Sacha Vierny (10 August 1919 – 15 May 2001) was a French

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 ...

. He was born in Bois-le-Roi, Seine-et-Marne,

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

, France, and died in Paris, France, at the age of 81. He is most famous for his work with

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct short films including '' Night and Fog ...

– especially for the two films ''

Hiroshima mon amour (, lit. , ) is a 1959 romantic drama film directed by French director Alain Resnais and written by French author Marguerite Duras. Resnais' first feature-length work, it was a co-production between France and Japan, and documents a series o ...

'' and '' L'année dernière à Marienbad'' – and with

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

(''

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover ''The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' is a 1989 crime drama art film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren and Alan Howard in the title roles. An international co-production of ...

'', ''

Prospero's Books ''Prospero's Books'' is a 1991 British avant-garde film adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''The Tempest'', written and directed by Peter Greenaway. Sir John Gielgud plays Prospero, the protagonist who provides the off-screen narration and ...

'').

Career

Alain Resnais and Vierny made 10 films together from 1955 to 1984, starting with the Holocaust film ''

Night and Fog ''Nacht und Nebel'' (German: ), meaning Night and Fog, also known as the Night and Fog Decree, was a directive issued by Adolf Hitler on 7 December 1941 targeting political activists and resistance "helpers" in the territories occupied by Naz ...

'' (''Nuit et brouillard'' in original French) and ending with ''

L'amour à mort ''Love unto Death'' (original title: ''L'Amour à mort'') is a 1984 French drama film directed by Alain Resnais. Plot Elisabeth, a scientist, lives with Simon, an archaeologist. One night, Simon suffers a seizure and is declared dead by a doct ...

''. He was the cinematographer of choice for British film-maker Peter Greenaway from ''

A Zed & Two Noughts ''A Zed & Two Noughts'' is a 1985 film written and directed by Peter Greenaway. This film was Greenaway's first collaboration with cinematographer Sacha Vierny, who went on to shoot virtually all of Greenaway's work in the 1980s and 1990s, unti ...

'' (1985) onward, and shot virtually everything Greenaway directed, including his television work, up to and including ''

8½ Women '' Women'' is a 1999 comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway and starring John Standing, Matthew Delamere, and Vivian Wu. An international co-production of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany, it was en ...

'' (1999). Greenaway has also referred to Vierny as his "most important collaborator

Vierny also worked with such directors as

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

('' Belle de jour''), Raoul Ruiz,

Pierre Kast Pierre Kast (; 22 September 192020 October 1984) was a French people, French screenwriter, film and television director, and freedom fighter. Biography Prior to his work in film, Kast was a resistance activist in World War II, opposing the Vichy F ...

Chris Marker Chris Marker (; 29 July 1921 – 29 July 2012) (born ''Christian-François Bouche-Villeneuve'') was a French writer, photographer, documentary film director, multimedia artist and Essay#Film, film essayist. His best known films are ''La Jetée' ...

and Paul Paviot.

Filmography (features)

* ''

The Man Who Cried ''The Man Who Cried'' is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Sally Potter, and starring Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton and John Turturro. The film tells the story of a young Jewish girl who, after being s ...

'' (2000) * '' 8 ½ Women'' (1999) * '' Dormez, je le veux!'' (1998) * ''

The Pillow Book is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Fujiwara no Teishi, Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002. The wor ...

'' (1996) * ''

The Baby of Mâcon ''The Baby of Mâcon'' is a 1993 historical drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, and starring Ralph Fiennes, Julia Ormond and Philip Stone, in his final film appearance. The film is set in Tuscany during the mid-17th century, in ...

'' (1993) * '' L'Autre Célia'' (1992) * ''

Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: Plants and animals * ''Rosa'' (plant), the genus of roses * Rosa (sea otter), a sea otter that has become popular on the internet * Rosa (cow), a Spanish-born cow People * Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * San ...

'' (1992) * '' M Is for Man, Music, Mozart'' (1991) (TV) * ''

'' (1991) * '' A Walk Through Prospero's Library'' (1991) (TV) * ''Final'' (1990) * ''

'' (1989) * ''

Drowning by Numbers ''Drowning by Numbers'' is a British-Dutch crime comedy-drama 1988 film directed by Peter Greenaway. It won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the Cannes Film Festival of 1988. Plot The film opens with a little girl jumping rope and ...

