Adrian Biddle, (20 July 1952 – 7 December 2005), was an English

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Early life

Biddle was a talented

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

in his youth, and it was through this that he broke into the film industry. In 1967 the underwater photographer Egil Woxholt hired him to be his apprentice. Uncredited, he worked in this capacity on both the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969) and '' Murphy's War'' (1971).

Career

After this, Biddle worked for

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

's advertising company R.S.A., where he worked on many advertisements with Scott; and, when Scott moved into films, Biddle followed him. He worked as a

clapper loader A clapper loader or second assistant camera (2nd AC) is part of a film crew whose main functions are that of loading the raw film stock into camera magazines, operating the clapperboard (slate) at the beginning of each take, marking the actors as ...

on ''

The Duellists ''The Duellists'' is a 1977 British historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott and produced by David Puttnam. Set in France during the Napoleonic Wars, the film focuses on a series of duels between two rival officers, the obsessive Bonapar ...

'' (1977) before advancing to the position of

focus puller A focus puller or first assistant camera (1st AC) is a member of a film crew's camera department whose primary responsibility is to maintain the camera lens's optical focus on whatever subject or action is being filmed. "Pulling focus" refers t ...

on '' Alien'' (1979). Following ''Alien'', Biddle returned to working as a cinematographer on advertisements. During this time he developed some new lighting techniques and worked on several famous campaigns, most notably ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

'' (1984), directed by Ridley Scott, for

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

. The advert's photography, combined with a personal recommendation from Scott, prompted

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

to hire Biddle for '' Aliens'' (1986) after the original cinematographer

Dick Bush Richard Henry Bush (24 June 1931 – 4 August 1997) was a prolific British cinematographer whose career spanned over thirty years. Among his films are Ken Russell's '' Savage Messiah'' (1972), ''Mahler'' (1974) and '' Tommy'' (1975), John Schles ...

left over creative differences with Cameron. This marked Biddle's first credit as cinematographer in a feature film. Biddle was a cinematographer on another 25 feature films, including ''

Thelma & Louise ''Thelma & Louise'' is a 1991 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. The film stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as Louise and Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforese ...

'' (1991), for which he received a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...

. In 1997, he was voted European Cinematographer of the Year for his work on '' The Butcher Boy''.

Death

On December 7, 2005, Biddle died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while being driven by his wife to shoot a commercial in Central London. He was 53 years old. ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (comics), David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing Serial (li ...

'', which he had finished filming, was dedicated to his memory. He was survived by his wife Mo and his three children, Alice, Esther and Alfie, who is also a cinematographer.

Filmography

Film Television

Accolades

References

External links

*
Guardian Unlimited obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Adrian 1952 births 2005 deaths English cinematographers European Film Award for Best Cinematographer winners People from Woolwich Underwater photographers