Chris Menges

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Chris Menges (born September 15, 1940 in Kingston, Herefordshire) is an English cinematographer and film director.

1 Biography
2 Other works
3 Filmography
- 3.1 as Cinematographer (selected)
- 3.2 as Director
4 External links

[edit] Biography

He began his career in the 1960s as camera operator for documentaries by Adrian Cowell and for movies like Poor Cow by Ken Loach and If... by Lindsay Anderson. Kes, directed by Ken Loach, was his first film as cinematographer. He was also behind the camera on Stephen Frears' first feature film Gumshoe in 1971.

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

In 1983 he received his first BAFTA nomination for the Bill Forsyth movie Local Hero and only a year later won his first Academy Award for the powerful film The Killing Fields about the genocide in Cambodia. He continued his work with helmer Roland Joffe and he won his second Oscar in 1986 with the historical drama The Mission.

In 1988 he gave his directional debut with A World Apart. This film was celebrated at the 1988 International Cannes Film Festival and won three major awards.

His second film as director Criss Cross with Goldie Hawn was a flop. In 1996 he moved back behind the camera to shoot the award winning films The Boxer (directed by Jim Sheridan) and Michael Collins (about the first IRA leader). For the latter he received his third Academy Award nomination in 1997.

[edit] Other works

Chris Menges also made brave documentaries. In the early 1970s he went to Burma with British film maker Adrian Cowell to shoot The Opium Warlords, a movie 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.