Chris Menges BSC,

ASC ASC may refer to: Educational institutions * Anglican Schools Commission, Australia * Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig, located in Surigao del Sur, Philippines * Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia Organizations Australia * Australian Singi ...

(born 15 September 1940) is a British cinematographer and film director. He is a member of both the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and British Societies of Cinematographers.

Life and career

Menges was born in Kington, Herefordshire, the son of the composer and conductor

Herbert Menges Herbert Menges OBE (27 August 190220 February 1972) was an English conductor and composer, who wrote incidental music to all of Shakespeare's plays. Life and career Siegfried Frederick Herbert Menges was born in Hove on 27 August 1902. His fat ...

. He began his career in the 1960s as camera operator for documentaries by Adrian Cowell and for films like '' Poor Cow'' by Ken Loach and '' If....'' by

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for ...

. '' Kes'', directed by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

, was his first film as cinematographer. He was also behind the camera on

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

' first feature film '' Gumshoe'' in 1971. After several documentaries and feature films like '' Black Beauty'' (1971), ''

Bloody Kids ''Bloody Kids'' is a British television film written by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Stephen Frears, made by Black Lion Films for ATV, and first shown on ITV on 22 March 1980. Cast * Derrick O'Connor as Detective Ritchie (Richard Beckinsa ...

'' (1978), ''The Game Keeper'' (1980), ''Babylon'' (1980) and ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...

'' (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 William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946). known as Bill Forsyth, is a Scottish film director and writer known for his films '' Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Ma ...

film '' Local Hero'' and only a year later won his first

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for the film ''

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'' about the

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

. He continued his work with helmer Roland Joffe and he 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 Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

in 1983. In 1988 he made his directorial debut with '' A World Apart''. This film was celebrated at the

1988 Cannes Film Festival The 41st Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 23 May 1988. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Pelle erobreren'' by Bille August. The festival opened with '' Le Grand Bleu'', directed by Luc Besson and closed with ''Willow'', directed by Ron How ...

and won three major awards. His second film as director '' CrissCross'' with

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...

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 "The Boxer" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth studio album, '' Bridge over Troubled Water'' (1970). Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, it was released as a standalone sing ...

'' (directed by

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed two critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, '' My Left Foot'' and '' In the Name of the Father'', and later directed the fi ...

) and ''

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...

''. 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. He is mentioned in the book ''Conversations with Cinematographers'' by David A. Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press.

Filmography

Film (as cinematographer)

As director

*1988: '' A World Apart'' *1992: '' CrissCross'' *1994: '' Second Best'' *1999: '' The Lost Son''

References

External links

Chris Menges at Screenonline
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menges, Chris 1940 births Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners Best Cinematography BAFTA Award winners British cinematographers English film directors English people of German descent Living people People from Kington, Herefordshire