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January Commentary from George Spiro Dibie Conrad
L. Hall, ASC: To his countless friends and admirers, Conrad L. Hall, ASC has been among the brightest stars in the galaxy of filmmakers for as long as I can remember. Conrad died on January 4 at the age of 76. There is no simple or easy way to say goodbye. He left an indelible impression on the art form and also on the countless number of people whose lives he touched both directly and indirectly. Conrad L. Hall was born in Papete, Tahiti in 1926. His father was James Norman Hall, who co-authored such classic novels as Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, Hurricane and Botany Bay. Hall was raised on the tropical island in a cloistered, literary environment until his parents sent him to USC with instructions to find a career. He initially majored in journalism, but his interests quickly shifted to filmmaking. Conrad explained, “Once I shot a film and saw it on the screen, I was deeply affected. I realized that there was great power in telling stories through pictures. The fact that the potential audience was so extensive was a heady, profound concept for a young, idealistic person.” Conrad
earned his first cinematography credit in 1964 on the TV series The Outer Limits
and the following year, he earned the first of nine Oscar nominations for Morituri.
There were other nominations for In Cold Blood, The Day of the Locust,
The Professionals, A What makes that all the more remarkable was that Conrad had a total of 35 narrative film credits. He took an 11-year hiatus from shooting narrative film about mid-way through his career when he directed and shot hundreds of commercials and concentrated on writing two scripts. One was original and the other was based on the William Faulkner Novel, The Wild Palms. It was an unfulfilled dream, but he had no regrets. Conrad and Sam Mendes, who directed American Beauty, collaborated again in 2002 with Road to Perdition. I have learned not to predict how the members of the Academy will vote, but I can say that Conrad made an enormous contribution to a great film that is a very likely contender. Conrad was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by his peers in the American Society of Cinematographers 1994. He also received the 1995 CamerImage Lifetime Achievement Award in Poland. He was a judge at the CamerImage festival that same year. Conrad spoke to his fellow jurists from his heart: “We shouldn’t be influenced by nationalities or our own mundane tastes. We are here to learn and understand more about this wonderful language. Cinematography is meaningless unless it captures the soul of the story. This should be our sole consideration.” In 2002, Conrad also received a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ojai Film Festival. We will never say goodbye to Conrad L. Hall. He will live forever in the great films that he left behind and in the memories and hearts of the people whose lives he touched with his artistry, generosity and humanity. Conrad L. Hall made a difference. May he rest in peace. George Spiro Dibie, ASC
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Civil
Action, Searching for Bobby Fischer and Tequila Sunrise and
Oscars in 1969 for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and in 2000 for American
Beauty.