Carlo Di Palma (17 April 19259 July 2004) was an Italian

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 ...

, renowned for his work on both color and black-and-white films, whose most famous collaborations were with

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

and

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

Early life

Carlo Di Palma was born into a poor Roman family; his mother was a flower seller on the

Spanish Steps The Spanish Steps () in Rome, Italy, climb a steep slope between Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top. The monumental stairway of 135 steps is linked with the Trinit� ...

, while his father was a camera operator for a number of Italian film studios. In an interview shortly before his death, Di Palma recounted his childhood memories of observing his father in action: "I'd run to the studio or the location, and watch my father work. I was fascinated by the whole experience. I would stand on a crate sometimes and watch. All of the people that were on the location were pleasant to me. I was very quiet and observant, so with that they let me stay on set. I would watch many different directors over and over."

Career

Di Palma's collaborations with Antonioni included '' Il deserto rosso'' (1964); the "Il provino" segment in ''I tre volti'' (1965); '' Blowup'' (1966); ''Identification of a Woman ( Identificazione di una donna)'' (1982). With Woody Allen, he worked on ''

Hannah and Her Sisters ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' is a 1986 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begins and ends with a family Thanksgiving#Thanksgiving dinner, Than ...

'' (1986), '' Radio Days'' (1987), ''

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

'' (1987), ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'' (1990), '' Shadows and Fog'' (1991), ''

Husbands and Wives ''Husbands and Wives'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Allen, Mia Farrow, Sydney Pollack, Judy Davis, Lysette Anthony, Juliette Lewis, Liam Neeson and Blythe Danner. The film debuted sho ...

'' (1992), '' Manhattan Murder Mystery'' (1993), '' Bullets Over Broadway'' (1994), '' Don't Drink the Water'' (1994), ''

Mighty Aphrodite ''Mighty Aphrodite'' is a 1995 American comedy film written, directed by, and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Mira Sorvino, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Rapaport, and F. Murray Abraham. The screenplay was vaguely inspired by the story of ' ...

'' (1995), '' Everyone Says I Love You'' (1996), and '' Deconstructing Harry'' (1997). He also worked with many other noted film directors during his long and productive career. He is also a little-known film director. Carlo Di Palma moved from Italy to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1983. He won a

Silver Ribbon The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

for best cinematography four times: in 1965 for '' Il deserto rosso'', in 1967 for '' L'armata Brancaleone'', in 1993 for '' Shadows and Fog'', and in 1997 for ''

'', as well as the Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema award in 2003.

Later years

Di Palma was hired to shoot Allen's film '' Anything Else'' (2003), and actually started

location scouting Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work ...

before failing an insurance physical, which was required for all key personnel on the crew, resulting in his replacement by Darius Khondji, to Di Palma's great disappointment, as he had been eager to work again after having been on the sidelines for the past six years.

Personal life

In the 1980s, Di Palma married Adriana Chiesa, an exporter of Italian films. She nursed him through his final illness.

Filmography

Cinematographer

Film

Short film

Television

Director

* '' Teresa the Thief'' (1973) * '' Blonde in Black Leather'' (1975) (Also writer) * ''Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino'' (1976) * ''L'addio a Enrico Berlinguer'' (1984) (Documentary film)

References

External links

*
Carlo Di Palma interview
by Nicholas Pasquariello in April, 1974 {{DEFAULTSORT:Di Palma, Carlo 1925 births 2004 deaths European Film Awards winners (people) American cinematographers Italian cinematographers Film people from Rome