VILMOS ZSIGMOND (1982)

by Joelle Steele (Nancy Martelli)

I first met Vilmos Zsigmond in 1982 when he was a client of the interior landscape company I worked for. I was filling in for his regular plant maintenance person, and we started talking about what he did for a living. He had a lot of tech equipment in his apartment/condo in Malibu, and some of it looked similar to what I'd had in my recording studio just a few years earlier. So I was curious and asked him what he did. Because I was a stringer with a variety of magazines and newspapers, I asked if I could interview him some day, and he agreed. So this is that interview just a few months later.

NM: I like to start with the basics and move forward from there. So, where were you born?
VZ: Hungary, 1930, after the Wall Street crash. Like most of the western world, it was a tough time economically and also politically in Hungary. I was lucky that my parents were both employed.
NM: When did you become interested in photography?
VZ: I was a teenager, and I was influenced by a Hungarian photographer named [Eugene] Dulovits. I got a job in a factory and bought a camera. Then I studied cinema at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest and got a masters in cinematography. After that, I worked in Budapest for a film studio and became a director of photography.
NM: You told me that you had to escape from Hungary and that it led you to the United States. What happened?
VZ: That was in the mid-1950s. My friend László Kovács and I borrowed a film camera to cover the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in Budapest. Then we escaped with the film to Austria and after that we were granted political asylum in the U.S. We sold the film footage to CBS for a documentary.
NM: What brought you to California?
VZ: I became a naturalized citizen in 1962, and I came to Los Angeles for work. You know, Hollywood. I worked for photo labs and did mostly low-budget independent films. László was doing well and after he shot "Easy Rider" [1969], he recommended me to Peter Fonda. That soon led me to do "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" [1971], my first major film. Several others followed, including "Close Encounters" [of the Third Kind], and for that one, I won the Oscar for best cinematography.
NM: You've worked on quite a few films since then, won a few awards.
VZ: Yes. "Deer Hunter" [1978] earned me a BAFTA for best cinematography. Also got an Academy Award nomination for it. That was a Michael Cimino film. I also worked with him on "Heaven's Gate" [1980]. We both thought it would be a cinematic masterpiece, but it was a failure, a flop with the critics, a flop at the box office. But, I still think it was a good movie. Maybe ahead of its time.
NM: So what makes for a good film? I imagine that your perception of movies is that the images are everything. Is that correct?
VZ: Not really. I do think that the story has to take precedence. But, aside from the script, film is all about the visual impact, the images. And some films need images. The images can be as much a part of the story as the words.
NM: So are the images the script, you, the camera, or …?
VZ: All of those. Definitely all of them. A good script and the right camera in the right hands is what makes for good visuals.
NM: And what is the right camera for you?
VZ: I've been using a Panavision camera from the start, and unless something better comes along, that's what I will continue to use.
NM: What makes it your favorite?
VZ: It's not overly large, and that's convenient. But it's also very quiet and has excellent lenses. This means the end result is also excellent.
NM: What about directors? You've worked with Michael Cimino and most recently with Brian De Palma ["Blow Out"]. Movies that rely heavily on imagery. Is it ever difficult for you to work with a director?
VS: Yes. Some directors only like to do close-ups of dialogue. To me, that's very boring. You don't need a cinematographer for that. If a movie is about talking, talking, and more talking, you don't even need to make a movie. It's just a lot of words.
NM: What do you do when you're not working?
VS: (laughs) I take photographs. Have been doing that since I was a teenager.
NM: What do you like to shoot?
VS: My world, what I see, what moves me emotionally. Especially when I see something that is in just the right lighting or weather, or it's a person that's worth creating a lasting image of.
NM: So, what's ahead for you now?
VS: I'm not sure. I haven't seen anything or been aware of anything that I really want to do. I think the 1970s was a great era for film and for cinematographers. Movies meant something then. That seems to be a thing of the past. Fading away to some degree.
NM: But you do intend to continue as a cinematographer, right?
VS: I sure do hope so. I love shooting film.

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