Walter Lassally (18 December 1926 – 23 October 2017) was a German-born British

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 won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Cinematography in 1965 for the film ''

Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' (, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek intellectual who ventures to escape his bookish life with the aid of the boisterous and m ...

''.

Life and work

Lassally was born in Berlin, Germany. His family was Protestant by religion, but Jewish by ancestry. They moved to England in 1939 to escape the Nazis. He was closely associated with the Free cinema movement in the 1950s, and the

British New Wave The British New Wave is a style of films released in Great Britain between 1959 and 1963. The label is a translation of ''Nouvelle Vague'', the French term first applied to the films of François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard among others. Stylis ...

in the early 1960s. He worked in the early 1960s with director

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...

on the film versions of '' A Taste of Honey'' (1961), '' The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' (1962) and ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

'' (1963). Lassally also worked with Greek filmmaker

Michael Cacoyannis Michalis Kakogiannis (; ; 11 June 1922 – 25 July 2011), usually credited as Michael Cacoyannis or Michael Yannis, was a Greek Cypriot filmmaker, theatre director, and playwright. He is best known for writing, directing, producing, and e ...

between 1956 and 1967, and with

James Ivory James Francis Ivory (born Richard Jerome Hazen June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was a principal in Merchant Ivory Productions along with Indian film producer Ismail Merchant (his domestic and professio ...

in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s he moved to Stavros, near

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, the town where he shot ''

'' in 1963. His autobiography, ''Itinerant Cameraman'', was published in 1987. He was featured in the book Conversations with Cinematographers by David A. Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press in 2011. He made his debut as an actor in

Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...

's ''

Before Midnight ''Before Midnight'' is a 2013 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The sequel to ''Before Sunrise'' (1995) and ''Before Sunset'' (2004), it is the third insta ...

'' (2013), where he played an older British writer settled in Greece. Lassally died on October 23, 2017, at the age of 90 in Crete, Greece.

Awards

In 1965, Lassally won an

for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) for ''

'' (1964). This Oscar melted during a fire at Christiana's Restaurant, on the night of January 1, 2012. On January 26, 2008, the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

(ASC) presented Lassally with an International Achievement Award at the 22nd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards celebration, at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom, Los Angeles.

Filmography

*''

Passing Stranger ''Passing Stranger'' is the debut album of British singer-songwriter Scott Matthews, originally released in March 2006, before being re-issued by Island Records in October of the same year. The album contains the singles " Elusive", "Dream Son ...

'' (1954) *''Another Sky'' (1954) *''

A Girl in Black ''A Girl in Black'' () is a 1956 Greek dramatic film by the Cypriot director Michael Cacoyannis starring Dimitris Horn and Ellie Lambeti. The film takes place on the Greek island of Hydra, where two Athenian visitors become entangled in local feu ...

'' (1956) *'' A Matter of Dignity'' (1956) *'' The Day Shall Dawn'' (1959) *'' Our Last Spring'' (1960) *''Madelena'' (1960) *'' Wild for Kicks'' (1960) *''

Alice in the Navy ''Alice in the Navy'' () is a 1961 Greek comedy film directed by Alekos Sakellarios. Cast * Aliki Vougiouklaki - Alice * Dimitris Papamichael - Kostas Degleris * Giannis Gionakis - cadet * Giannis Malouhos - Alkis Vranas * Kaiti Lambropoulou - ...

'' (1961) *'' A Taste of Honey'' (1961) *''

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

'' (1962) *'' The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' (1962) *''

'' (1963) *'' Psyche 59'' (1964) *''

'' (1964) -

winner *''

The Day the Fish Came Out ''The Day the Fish Came Out'' (Greece: Όταν τα ψάρια βγήκαν στη στεριά ''Ótan ta psária vgíkan sti steriá'') is a 1967 DeLuxe Color Greek–British comedy film directed and written by Michael Cacoyannis, who also ...

'' (1967) *''Open Letter'' (1967) *''

Oedipus the King ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' (, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed , this is highly uncertain. Originally, to ...

'' (1968) *''

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

'' (1968) *'' Assignment Skybolt'' (1968) *'' Three Into Two Won't Go'' (1969) *'' The Adding Machine'' (1969) *'' Lola'' (1970) *'' Something for Everyone'' (1970) *'' Savages'' (1972) *'' To Kill a Clown'' (1972) *'' Visions of Eight'' (1973) (one sequence: "The Highest") *'' Happy Mother's Day, Love George'' (1973) *'' Malachi's Cove'' (1973) *'' The Wild Party'' (1975) *'' Autobiography of a Princess'' (1975) *'' The Clown'' (1976) *'' Pleasantville'' (1976) *' (1976) *' (1978) *'' The Great Bank Hoax'' (1978) *'' Something Short of Paradise'' (1979) *'' The Pilot'' (1980) *'' The Blood of Hussain'' (1980) *''

Angels of Iron ''Angels of Iron'' () is a 1981 German crime film directed by Thomas Brasch. It was entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, but did not win at Cannes. Director Thomas Brasch won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Direction. Plot The black ...

'' (1981) *'' Memoirs of a Survivor'' (1981) *''Tuxedo Warrior'' (1982) *'' Heat and Dust'' (1983) -

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

nominee *''

Private School A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

'' (1983) *''

The Bostonians ''The Bostonians'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in ''The Century Magazine'' in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886. This bittersweet tragicomedy centres on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political c ...

'' (1984) -

British Society of Cinematographers The British Society of Cinematographers (abbreviated B.S.C. or BSC) is an organisation formed in 1949 by Bert Easey (23 August 1901 – 28 February 1973), the then head of the Denham and Pinewood studio camera departments, to represent British c ...

nominee *'' The Case of Marcel Duchamp'' (1984) *''Indian Summer'' (1987) *'' The Perfect Murder'' (1988) *'' The Deceivers'' (1988) *'' Fragments of Isabella'' (1989) * '' Diary of a Madman'' (1990) *'' The Ballad of the Sad Cafe'' (1991) *'' The Little Dolphins'' (1993) *'' View Through The Window)'' (1994 ) *'' Crescent Heart'' (2001)

References

External links

* *
Walter Lassally telling his life story at Web of Stories
(video) 1926 births 2017 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners British emigrants to Greece Film people from Berlin Filmmakers from Crete {{cinematographer-stub