Laszlo Kovacs

As a boy growing up in occupied Hungary, Kovacs fell in love with the movies. After he was accepted into Budapest's Academy of Drama and Film Art he saw "Citizen Kane" (1941). The film "changed my visual vocabulary," he said, and he decided to become a cinematographer -- the director of photography who does the photographic work on movies. He escaped Hungary in 1956, bringing with him 30,000 feet of film of the Hungarian resistance against Communism, which later was used in a documentary. Arriving finally in Los Angeles in the early 1960s, he worked on National Geographic TV specials. And in 1969, he filmed his breakout movie: Easy Rider, putting his own stamp on the motorcycle trip film based on his own bus ride from New Jersey to the west coast. Other seminal films included Five Easy Pieces, What's Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Ghost Busters, Shattered, My Best Friend's Wedding -- more than 70 in all. "He was one of the great wave of cinematographers in the 1970s who basically changed the way movies had looked up until that time," said Richard Crudo, a former president of the American Society of Cinematographers. Kovacs died at home July 21, apparently from cancer. He was 74. From This is True for 22 July 2007 Suggestions for further reading: Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film (Third Edition) (Book + DVD + Web ... by Richard Barsam, Dave Monahan Amazon Price: $74.47 Customer Review: The book is in perfect condition, and has all supplements intact. The shipping was slow, but the class schedule didn't create a stress for not having it the first week. The contents are comprehensive with great end-chapter references and lists. tha...   In the Blink of an Eye Revised 2nd Edition by Walter Murch Amazon Price: $10.04 Customer Review: "In the Blink of an Eye" is a great film editor's book on the editing of motion pictures. Walter Murch's book became a classic for people editing moving pictures soon after the book's 1995 release. Later, Mr. Murch revised the book to keep current wi...   The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age by Steven Ascher, Edward Pincus Amazon Price: $16.50 Customer Review: If you buy a used copy of the book, you might get sent an earlier edition. This book is subtitled "A comprehensive guide for the digital age" but the version I got didn't have that subtitle. It was printed in 1984 and only deals with analog concepts...   The Animator's Survival Kit--Revised Edition: A Manual of Methods, Principles... by Richard Williams Amazon Price: $21.60 Customer Review: I liked this book, but I wish he had separated his autobiographical commentary from his thoughts and tips on animation.(The other artists he's encountered and worked with are fascinating, and it always seemed like there was more to tell, but it was l...   Master Shots: 100 Advanced Camera Techniques to Get an Expensive Look on Your... by Christopher Kenworthy Amazon Price: $16.47 Customer Review: great reference book and quick reference. ive no complaints, and i haven't heard anyone else with mixed feelings about it either.   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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