- Vilmos Zsigmond
Infobox actor
name = Vilmos Zsigmond, A.S.C.
caption = Vilmos Zsigmond at 43rdKVIFF
birthdate =June 16 ,1930
birthplace =Szeged ,Hungary Vilmos Zsigmond, A.S.C. (born
June 16 ,1930 ) is a Hungarian-Americancinematographer .Biography
Zsigmond was born in
Szeged ,Hungary , the son of Bozena (née Illichman), an administrator, and Vilmos Zsigmond, a coach and soccer goalie. [http://www.filmreference.com/film/0/Vilmos-Zsigmond.html Vilmos Zsigmond Biography (1930-) ] ] He studied cinema at theAcademy of Drama and Film in Budapest and Film Art inBudapest . Together with his friend and fellow student László Kovács, he filmed the events of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution inBudapest and then smuggled the film out of the country shortly afterwards.In 1962, he became a
naturalized citizen of the United States. He settled inLos Angeles and worked in photo labs as a technician and photographer. During the 1960s, he worked on many low-budget independent films and educational films, as he attempted to break into the film industry. Some of the films that he worked on during this period credited him as "William Zsigmond," including the classic horror B-Film, "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies ". In 1964 working with a favorite crew which included Laszlo Kovacs, Jim Enochs, and Ernie Reed, Vilmos shot the European style, neo-noir, black and white film "Summer Children" (aka a Hot Summer Game)which has recently been fully restored digitally for DVD release. The first film he worked on in the United States was "The Sadist," starringArch Hall, Jr. He gained prominence during the 1970s working on
Robert Altman 's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller " and "The Long Goodbye" andSteven Spielberg 's 1977 film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind ", the latter of which won him theAcademy Award for Best Cinematography . Zsigmond has worked withBrian De Palma on "Obsession", "Blow Out ", "The Bonfire of the Vanities", and "The Black Dahlia", and withMichael Cimino on "The Deer Hunter " and "Heaven's Gate".Has been a longtime user and endorser of
Tiffen filters.Awards and nominations
* Oscar, 1977, "
Close Encounters of the Third Kind "
* Nomination,Academy Award , 1978, "The Deer Hunter "
* Nomination,Academy Award , 1984,Mark Rydell 's "The River"
* Nomination,Academy Award , 2006, "The Black Dahlia".
* Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999, from theAmerican Society of Cinematographers References
External links
*
* [http://www.cinematographers.nl/PaginasDoPh/zsigmond.htm Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers profile]
* [http://www.hscmot.hu/bcm/masters.html Budapest Cinematographers MasterClass's Master]
* [http://www.sulinet.hu/tart/cikk/kc/0/12999/1 Sulinet-Panteon] (Hungarian)
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