Chris Menges

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Chris Menges
Born (1940-09-15) 15 September 1940 (age 84)
Occupation(s)Cinematographer and film director
Years active1959–2019
Father Herbert Menges

Chris Menges BSC, ASC (born 15 September 1940) is a British cinematographer and film director.

Contents

He is a member of both the American and British Societies of Cinematographers.

Life and career

Menges was born in Kington, Herefordshire, the son of the composer and conductor Herbert Menges. [1] He began his career in the 1960s as camera operator for documentaries by Adrian Cowell, and for films including Poor Cow by Ken Loach and If.... by Lindsay Anderson. Kes , directed by Ken Loach, was his first film as cinematographer. Menges was also behind the camera on Stephen Frears' first feature film Gumshoe in 1971.

After several documentaries and feature films, such as Black Beauty (1971), Bloody Kids (1978), The Game Keeper (1980), Babylon (1980) and Angel (1982), Menges became notable for more ambitious works, for which he was critically acclaimed.

In 1983, Menges received his first BAFTA nomination for the Bill Forsyth film Local Hero , and only a year later won his first Academy Award for the film The Killing Fields about the genocide in Cambodia. He continued his work with helmer Roland Joffe, and Menges won his second Oscar in 1986 with the historical drama The Mission . He also shot a television play titled Made in Britain, starring Tim Roth, in 1983.

In 1988, Menges made his directorial debut with A World Apart . This film was celebrated at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and won three major awards. [2]

His second film as director, CrissCross with Goldie Hawn, received critical acclaim, but was a box-office flop. In 1996 he moved back behind the camera to shoot the award-winning films The Boxer (directed by Jim Sheridan) and Michael Collins . For the latter, he received his third Academy Award nomination in 1997.

Menges also made documentaries. In the early 1970s, he went to Burma with British film maker Adrian Cowell to shoot The Opium Warlords, a film about the drug trade. After the release of the documentary in 1974, the Burmese government was said to have put a price on their heads. Menges is mentioned in the book Conversations with Cinematographers by David A. Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press.

Filmography

Cinematographer

Documentary film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1968Abel Gance: The Charm of Dynamite Kevin Brownlow
1969Wild and Free Twice DailyHimself
1971 The Save the Children Fund Film Ken Loach
1981East 103rd StreetHimself
1984Which Side Are You On?Ken LoachWith Jimmy Dibling
1987Jin San Jiao ya pian jun fa jie mi Adrian Cowell
Wai-Chuen Yung
2003 Concert for George David Leland
2019Voice of LandHenrique Bouduard

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1968 Last of the Long-haired Boys Peter EverettUncredited
1969 Kes Ken Loach
1970 Loving Memory Tony Scott With Tony Scott and John Metcalfe
1971 Black Beauty James Hill
Gumshoe Stephen Frears
1979 Black Jack Ken Loach
1980 Babylon Franco Rosso
The Gamekeeper Ken LoachWith Charles Stewart
1981 A Sense of Freedom John Mackenzie Lighting cameraman
Looks and Smiles Ken Loach
1982 Battletruck Harley Cokeliss
Angel Neil Jordan
1983 Local Hero Bill Forsyth Lighting cameraman
1984 Comfort and Joy
The Killing Fields Roland Joffé
Winter Flight Roy Battersby
1985 Marie Roger Donaldson
1986 The Mission Roland Joffé
Fatherland Ken Loach
1987 Shy People Andrei Konchalovsky
High Season Clare Peploe
1996 Michael Collins Neil Jordan
1997 The Boxer Jim Sheridan
2001 The Pledge Sean Penn
2002 Dirty Pretty Things Stephen Frears
The Good Thief Neil Jordan
2004 Criminal Gregory Jacobs
2005 Tickets Ken Loach
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Tommy Lee Jones
North Country Niki Caro
2006 Notes on a Scandal Richard Eyre
2008 The Yellow Handkerchief Udayan Prasad
Stop-Loss Kimberly Peirce
The Reader Stephen Daldry With Roger Deakins
2010 Route Irish Ken Loach
London Boulevard William Monahan
2011 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Stephen Daldry
2013 Hummingbird Steven Knight
2019 Waiting for the Barbarians Ciro Guerra

Director

Documentary film

Feature film

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

YearTitleCategoryResult
1984The Killing Fields Best Cinematography Won
1986The MissionWon
1996Michael CollinsNominated
2008The ReaderNominated

BAFTA Awards

YearTitleCategoryResult
1983Local Hero Best Cinematography Nominated
1984The Killing FieldsWon
1986The MissionNominated
1996Michael CollinsNominated
2008The ReaderNominated

American Society of Cinematographers

YearTitleCategoryResult
1986The Mission Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Nominated
1996Michael CollinsNominated
1997The BoxerNominated
2008The ReaderNominated

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

YearTitleCategoryResult
1984The Killing Fields Best Cinematography Won
1986The MissionWon
1996Michael CollinsWon

National Society of Film Critics

YearTitleCategoryResult
1984Comfort and Joy Best Cinematography Won
The Killing FieldsWon
1996Michael CollinsNominated

New York Film Critics Circle

YearTitleCategoryResult
1984The Killing Fields Best Cinematography Won
1986The MissionNominated

Other awards

YearTitleAward/Nomination
1984The Killing Fields Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
1996Michael CollinsNominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography

References

  1. "Chris Menges Biography (1940-)". www.filmreference.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. "Festival de Cannes: A World Apart". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2009.