PETER SUSCHITZKY

#1: From interview [by filmz.dk]

#2: "The Vanishing" - photo by Thys Ockersen [1992]

PETER SUSCHITZKY ASC

Born: 25 July 1941, London, UK, as son of doph Wolfgang Suschitzky [1912-2016].

Education: IDHEC, Paris, France.

Career: Although music was his passion, he decided that cinematography would become his profession. 'At film school, the cinematographer-in-residence, Jean-Pierre Mundviller, had started work as a newsreel cameraman and then became a movie cinematographer in pre-revolution Russia. He'd been one of the cinematographers on 'Napoléon' [1925-26, Abel Gance]. He took me to the roof of the school building, where he'd had a hand-cranked camera installed. My first lesson on it consisted of him singing the marching song that French cameramen sang to keep a steady 18fps. He then proceeded to teach me how to make a fade in the camera and how to do a dissolve. To a very young student in the middle of the French New Wave, all that seemed to be a waste of time. However, those are the most treasured memories I have of the school, and the early lesson that I tended to dismiss as not being of any practical use made me think, years later, of our early, pioneering colleagues; because all effects were in-camera, they had to make decisions we are never obliged to make, such as choosing to stop a scene on a good take, winding the film back for a dissolve, and then taking the camera to the next location and going for the first take! It filled me with respect for the achievements of the silent era. Mundviller died only a few years after I studied with him, but contact with him made me feel I had touched the hand of someone who was present at the birth of the movies.' [From the ASC website.] After studying his trade in Paris he became a clapper boy at age 19 and a cameraman at 22.

Was a member of the BSC.

Ph numerous commercials dir by Douglas Hickox, Cliff Owen, Bob Brooks, Alan Parker, Ridley Scott, Brian Byfield [for Guinness], Terry Bedford, Paul Weiland, Giuseppe Tornatore, Roman Polanski, a.o.

Awards: BSC Award nom [1977] & BAFTA Film Award nom [1978] for 'Valentino'; 'Genie' Award [1989] for 'Dead Ringers'; NSFC Award [1991] for 'Where the Heart Is'; 'Genie' Award [1992] for 'Naked Lunch'; 'Genie' Award [1996] for 'Crash'; 'Genie' Award [2007] for 'Eastern Promises'; ICFF Manaki Brothers 'Life Achievement Award' [2009].

Website: Peter Suschitzky

About his films with David Cronenberg: Stylistically, Peter chooses to operate the camera on every picture he creates with David. "The first time I met David he said to me that is the way he likes to work. I said fine, I'll do that too. I think at that time I had only operated on one or two small pictures. Since then I have operated on other pictures, but I don't do it as a matter of course. I prefer to do it on intimate movies - intense movies like his. I really prefer it because it is a part of my visual job to compose the picture. Although I could describe to an operator how to start and finish a shot, it is the part that is in-between that is totally uncontrollable. It makes me feel like the first viewer of the movie. It gives me a great thrill!" [From the Fujifilm website.]

FILMS
1962	It Happened Here [Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mollo] b&w; addph (16mm): Kevin Brownlow; 'It Happened Here' was begun in 1956 as an amateur project on 16mm dir and ph by 18-year old asst film editor Kevin Brownlow. Andrew Mollo joined the project in 1957. Production continued intermittently between 1956 and 1962. Director Tony Richardson arranged for sufficient financing to complete the picture. The 16mm footage was blown-up to 35mm and the remainder of the film was ph on 35mm during a 40-day period between July 1962 and April 1963 by 22-year old Peter Suschitzky, who already had considerable experience as a doc cameraman. By May 1964 the 99 minute feature was finally ready.

FILMS

1962

It Happened Here [Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mollo] b&w; addph (16mm): Kevin Brownlow; 'It Happened Here' was begun in 1956 as an amateur project on 16mm dir and ph by 18-year old asst film editor Kevin Brownlow. Andrew Mollo joined the project in 1957. Production continued intermittently between 1956 and 1962. Director Tony Richardson arranged for sufficient financing to complete the picture. The 16mm footage was blown-up to 35mm and the remainder of the film was ph on 35mm during a 40-day period between July 1962 and April 1963 by 22-year old Peter Suschitzky, who already had considerable experience as a doc cameraman. By May 1964 the 99 minute feature was finally ready.

