'Christopher Doyle' (; born
May 2,
1952 in
Sydney,
Australia) is a highly acclaimed, multi-award winning
cinematographer, known for his extreme angles and vanguard color grading. Doyle is an affiliate of the ''Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers''.
Having worked with Chinese directors like
Wong Kar-wai (for which he contributed at least partially to the cinematography of all his movies from
Days of Being Wild through
2046),
Zhang Yimou,
Edward Yang, and
Zhang Yuan, Doyle is sometimes even considered one of the best cinematographers of our time.
He himself has directed a feature film, '''
Away with Words''' (aka ''Kujaku'', aka ''San tiao ren'') set in
Hong Kong and
Okinawa, starring
Tadanobu Asano and
Mavis Hee, as well as a segment ('''Porte de Choisy''') in the feature film 'Paris, je t'aime'
[1].
Doyle, known for his drinking habits and dry wit , is also an established photographer. While his Australian accent is still discernible when he speaks English, he does so with unusual intonations and stops, the result of speaking
Cantonese and
Mandarin, in which he is fluent, for most of his adult life. He also speaks fluent French. His Chinese name is Du Ke Fung which means `like the wind'.
[2]
In the late 1970s, he went to
Taiwan from
Hong Kong and then settled in
Taipei. He has worked as an oil driller in
India, a cow herder in
Israel, and a doctor of
Chinese medicine in
Thailand. In
1978, he worked as a photographer for the
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre and
Zuni Icosahedron. In
1981, he worked as a cinematographer on ''That Day, On the Beach'' directed by
Edward Yang. For that film, Doyle won the Best Cinematography Award in the
1983 Asia-Pacific Film Festival. He now lives in Hong Kong.
His notable
music video credits include "
Six Days" for
DJ Shadow (directed by Wong Kar-wai),
The Strokes' "
Juicebox" (directed by
Michael Palmieri) and "Getaway" by the Scottish group
Texas (directed by
Tim Royes).
Filmography
★ ''
Dumplings'' (2006) - directed by
Fruit Chan
★ ''
Invisible Waves'' (2006) - directed by
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
★ ''
Lady in the Water'' (2006) - directed by
M. Night Shyamalan
★ ''
The White Countess'' (2005) - directed by
James Ivory
★ ''
Eros'' (2004) - segment "The Hand", directed by
Wong Kar-wai
★ ''
Three... Extremes'' (2004) - segment "Dumplings", directed by
Fruit Chan
★ ''
2046'' (2004) - directed by Wong Kar-wai, awarded Best Cinematography Awards by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics
★ ''
Green Tea'' (2003) - directed by
Zhang Yuan
★ ''
Last Life in the Universe'' (2003) - directed by
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
★ ''
Hero'' (2002) - directed by Zhang Yimou, awarded Best Cinematography Awards by the New York and Chicago Film Critics Circles and the National Society of Film Critics and at the Hong Kong Film Awards
★ ''
Six Days'' (2002) - short movie, directed by Wong Kar-wai
★ ''
The Quiet American'' (2002) - directed by
Phillip Noyce
★ ''
Three'' (2002) - segment "Going Home", directed by
Peter Chan
★ ''
Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (2002) - directed by
Phillip Noyce
★ ''
Made'' (2001) - directed by
Jon Favreau
★ ''
In the Mood for Love'' (2000) - directed by Wong Kar-wai, awarded the Grand Technical Prize a the Cannes Film Festival, as well as Best Cinematography Awards by the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics
★ ''
Liberty Heights'' (1999) - directed by
Barry Levinson
★ ''
Away with Words'' (1999) - directed by 'Christopher Doyle'
★ ''
Psycho'' (
1998 -
remake) - directed by
Gus Van Sant
★ '' (1997) - directed by
Eric Kot
★ ''
Motel Cactus'' (1997) - directed by
Ki-Yong Park
★ ''
Happy Together'' (1997) - directed by Wong Kar-wai
★ ''
4 Faces of Eve'' (1996)
★ ''
wkw/tk/1996@7′55″hk.net'' (1996) - short movie, directed by Wong Kar-wai
★ '' (1996) - directed by
Stanley Kwan
★ ''
Temptress Moon'' (1996) - directed by
Chen Kaige
★ ''
The Peony Pavilion'' (1995) - directed by
Chen Kuo-fu
★ ''
Fallen Angels'' (1995) - directed by Wong Kar-wai
★ ''
Red Rose White Rose'' (1994) - directed by Stanley Kwan
★ ''
Ashes of Time'' (1994) - directed by Wong Kar-wai, awarded the Osella d'Oro for Best Cinematography at the Venice International Film Festival
★ ''
The Red Lotus Society'' (1994) - directed by
Stan Lai
★ ''
Chungking Express'' (1995) - directed by Wong Kar-wai
★ ''
The Peach Blossom Land'' (1992) - directed by
Stan Lai
★ ''
Awakening'' (1992) - directed by
Sylvia Chang
★ ''
Days of Being Wild'' (1991) - directed by Wong Kar-wai
★ ''
Her Beautiful Life Lies'' (1989) - directed by
Tony Au
★ ''
My Heart Is That Eternal Rose'' (1987) - directed by
Patrick Tam
★ ''
Soul'' (1986) - directed by
Kei Shu
★ ''
Noir et blanc'' (1986) - directed by
Claire Devers
★ ''
That Day, on the Beach'' (1983) - directed by
Edward Yang
See also
★
Cinema of Hong Kong
External links
★
★
"The Legend of Drunken Master" Dennis Lim of ''The Village Voice'' interviews Christopher Doyle. August 6, 2004 accessed July 11, 2006
★
'If you call me, you know what you're in for.'''The Guardian's Steve Rose interviews Christopher Doyle. January 7, 2005 accessed July 11, 2006.
★
'His eyes have seen the glory...'''The Guardian's Gaby Wood interviews Christopher Doyle. July 17, 2005 accessed July 11, 2006.
★
Video: Christopher Doyle talks about Hong Kong for CNN and Nokia's feature series "The Scene".
★
Text of CNN interview with Christopher Doyle.