlos Saura] c
1973	Proceso a Jesús [José Luis Sáenz de Heredia] c
1973	Habla, mudita/Don Ramiro [Manuel Gutíerrez Aragón] c
1973	El espíritu de la colmena/The Spirit of the Beehive [Víctor Erice] c; see above
1973	La prima Angélica/Cousin Angelica [Carlos Saura] c
1973	Verflucht, dies Amerika/La banda de Jaider/Yankee Dudler [Volker Vogeler] c
1973	El amor del capitán Brando [Jaime de Armiñán] c

With actor Burgess Meredith [right]

"Hay que matar a B."

1974	Hay que matar a B./B Must Die [José Luis Borau] c
1974	Il bianco, il giallo, il nero/El blanco, el amarillo, el negro/White, the Yellow, and the Black/Samurai/Shoot First... Ask Questions Later [Sergio Corbucci] ts/c
1974	La regenta/The Regent's Wife [Gonzalo Suárez] scope/c
1974	Las cosas bien hechas [Pedro Vidal] c; doc/14m
1974	Memoria/Las bestias no se mirán al espejo [Francisco Macián] c; sfx ph: Gilberto Soriano
1974	El clan de los Nazarenos [Joaquín Luis Romero-Marchent] c
1975	Furtivos [José Luis Borau] c
1975	La muerte del escorpión [Gonzalo Herralde] ts/c
1975	Pascual Duarte/La familia de Pascual Duarte [Ricardo Franco] c
1976	Emilia... parada y fonda [Angelino Fons] c
1976	Mi primer pecado/Charlie and the Hooker [Manuel Summers] c

TELEVISION
1967	Valencia de Blasco Ibáñez [José Luis Font] doc/b&w; cph: Francisco Madurga & Teodoro Escamilla

MISCELLANEOUS
1959	Los golfos/The Delinquents [Carlos Saura] general asst; ph: Juan Julio Baena
1959	El cochecito/The Wheelchair/The Little Coach [Marco Ferreri] general asst; ph: Juan Julio Baena
1960	Día de muertos [Julián Marcos & Joaquín Jordá; doc] 2nd c.asst; ph: Juan Julio Baena & Luis Enrique Torán
1961	A través de San Sebastián [Antonio Eceiza & Elías Qerejeta; doc] 2nd c.asst; ph: Luis Enrique Torán
1963	El próximo otoño [Antonio Eceiza] 2nd c.op; ph: Luis Enrique Torán
1964	Crimen de doble filo [José Luis Borau] c.op; ph: Luis Enrique Torán
1964	Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus gli invincibili/Samson and the Mighty Challenge [Giorgio Capitani] co-2nd c.asst; ph: Carlo Bellero
1965	Megatón ye ye [Jesús Yagüe] 2nd c.op; ph: Armando Rodríguez González-Posada
1965	Muere una mujer [Mario Camus] 2nd c.op; ph: Víctor Monreal