1964	Trinidad & Tobago [Geoffrey Jones] c; comm doc/19m; cph: Wolfgang Suschitzky; a BP (British Petroleum Company) Film
1964	The Meeting [Mamoun Hassan] c; short/10m
1965	Road to St. Tropez/La route de St. Tropez [Michael Sarne] ts/c; short/31m
1965	Mister Lewis [Malcolm Craddock] b&w; short/17m
1965	Creativity at School [James W. Roberts] 16mm/b&w; comm doc/30m; for Careers Research and Advisory Centre
1965	Blood Groups and Transfusion [A.E.C. Hopkins] c; comm doc/10m; for Ministry of Health, Central Office of Information
1965	Surface to Surface [Victor Menzies] c; comm doc/13m; for Unibond (a plastic adhesive)
1966	Can I Help You/Anybody's Problem [John Fletcher] b&w; comm doc/23m; for Foreign Office, Central Office of Information
1966	The Beach [Malcolm Craddock] 16mm/b&w; short/20m
1966	Privilege [Peter Watkins] c
1966	The Christmas Tree [Jim Clark] b&w; short/59m; for the Children's Film Foundation
1966	Giacometti [Michael Gill] b&w; doc/14m; cph: Ken Willicombe
1966	Charlie Bubbles [Albert Finney] c; + small part
1967	The Challenge [Michael Almaz] 16mm/?; comm doc/577Ft; cph: Dennis Lanning; for the Jewish Agency
1967	The Charge of the Light Brigade [Tony Richardson] p/c; 2uc; ph: David Watkin
1968	A Midsummer Night's Dream [Peter Hall] c
1968	A Touch of Love/Thank You All Very Much/The Millstone [Waris Hussein] c
1968	Gladiatorerna/The Peace Game/The Gladiators [Peter Watkins] c
1969	Leo the Last [John Boorman] c
1969	Lock Up Your Daughters! [Peter Coe] c
1969	Figures in a Landscape [Joseph Losey] p/c; cph: Henri Alekan; aph: Guy Tabary
1970	Melody/S.W.A.L.K. [Waris Hussein] c
1971	The Pied Piper [of Hamelin] [Jacques Demy] c
1971	Henry VIII and His Six Wives [Waris Hussein] c
*1972*	Inside the Third Reich [Andrew Birkin] unrealized; screen test with Donald Pleasence as Adolf Hitler was shot; filmed in 1982 as tvm
1973	That'll Be the Day [Claude Whatham & (uncred) Alan Parker] c
1974	The Rocky Horror Picture Show [Jim Sharman] c
1975	Lisztomania [Ken Russell] p/c
1976	Valentino [Ken Russell] c

[Left] "The Empire Strikes Back" - photo by George Whitear

1979	Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back/Star Wars - Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back [Irvin Kershner] p/c; studio 2uc (d: Harley Cokliss & John Barry): Chris Menges; loc 2uc (d: Peter MacDonald): Geoff Glover; 2uc: Howard Atherton; aph: Ron Goodman; spec vfx: Brian Johnson & Richard Edlund; efx ph: Dennis Muren; optical ph superv: Bruce Nicholson; matte ph: Stanley Sayer (cons), Neil Krepela & Michael Lawler (add); principal ph March-September 1979 (175 days)
1982	Krull [Peter Yates] c; 2uc: Chic Anstiss; vfx ph: Paul Wilson; optical efx: Robin Browne, Jamie Harcourt, Malcolm Vinson, John Fletcher, a.o.
1984	Falling in Love [Ulu Grosbard] c; addph: Ernie Miscelli; 2uc: Peter Norman
*1985*	Howard the Duck/Howard... A New Breed of Hero [Willard Huyck] was offered to ph this film, but he turned it down (possibly the reason why he didn't ph another 'Star Wars'-film); prod was ph by Richard H. Kline (1985-86)
1987	In extremis [Olivier Lorsac] c
1988	Dead Ringers/Twins/Alter ego [David Cronenberg] c; when ph Mark Irwin was unavailable because of another commitment, Suschitzky replaced him
1989	Where the Heart Is [John Boorman] c
1989	[William Peter Blatty's] The Exorcist III [: Legion] [William Peter Blatty] c; uncred 2uc; ph: Gerry Fisher
1990	Un homme et deux femmes/A Man and Two Women [Valérie Stroh] c
1991	Naked Lunch [David Cronenberg] c
1991	The Public Eye [Howard Franklin] c

