Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Statesmen: Stanley Cortez (Cinematographer) Born

100 years ago (November 04, 1908), in his life Stanislaus Krantz ; better known as Stanley Cortez, influenced cinema far more than many ace filmmakers. His work spoke for him.

Stanley was a cinematographer who created magic with his lens and introduced innovations in the art. In his career, he worked in about seventy movies.

He sharpened his skills under guidance of Karl Struss, Charles Rosher and Arthur C. Miller. His talent was first highlighted with an experimental movie drew on techniques of Slavko Vorkapic; named Scherzo (1932). The success followed up with Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons (’42), The Night of Hunter (’55), The Three Faces Of Eve (’57), Shock Corridor (’63) and The Naked Kiss (’64).

Cinematographer’s biggest task is to capture the vision in eyes of the director. It is tough because imagination can flow anywhere. But, a lot was done by Stanley in this regard. His works are milestones. In The Forgotten Woman, he created the illusion of reading into mind by taking extreme close-ups. In The Magnificent Ambersons, he captured the vision of Welles by capturing large sets on camera.

Stanley mastered the art of psychological dramas. Shots of drunkenness were shot in innovative way by flashing lights inside the camera. This was a brilliant innovation in terms of technology. Shots matching the music in background and modulations in lighting were two other innovations that made him a legend. He was able to blend the story and vision of film-maker with the magic of lenses.

Today, illusions are easy to create; thanks Bill Gates and likes for that; but ages ago illusions were outcome of thought and just camera. Today its technology, those days it was just genius. Stanley left the world in 1997 but the world would remember him through his works. Man is mortal but his works can immortalize him.

For The Reel; Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

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