Dean Raymond Cundey, A.S.C.Dean Cundey Biography (1946?-) (born March 12, 1946) is an American cinematographer and film director.
A frequent collaborator with filmmakers such as Nancy Meyers, Brian Levant, John Carpenter, Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, Cundey's most notable credits include Halloween (1978), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), the Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), Apollo 13 (1995), and Jack and Jill (2011).
Cundey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, and has been nominated for numerous BAFTAs and BSC Awards.
Early life He was born in Alhambra, California, United States. As a child, he used to build model sets, suggesting an interest in films from an early age.
Career Cundey already had several low-budget films when he met Debra Hill, who in 1978 recruited him to work on Halloween, a film she co-wrote with director John Carpenter.
Having Cundey work on a film brought considerable advantages. In addition to his considerable skill as a cinematographer and director of photography, he also had the advantage of owning most of his own equipment packed in a large van, referred to by Debra Hill as the "movie van".The Fog feature length commentary with Debra Hill and John Carpenter
Cundey's work on Halloween is cited by many fans as being among his best as director of photography. In addition to his lighting skills, particularly in the famous hallway scene where the hidden face of Michael Myers is slowly revealed by way of a blue light next to the mask, he was among the first cinematographers to make use of a recent invention called the steadicam, or panaglide.
The panaglide allowed the camera operator to "wear" the camera and obtain shots that were previously deemed too difficult or even impossible. In Halloween, the panaglide was used as a point of view reference for Michael Myers, allowing the audience to see what he saw.Interview with Dean Cundey on the DVD documentary Halloween, A Cut Above The Rest
Cundey would go on to work with Carpenter and Hill again on the films The Fog (1980), Escape from New York, Halloween II (both 1981), The Thing, and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (both 1982). He would also return to work with Carpenter for the last time on the 1986 big budget fantasy/comedy adventure Big Trouble in Little China.
He also was director of photography on the 4D film Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!, which ran in five Walt Disney theme parks around the world.
Later work In addition to his work with Carpenter, Cundey worked on the films Psycho II (1983), Romancing the Stone (1984), the Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Road House (1989), Jurassic Park (1993), Apollo 13 (1995), What Women Want (2000), and Garfield: The Movie (2004), among others. In 1997, he made his directorial debut with the direct-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.
He worked in Canada on Camp Rock, one of several movies that he has filmed outside the United States, including Who Framed Roger Rabbit which was filmed primarily in England.
In 2011, Cundey shot the comedy film Jack and Jill, which involved extensive split-screen and motion control effects to create the illusion of actor Adam Sandler interacting with multiple on-screen personas.
Filmography Film Year Title Director Notes 1973 The No Mercy Man Daniel Vance1974 Where the Red Fern Grows Norman Tokar So Evil, My Sister Reginald LeBorg1976 The Witch Who Came From the Sea Matt Cimber Associate DOP Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks Don Edmonds With Glenn Roland Black Shampoo Greydon Clark With Michael Mileham Creature from Black Lake Joy N. Houck Jr. The Human Tornado Cliff Roquemore Credited as "Gene Condie"1977 Satan's Cheerleaders Greydon Clark Bare Knuckles Don Edmonds Charge of the Model T's Jim McCullough Sr.1978 Hi-Riders Greydon Clark Goodbye, Franklin High Mike MacFarland Halloween John Carpenter1979 Angels' Brigade Greydon Clark Rock 'n' Roll High School Allan Arkush Roller Boogie Mark L. Lester1980 The Fog John Carpenter Galaxina William Sachs Without Warning Greydon Clark1981 Escape from New York John Carpenter Jaws of Satan Bob Claver Halloween II Rick Rosenthal1982 The Thing John Carpenter Halloween III: Season of the Witch Tommy Lee Wallace1983 Psycho II Richard Franklin D.C. Cab Joel Schumacher 1984 Romancing the StoneRobert Zemeckis1985 Back to the Future Warning Sign Hal Barwood 1986 Big Trouble in Little China John Carpenter 1987 Project X Jonathan Kaplan1988 Big Business Jim Abrahams Who Framed Roger Rabbit Robert Zemeckis1989 Road House Rowdy Herrington Back to the Future Part IIRobert ZemeckisShot back-to-back 1990 Back to the Future Part III1991 Nothing but Trouble Dan Aykroyd Hook Steven Spielberg 1992 Death Becomes Her Robert Zemeckis 1993 Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg 1994 The Flintstones Brian Levant1995 Casper Brad Silberling Apollo 13 Ron Howard 1997 Flubber Les Mayfield1998 Krippendorf's Tribe Todd Holland The Parent TrapNancy Meyers 2000 What Women Want 2003 Looney Tunes: Back in Action Joe Dante 2004 Garfield: The Movie Peter Hewitt 2006 The Holiday Nancy Meyers 2007 Whisper Stewart Hendler 2009 Shannon's Rainbow Frank E. Johnson 2010 The Spy Next Door Brian Levant 2011 Jack and Jill Dennis Dugan 2013 Crazy Kind of Love Sarah Siegel-Magness2014 Walking with the Enemy Mark Schmidt Freedom Peter Cousens2015 The Girl in the Photographs Nick Simon Diablo Lawrence Roeck2017 Slamma Jamma Timothy A. Chey Home Again Hallie Meyers-Shyer 2020 Anastasia: Once Upon a Time Blake Harris
Television Year Title Notes 1981–84 Tales of the Unexpected 4 episodes 1983 The Invisible WomanTelevision film1984 Amazons Invitation to Hell It Came Upon the Midnight Clear 1989 Tales from the Crypt Episode: "And All Through the House" 2001 Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Episode: "The Face: Jesus in Art" 2005 The West Wing 2 episodes 2008 Camp RockTelevision film 2010 Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster 2022 The Book of Boba Fett 2 episodes 2023 The Mandalorian 3 episodes
Other credits Director Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997)
2nd unit director Deep Rising (1998) Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
Cameos Year Title Role 1990 Back to the Future Part III Photographer 1993 Jurassic Park Mate 1994 The Flintstones Technician
Awards and recognition Academy Awards Year Award Title Result 1988 Best Cinematography Who Framed Roger Rabbit
American Society of Cinematographers Year Award Title Result 1991Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Hook 1995 Apollo 13 2014Lifetime Achievement AwardDeadline.com
BAFTA Awards Year Award Title Result 1988Best Cinematography Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1995 Apollo 13
British Society of Cinematographers Year Award Title Result 1988Best Cinematography Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1995 Apollo 13
Chicago Film Critics Association Year Award Title Result 1995 Best Cinematography Apollo 13
Society of Camera Operators Year Award Result 1999 President's Award
Daytime Emmy Awards Year Award Title Result 2001 Outstanding Cinematography Religion & Ethics Newsweekly: The Face: Jesus in Art
Primetime Emmy Awards Year Award Title Result 2023 Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour) The Mandalorian (For episode "Chapter 20: The Foundling")
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