'' (1988) * ''

The Belly of an Architect ''The Belly of an Architect'' is a 1987 drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, featuring original music by Glenn Branca and Wim Mertens. Starring Brian Dennehy and Chloe Webb, it was nominated for the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) awar ...

'' (1987) * '' Flügel und Fesseln'' (1985) * ''

'' (1985) * ''

'' (1984) * '' La femme publique'' (1984) * '' Les trois couronnes du matelot'' (1982) * '' Le Rose et le blanc'' (1982) * ''

Beau-père ''Beau Pere'' (), also known as ''Stepfather'', is a 1981 French comedy-drama film directed by Bertrand Blier, based on his novel of the same name. It stars Patrick Dewaere, Ariel Besse and Maurice Ronet and is about a 30-year-old pianist who has a ...

'' (1981) * ''

Mon oncle d'Amérique ''Mon oncle d'Amérique'' (English: ''My American Uncle'' or ''My Uncle from America'') is a 1980 French film directed by Alain Resnais with a screenplay by Jean Gruault. The film juxtaposes a comedy-drama narrative with the ideas of Henri Labo ...

'' (1980) * '' Le fils puni'' (1980) * '' Le chemin perdu'' (1980) * ''

L'hypothèse du tableau volé ''The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting'' () is a 1978 French drama film directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz (director), Raúl Ruiz and shot by cinematographer Sacha Vierny. The film was inspired by the themes of French writer Pierre Klosso ...

'' (1979) * '' Baxter, Vera Baxter'' (1977) * '' Le Conseiller Crespel'' (1977) * '' Le Diable dans la boîte'' (1977) * '' La vocation suspendue'' (1977) * ''

Stavisky ''Stavisky...'' is a 1974 French biographical drama film based on the life of the financier and embezzler Alexandre Stavisky and the circumstances leading to his mysterious death in 1934. This gave rise to a political scandal known as the Stavis ...

'' (1974) * '' Le Moine'' (1973) * '' Les Granges brulées'' (1973) * '' Le Fusil à lunette'' (1972) * '' La Sainte famille'' (1972) * '' Bof... Anatomie d'un livreur'' (1971) * '' La Main'' (1969) * ''

La Nuit Bulgare LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' (1969) * '' Le tatoué'' (1968) * '' Darling Caroline'' (1968) * '' Belle de jour'' (1967) * ''

La Bien-aimée ''La Bien-aimée'' is a 1967 French television drama directed by Jacques Doniol-Valcroze. It was based on short story "Fanny" by Lucie Faure who wrote screenplay. The music score is by Maurice Le Roux, Maurice Leroux. The production designer was J ...

'' (1967) (TV) * '' La Musica'' (1967) * '' The War Is Over'' (1966) * '' De Dans van de Reiger'' (1966) * '' Aimez-vous les femmes?'' (1964) * '' Thank You, Natercia'' (1963) * '' Muriel ou Le temps d'un retour'' (1963) * '' Climats'' (1962) * ''

Portrait-robot ''Portrait-Robot'' or ''The Sketch Artist'' is a French Canadian television crime drama series, which premiered on Club Illico on April 15, 2021. It was broadcast on Australian network, SBS-TV's streaming service, On Demand, from December 16, ...

'' (1962) * '' L'année dernière à Marienbad'' (1961) * '' Main chaude, La'' (1960) * '' Merci Natercia!'' (1960) * '' La Morte saison des amours'' (1960) * '' Une question d'assurance'' (1960) * ''

'' (1959) * '' Le Bel âge'' (1959) * '' L'Opéra mouffe'' (1958) * '' Lettre de Sibérie'' (1957) * '' Le Mystère de l'atelier quinze'' (1957) * '' Nuit et brouillard'' (1955) * ''

Pantomimes Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or f ...

'' (1954)

External links

* *
Cinematographers.nl entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vierny, Sacha French cinematographers 1919 births 2001 deaths People from Seine-et-Marne Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni