Reel Talent

Rarely do cinematographers, whose work gives a film its distinctive look, receive the attention they deserve outside their own peer group. The clinical gloom that suffuses the films of David Cronenberg, for example, is the genius of D.R (in industry jargon, short for director of photography) Peter Suschitzky. The lush, saturated color of Apocalypse Now and The Last Emperor is three-time Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro’s trademark. Now screenwriting duo Laurie Frank and Floyd Byars (Making Mr. Right) are giving D.P.’s their due by curating their private still work in a series of exhibitions at New Alchemy Gallery in Los Angeles, allowing a more studied appreciation of cinematographers’ vision. The shows also serve as autobiographies, explains Frank, citing this month’s exhibition of the work of three generations of Suschitzkys, all cinematographers. The series, “Still/Moving,” has developed an enthusiastic following in this very word-of-mouth town, pairing the work of such Oscar legends as Haskell Wexler (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) with that of lesser-known talents such as Phil Parmet (In the Soup) and documentarian Christine Burrill. Since the debut show last May, works have been purchased by directors and actors alike, including Jonathan Demme, Robert De Niro, and Steve Buscemi.

“Our memories are made up of film images,” explains Frank, “and these are the people whose eyes we’ve seen these images through.”

DAVID SAVAGE