Christopher Challis
Christopher Challis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christopher George Joseph Challis 18 March 1919 London, England |
| Died | 31 May 2012 (aged 93) Bristol, England |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
Christopher George Joseph Challis BSC, FRPS[1] (18 March 1919 – 31 May 2012)[2] was a British cinematographer who worked on more than 70 feature films from the 1940s onwards.[3]
Career
After working as
His expertise in colour cinematography meant that he was frequently chosen by British film makers of the 1950s to work on their projects, and he worked on a number of successful comedies, including
Challis is credited with being the first person to create specially modified 5000-watt 'Senior' luminaries to provide cinematic lighting underwater while filming The Deep in 1976.[5]
Martin Scorsese said: "It is not possible even to begin to take the full measure of the greatness of British filmmaking without thinking of Chris Challis," and: "Chris Challis brought a vibrancy to the celluloid palette that was entirely his own, and which helped make Britain a leader in that long, glorious period of classic world cinema."[6]
Challis was also an accomplished and enthusiastic still photographer. He joined The Royal Photographic Society in 1936, gaining his Associateship in 1945 and Fellowship in 1948. He remained a member until his death.[7]
Publications
His autobiography, Are They Really So Awful?: A Cameraman's Chronicle, was published by Janus Publishing Company (
Challis also features in the book Conversations with Cinematographers (Scarecrow Press) by David A. Ellis (2012).
References
- ^ "404: Not found | British Society of Cinematographers".
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ "Chris Challis BSC 18.3.1919 – 31.5.2012". bscine.com.
- ^ An obituary was published here: http://www.rps.org/news/detail/society_news/obituary_christopher_g_j_challis_frps_(1919-2012) Archived 20 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Christopher Challis". Telegraph.co.uk. 17 August 2012.
- ^ "Where was Jacqueline Bisset's wet t-shirt scene filmed?". 3 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "A Tribute to Christopher Challis". bafta.org. 23 January 2012.
- ^ Information from The Royal Photographic Society / http://www.rps.org Archived 2019-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Christopher Challis at IMDb
- Obituary – The Times
- Obituary – The Scotsman
- Obituary – The Guardian
- A Tribute to Christopher Challis on BAFTA.org.
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