[Right] next to dir George Sluizer - "The Vanishing" - photo by Thys Ockersen

1992	The Vanishing [George Sluizer] c; aph: Rex Metz
1992	M. Butterfly [David Cronenberg] c
1994	Immortal Beloved [Bernard Rose] p/c; uncred addph: Daryn Okada
1995	Crash [David Cronenberg] c
1996	Mars Attacks! [Tim Burton] p/c; stop motion ph: Eric Adkins; miniature ph: Patrick Sweeney
1997	The Man in the Iron Mask [Randall Wallace] c; 2uc: Henri Habans
1998	eXistenZ [David Cronenberg] c
1999	Red Planet [Antony Hoffman] p/c; 2uc: Geoffrey Wharton; miniature ph: Gary Hutzel
2001	Spider [David Cronenberg] c
2003	Shopgirl [Anand Tucker] p/c; 2uc: Rob Sweeney; aph: David B. Nowell

[Background] with David Cronenberg - "A History of Violence"

2004	A History of Violence [David Cronenberg] c
2005	Le concile de pierre/The Stone Council [Guillaume Nicloux] s35/c
2006	Eastern Promises [David Cronenberg] 35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c
2008	44 Inch Chest [Malcolm Venville] c; addph; ph: Daniel Landin
2010	A Dangerous Method [David Cronenberg] s35-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c
2011	Cosmopolis [David Cronenberg] HD (ARRI ALEXA)-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c

[Right] with M. Night Shyamalan - "After Earth"

Photo by Frank Masi

2012	After Earth [M. Night Shyamalan] HD (Sony F65 + Canon EOS C500)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; aph: Phil Pastuhov
2013	Maps to the Stars [David Cronenberg] HD (Sony F55)/c
2014	Il racconto dei racconti/Tale of Tales [Matteo Garrone] HD (ARRI ALEXA XT)/c
2014	A Bigger Splash [Luca Guadagnino] 35mm+HD (Sony F55)-to-digital/c; ph UK; ph: Yorick Le Saux; remake of 'La piscine' (1968, Jacques Deray; ph: Jean-Jacques Tarbès)

TELEVISION
1965	The War Game [Peter Watkins] doc/b&w/46m; cph: Peter Bartlett; aired by BBC-tv in July 1985
1966	Francis Bacon: Fragments of a Portrait [Michael Gill] doc/b&w/44m; for BBC-tv
1974	All Creatures Great and Small [Claude Whatham] tvm
1993	Fallen Angels [ep #2 'I'll Be Waiting' dir by Tom Hanks & #4 'The Frightening Frammis' dir by Tom Cruise] 15-part series, 1993 & 1995; 1st season, 1993; other ph: Emmanuel Lubezki (2 ep) & Declan Quinn (2 ep)
2003	The Real George Orwell/George Orwell [Leo Burley] doc/b&w-c/51m; ep LWT-tv series 'The South Bank Show'

MISCELLANEOUS
1964	I Do - And I Understand [Derek Williams; comm doc] c.op; ph: Brian Probyn
1964	Portrait of Queenie [Michael Orrom; mus doc] co-c.op; ph: Peter Hennessy
2010	George Harrison: Living in the Material World [Martin Scorsese; doc] co-c.op; ph: Robert Richardson & Martin Kenzie; filming started late 2007; premiered in 2-parts on HBO-tv (2011)