Christopher J. Menges BSC, ASC (born 15 September 1940) is an English cinematographer and film director.
He has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for The Killing Fields (1984) and for The Mission (1986).
Early life Menges was born in Kington, Herefordshire in 1940, the son of the composer and conductor Herbert Menges. His paternal grandfather, George, was a German emigrant to the United Kingdom. He was introduced to filmmaking as a teenager by his neighbour, documentarian Alan Forbes, and worked as his assistant for several years.
Menges cites Roberto Rossellini, Italian neorealism, Free Cinema, and the Czechoslovak New Wave as influences.
Career Menges began his career in the 1960s as camera operator for documentaries by Adrian Cowell. From 1961 to 1962, he worked for CBC Television's documentary division under Allan King. In 1963, he joined ITV Granada's news programme World in Action, where he was a cameraman for conflict reporting, including the Vietnam War, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the Angolan War of Independence, the Algerian War, and the Zanzibar Revolution.
Back in Britain, Menges was a camera operator for feature films including Poor Cow and If..... Kes was his first film as cinematographer. Menges was also behind the camera on Stephen Frears's first feature film Gumshoe in 1971.
Menges also worked in the Star Wars entry The Empire Strikes Back, in 2nd unit photography
In 1983, Menges received his first BAFTA nomination for the film Local Hero, and only a year later won his first Academy Award for the film The Killing Fields about the genocide in Cambodia. He continued his work with helmer Roland Joffe, and Menges won his second Oscar in 1986 with the historical drama The Mission. He also shot a television play titled Made in Britain, in 1983.
In 1988, Menges made his directorial debut with A World Apart, a biopic based on the life of South African anti-apartheid activist Ruth First and Joe Slovo. This film was celebrated at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and won three major awards.
His second film as director, CrissCross, received critical acclaim, but was a box-office flop. In 1996 he moved back behind the camera to shoot the award-winning films The Boxer and Michael Collins. For the latter, he received his third Academy Award nomination in 1997.
Menges also made documentaries. In the early 1970s, he went to Burma with British film maker Adrian Cowell to shoot The Opium Warlords, a film about the drug trade. After the release of the documentary in 1974, the Burmese government was said to have put a price on their heads. Menges is mentioned in the book Conversations with Cinematographers by David A. Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press.
Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd credits Menges as an influence.
Filmography Cinematographer Short film Year Title Director Notes 1963 The War Game Mai Zetterling With Brian Probyn 1968 Solo Misha Donat 1981 Couples and Robbers Clare Peploe
Feature film Year Title Director Notes 1968 Last of the Long-haired Boys Peter Everett Uncredited 1969 Kes Ken Loach 1970 Loving Memory Tony Scott With Scott and John Metcalfe1971 Black Beauty James Hill Gumshoe Stephen Frears 1979 Black Jack Ken Loach1980 Babylon Franco Rosso The Gamekeeper Ken Loach With Charles Stewart1981 A Sense of Freedom John Mackenzie Looks and Smiles Ken Loach1982 Battletruck Harley Cokeliss Angel Neil Jordan 1983 Local HeroBill Forsyth1984 Comfort and Joy The Killing Fields Roland Joffé Winter Flight Roy Battersby 1985 Marie Roger Donaldson1986 The Mission Roland Joffé Fatherland Ken Loach1987 Shy People Andrei Konchalovsky High Season Clare Peploe 1996 Michael Collins Neil Jordan 1997 The Boxer Jim Sheridan 2001 The Pledge Sean Penn2002 Dirty Pretty Things Stephen Frears The Good Thief Neil Jordan 2004 Criminal Gregory Jacobs2005 Tickets Ken Loach The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Tommy Lee Jones North Country Niki Caro 2006 Notes on a Scandal Richard Eyre2008 The Yellow Handkerchief Udayan Prasad Stop-Loss Kimberly Peirce The Reader Stephen Daldry With Roger Deakins2010 Route Irish Ken Loach London Boulevard William Monahan 2011 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Stephen Daldry 2013 Hummingbird Steven Knight 2019 Waiting for the Barbarians Ciro Guerra
Documentary works Year Title Director Notes 1966 Raid into Tibet Adrian Cowell Documentary short 1968 Abel Gance: The Charm of Dynamite Kevin Brownlow 1969 Wild and Free Twice Daily Himself 1969 Assignment Vietnam Richard TaylorDocumentary short1971 Talk About WorkKen Loach The Save the Children Fund Film 1981 East 103rd Street Himself 1984 Which Side Are You On? Ken Loach With Jimmy Dibling 1987 Warlords of the Golden Triangle Adrian CowellWai-Chuen Yung 2003 Concert for George David Leland 2019 Voice of Land Henrique Bouduard
Director Documentary film Wild and Free Twice Daily (1969) East 103rd Street (1981) (Also producer)
Feature film A World Apart (1988) CrissCross (1992) Second Best (1993) The Lost Son (1999)
Awards and nominations Institution Year Category Title Result Ref.Academy Awards 1985Best Cinematography The Killing Fields 1987 The Mission 1997 Michael Collins 2009 The Reader British Academy Film Awards 1984Best Cinematography Local Hero 1985 The Killing Fields 1987 The Mission 1997 Michael Collins 2009 The Reader British Academy Television Craft Awards 1978 Best Film Cameraman Playhouse American Society of Cinematographers 1987Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography The Mission 1997 Michael Collins 1998 The Boxer 2009 The Reader 2010 International Award British Society of Cinematographers 1984Best Cinematography The Killing Fields 1986 The Mission 1996 Michael Collins 2002 Dirty Pretty Things 2009 The Reader 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award British Independent Film Awards 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award Camerimage Festival 2005 Golden Frog The Three Burials ofMelquiades Estrada 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award Cannes Film Festival1988 Palme d'OrA World Apart Grand Prix Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Chicago Film Critics Association 1997 Best Cinematography Michael Collins Chicago International Film Festival 1981 Best Documentary East 103rd Street European Film Awards 2002 Best Cinematographer Dirty Pretty Things Evening Standard British Film Awards 1984 Best Technical/Artistic Achievement Independent Spirit Awards 1989 Best International Film A World Apart 2006 Best Cinematography The Three Burials ofMelquiades Estrada Los Angeles Film Critics Association 1984Best Cinematography The Killing Fields 1986 The Mission 1996 Michael Collins National Society of Film Critics1984Best Cinematography Comfort and Joy The Killing Fields 1989 Best Director A World Apart 1996 Best Cinematography Michael Collins New York Film Critics Circle 1984Best Cinematography The Killing Fields 1986 The Mission 1989 Best Director A World Apart Raindance Film Festival 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award San Sebastián International Film Festival1994 Golden ShellSecond Best Special Jury Prize
References
External links
Chris Menges at BFI Screenonline Chris Menges at the Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers (archived)