Michael Chapman (cinematographer)

Michael Chapman
Born	(1935-11-21) November 21, 1935 New York City, U.S.
Other names	Mike Chapman
Occupation	Cinematographer Actor & Director

Michael Chapman, A.S.C. (born November 21, 1935) is an American cinematographer whose prominence owes most to his innovative work of the 1970s and 1980s.

Biography

He began his career as a camera operator, distinguishing himself on Steven Spielberg's Jaws. As a cinematographer, he became famous for his two collaborations with Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Chapman was also cinematographer for the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Chapman's style tends towards high contrasts and aggressive use of strong colors. He is also extremely adept at setting up complex camera movements quickly and improvising on the set. This style is epitomized in the boxing sequences in Raging Bull, during which the camera was often strapped to the actors through improvised rigs. Chapman was also the principal cinematographer on Scorsese's documentary The Last Waltz.

Besides his work with Scorsese, Chapman has worked as director of photography for directors Hal Ashby, Philip Kaufman, Martin Ritt, Robert Towne, Michael Caton-Jones, Andrew Davis, and Ivan Reitman. He occasionally makes cameos in films he shoots. He has directed several films, the best known being All the Right Moves (1983), starring Tom Cruise in one of that actor's breakthrough roles.

His most recent film was Bridge to Terabithia. According to the DVD commentary, Chapman was planning to retire after the film was finished, saying he would have the last film he shot be a good one.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1968	Frontier	Producer, actor
1970	The Landlord	Camera operator
1972	The Godfather	Camera operator
1973	The Last Detail	Cinematographer
1974	The White Dawn	Cinematographer
1975	Jaws	Camera operator
1975	Death Be Not Proud	Cinematographer
1976	The Next Man	Cinematographer
1976	The Front	Cinematographer
1976	Taxi Driver	Cinematographer
1978	The Last Waltz	Cinematographer
1978	King: The Martin Luther King Story	Cinematographer
1978	Invasion of the Body Snatchers	Cinematographer, actor
1978	Fingers	Cinematographer
1979	The Wanderers	Cinematographer
1979	Hardcore	Cinematographer
1980	Raging Bull	Cinematographer
1982	Personal Best	Cinematographer
1982	Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid	Cinematographer
1983	The Man with Two Brains	Cinematographer
1983	All the Right Moves	Director, cinematographer
1986	The Clan of the Cave Bear	Director
1986	Annihilator	Director
1986	Legal Eagles	Songwriter
1987	The Lost Boys	Cinematographer
1987	Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery	Producer
1988	Shoot to Kill	Cinematographer, actor
1988	Scrooged	Cinematographer
1988	Gotham: The Dead Can't Lie	Cinematographer
1989	Third Degree Burn	Actor
1989	Ghostbusters II	Cinematographer
1990	Quick Change	Cinematographer, actor
1990	Kindergarten Cop	Cinematographer, actor
1991	Doc Hollywood	Cinematographer, actor
1992	Whipsers in the Dark	Cinematographer
1993	Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography	Interviewee
1993	The Fugitive	Cinematographer
1993	Rising Sun	Cinematographer, actor
1995	The Viking Sagas	Director
1996	Space Jam	Cinematographer
1996	Raven Hawk	Actor
1996	Primal Fear	Cinematographer
1998	Six Days, Seven Nights	Cinematographer
1999	The Story of Us	Cinematographer
2000	The Watcher	Cinematographer
2001	Evolution	Cinematographer
2004	Suspect Zero	Cinematographer, actor
2004	House of D	Cinematographer, actor
2004	Eulogy	Cinematographer, actor
2006	Hoot	Cinematographer
2007	Bridge to Terabithia	Cinematographer

External links

• Michael Chapman at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Chapman tells his life story at Web of Stories