Laszlo Kovacs, 1933-2007

The great Hungarian-born cinematographer died, reportedly in his sleep, on the evening of the 21st in Los Angeles. Here are three images he created:

From Psych-Out, 1968, directed by Richard Rush

From Shampoo, 1975, directed by Hal Ashby

From New York, New York, 1977, directed by Martin Scorsese

Kovacs and his friend and fellow cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond came to this country as political refugees in the late '50s and made their professional bones in grindhouse cinema—the two share lensing credits, for instance, on the notorious 1964 The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies. "These small action pictures, so-called exploitation features, motorcycle pictures and the like; this was where guys like Zsigmond and Kovacs could work in the U.S. and get a foothold, show what they could do," notes Sam Sherman, the producer of Hell's Bloody Devils and Blood of Dracula's Castle, two Kovacs-shot pics directed by the late Al Adamson. "Kovacs and Zsigmond, along with Louis Horvath, who didn't quite make it as far up the ladder, all had studied at the Hungarian Film Institute. And Kovacs' shooting method was pretty time-intensive for low-budget production; he was very concerned with setting things up professionally, about the precise lighting, and achieving an effect. Al, for his part, liked to work faster, so in some senses he preferred, say, Gary Graver."

A look at Kovacs' filmo suggests that by the late '60s he was juggling exploitation fare with more "respectable" stuff, but that's not quite true. "There was often a lot of lag between the shooting of a picture and the release date," Sherman says. "The Fakers, which came out in 1970 as Hell's Bloody Devils, was actually shot in '66. As was Blood of Dracula's Castle, which was released after Easy Rider. And in fact we used Laszlo's Easy Rider success in the trailer for Castle—we have some on-screen text saying 'New action for the man who shot Easy Rider'! Castle gets a lot of compliments...people saying it was Al's best film. And that's where Kovacs fit in very well...no matter how small the picture was, if his name was on the picture, he wanted it to look good. All the rush-rush-rush stuff doesn't survive...the value of these cameramen was they left stuff to be appreciated for the ages." Sherman also notes that as exacting as Kovacs was, he was in certain respects more flexible and risk-taking than Hollywood-trained lensers. "For a lot of cinematographers working in Hollywood, the way to shoot 35 is with a big Mitchell, but Laszlo and Vilmos, partly due to their training and partly because of how they shot documentary footage back in Hungary, they could work with an Arriflex 1 or an Arriflex 2, which you could get more than 400 feet on just by slapping on a bigger magazine, and they could use that handheld. And Kovacs would be willing to ride on the back of a motorcycle, put himself in potentially dangerous situations, to get the shot."

Certainly this willingness manifests itself in a lot of the most memorable images from Easy Rider. Kovacs and Zsigmond had other visionary affinities, such as a love of diffused light and focus techniques that created near-impressionistic backgrounds. His work always enhanced a film's reality but never compromised it.

Also, how peculiar is it that the name Laszlo Kovacs was Michel Poiccard's a.k.a. in Godard's Breathless, made in 1959, years before the real Kovacs started making his own name for himself in Hollywood? (Update: Yes, I forgot the Kovacs name first turned up in Chabrol's wonderful A Double Tour. See Dave's very apropos Roger Ebert quote in comments.)

Comments

[Dave McDougall]

"One inside joke in the film is always mentioned, but is not really there. Michel's alias is "Laszlo Kovacs," and countless writers inform us this is a reference to the legendary Hungarian cinematographer. In fact, Godard had not met Kovacs at the time, and the reference is to the character Belmondo played in Chabrol's "A Double Tour" (1959). In a film with so many references to the past of the cinema, it is amusing to find a coincidental reference to its future." - Roger Ebert

[roy edroso]

R.I.P. Great tribute. Boy, was he good. You've got me remembering the road footage from Five Easy Pieces (and Bobby's "conversation" with his dad). And the caustic sunlight in Shampoo. And the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man!

[Vitez Kovacs]

The last film Laszlo Kovacs worked on is the documentary “Torn From The Flag” about the Hungarian uprising of 1956 against the communist regime.

Laszlo and friend, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, risked their lives by secretly filming events during this bloody revolution. When they were forced to flee the country across Austria-Hungary border they took with them their ~30,000 feet of film hidden in potato sacks. This is a must-see film for anyone who loves and appreciates Laszlo’s work!!! You get to see what he and other Hungarians at the time went through.

[Vitez Takacs]

The last film Laszlo Kovacs worked on is the documentary “Torn From The Flag” about the Hungarian uprising of 1956 against the communist regime. Laszlo and friend, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, risked their lives by secretly filming events during this bloody revolution. When they were forced to flee the country across Austria-Hungary border they took with them their ~30,000 feet of film hidden in potato sacks. This is a must-see film for anyone who loves and appreciates Laszlo’s work!!! You get to see what he and other Hungarians at the time went through.

[Janos Szablya]

Laszlo Kovacs who has worked on so many great films we have enjoyed such as Easy Rider and Ghostbusters. Laszlo Kovacs has never received an Oscar for his work. Yet his Cinematography changed the way we see films.
Laszlo died in 2008, he never received an Oscar for his lifetime of work to bring us the entertainment we so enjoy.
The Academy owes him a lifetime achievement Oscar, for his work as a Cinematographer and Director of Photography on so many of our favorite films.
Here is just a partial list of his work, read it it will amaze you that one person could have done so much work of such high quality.
Mask, Ghost Busters, Torn from the Flag: A Film by Klaudia, Kovacs,
Two Weeks Notice, Miss Congeniality, Return to Me, My Best Friend's Wedding, Multiplicity, Copycat, The Scout, Cyndi Lauper: 12 Deadly Cyns... and Then Some, Jack Frost, Ruby Cairo, Radio Flyer, Crackers, The Toy,
Frances, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, Inside Moves, Heart Beat, Shattered, Say Anything, Little Nikita, Legal Eagles, The Runner Stumbles
Paradise Alley, F.I.S.T, New York, New York, Nickelodeon, Harry and Walter Go to New York, Baby Blue Marine, Shampoo At Long Last Love, Freebie and the Bean, For Pete's Sake, Slither, Huckleberry Finn and Paper Moon.
Just to name a few!!!
He deserves recognition... start blogging everywhere you can think of if you want copy and past this… only we can make it happen… the fans of his work

[Tunde]

Hollywood cinematography legend László Kovács capped his lifetime achievement of close to 100 films with a powerful, thought-provoking documentary called "Torn From the Flag". Has anyone out there seen it?? Please share your thoughts; I've already watched it twice. And yes Janos, agreed that he was one of Hollywood's most artistic and professional cinematographers and certainly deserves recognition by The Academy!!