László Kovács | |
|---|---|
 Kovács in 2006 | |
| Born | (1933-05-14)14 May 1933 |
| Died | 22 July 2007(2007-07-22) (aged 74) |
| Other names | Lester Kovacs Leslie Kovacs Leslie Kovacks Leslie Kouvacs Art Radford |
| Years active | 1957–2007 |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 2 |
László KovácsASC (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈkovaːt͡ʃˈlaːsloː]; 14 May 1933 – 22 July 2007) was aHungarian-American cinematographer, known for his influential work in the development of theAmerican New Wave of films in the 1970s, he collaborated with many known directors, especiallyPeter Bogdanovich andRichard Rush.
Kovács was the recipient of numerous awards, including threeLifetime Achievement Awards. He was also an active member of theAmerican Society of Cinematographers and a member of the organization's board of directors.
Born inCece,Hungary, to Julianna and Imre Kovács,[2] Kovács studied cinema at theAcademy of Drama and Film in Budapest between 1952 and 1956.[3] Together withVilmos Zsigmond, a fellow student and lifelong friend, Kovács secretly filmed the day-to-day development of theHungarian Revolution of 1956 on black and white35 mm movie film, using anArriflex camera borrowed from their school.[3][4] In November that year, they smuggled the 30,000 feet (9,100 m) of film intoAustria to have it developed, and they arrived in the United States in March 1957 to sell the footage.[3][4] By that time, however, the revolution was no longer considered newsworthy and it was not until some years later, in 1961, that it was screened on theCBS television network, in adocumentary narrated byWalter Cronkite.
Kovács decided to settle in the United States, becoming anaturalized citizen in 1963. He worked at several manual labor jobs, including makingmaple syrup and printingmicrofilm documents in an insurance office, before making several "no-budget" and "low-budget" films with Vilmos Zsigmond, includingThe Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies.[5] At the time Kovács would be credited as Leslie Kovacs and Zsigmond as William Zsigmond.
Kovács' breakthrough came with the 1969 filmEasy Rider, starring and directed byDennis Hopper. Kovács was reluctant to work on this film at first, having already worked on a number ofB movie biker films, such asHells Angels on Wheels. Hopper ultimately convinced Kovács that this film would be different and Kovács signed on as the film's director of photography. He earned second place for the Best Cinematographer Golden Laurel at the 1970Laurel Awards. In 1970, he again worked with Hopper on the filmThe Last Movie. That same year, Kovács filmedFive Easy Pieces, for which he received the third place Golden Laurel for Best Cinematographer.
Kovács filmed more than 70 motion pictures. Among these were six films for directorPeter Bogdanovich:Targets,What's Up, Doc?,Paper Moon,At Long Last Love,Nickelodeon, andMask. Bogdanovich worked with Kovács more times than any other cinematographer.[6]
Other notable films Kovács photographed includeFor Pete's Sake,Shampoo,New York, New York,Ghostbusters,Ruby Cairo,Say Anything...,Radio Flyer,My Best Friend's Wedding, andMiss Congeniality. He also did additional photography onClose Encounters of the Third Kind,The Last Waltz andThe Rose.
When working onThe Last Waltz, camera operators were instructed to turn their cameras off at different intervals, in order to save battery life. One of these instances was duringMuddy Waters' set, but Waters' outstanding performance led directorMartin Scorsese to spontaneously change his mind, and ordered all cameras to be turned on. Because the cameras took several minutes to fully warm up, most caught only the last few bars of Waters' performance. Kovács, however, either did not hear or disregarded orders to shut down his camera, and was the only cameraman on set who managed to film Waters' entire performance.
Kovács' final work appears inTorn from the Flag, a 2006 feature documentary about the 1956 Hungarian Revolution which incorporates original footage he and Zsigmond shot as film students before fleeing to the United States.
On July 22, 2007, Kovács died at his home inBeverly Hills,California at the age of 74. At the time of his death, Kovács had been married for 23 years to his wife, Audrey. He had two daughters, Julianna and Nadia, and a granddaughter, Mia.[6]
In 1995 he was a member of the jury at the19th Moscow International Film Festival.[7]
Kovács was honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards fromCamerimage (1998), WorldFest (1999), and the American Society of Cinematographers (2002). The Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASC is the organization's highest honor. In addition, Kovács received an Excellence in Cinematography Award from the 1999Hawaii International Film Festival and a Hollywood Film Award at the 2001Hollywood Film Festival.
The American Society of Cinematographers dedicated the 2008 Heritage Award for top student filmmakers in memory of Kovács.[8]
The 2008 documentary filmNo Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos explores the 50-year friendship between Kovács and Zsigmond and their influence on filmmaking. Film criticLeonard Maltin said that, without Kovács and fellow cinematographer Zsigmond, "the American New Wave of the late 1960s and early '70s wouldn’t have flowered as it did."[9]
Film
^I Credited as "Lester Kovacs"
^II Credited as "Art Radford"
^III Credited as "Leslie Kovacs"
^IV Credited as "Leslie Kovacks"
^V Credited as "Leslie Kouvacs"
Short film
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | A Day with the Boys | Clu Gulager |
| 1978 | Mummenschanz | James Talbot |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Family | Mark Rydell | Episode "Pilot: The Best Years" |
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Ungarn in Flammen | Stefan Erdélyi | WithVilmos Zsigmond and Franz Vass (credited as "Ferencz Vass") |
| 1967 | Mondo Mod[V] | Peter Perry | With Vilmos Zsigmond (credited as "William Zsigmond") |
| 1971 | Directed by John Ford | Peter Bogdanovich | With Brick Marquard, David Sammons, Gregory Sandor, Eric Sherman and Patrick Alexander Stewart |
| 2000 | Ljuset håller mig sällskap | Carl-Gustav Nykvist | |
| 2007 | Torn from the Flag | Endre Hules Klaudia Kovacs | With Zoltan Honti,Justin Schein and Vilmos Zsigmond |
^V Credited as "Leslie Kouvacs"
TV series
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Making of the President 1968 | Mel Stuart Robert Abel Fritz Roland | With Dick Blofson and Vilis Lapenieks |
| 1969 | Los Angeles: Where It's At[III] | Jerome Jacobs Gary Schlosser | With Robert Cirace and J. Barry Herron |
| 1980 | MakingXanadu: The Musical Fantasy Movie | Alan Metter | WithVilmos Zsigmond |
^III Credited as "Leslie Kovacs"
