Renowned and influential (yet Oscar-less) cinematographer László Kovács has died – he was 74 years old.
“Oh …. I’ve got a helmet!”
“As the years go by, romance fades and something else takes its place. Do you know what is??”
“Senility.”
“Trust.”
“That’s what I meant.”
A few of his credits:
What’s Up Doc
King of Marvin Gardens
5 Easy Pieces
Shampoo
Paper Moon
Easy Rider
Paradise Alley (Stallone’s directorial debut – MARVELOUS movie – and marvelous LOOKING movie, which is Kovac’s doing)
Say Anything
Ghostbusters
I mean – just to name a FEW.
His early gritty days were when he first made his mark – and so his influence is enormous – but think of the look of Paper Moon compared to the look of Shampoo and you will see the unbelievable versatility and artistry of this man. Wow.
He went on to work on some of the most successful films of the 80s – where his work became slick and commercial (these are not epithets) – and please. Say Anything. I mean, come on. But it is his work in the late 60s, early 70s, for which he will be remembered. At least by those who “know”. It was important stuff going on then – a revolution in art, an explosion of creativity and courage. The stories being told, and how they were being told … are startling, to this day. And whether or not you “like” those movies is irrelevant. It would be like discounting the influence of Joyce because you personally don’t like him. That’s an ignorant position. Kovacs was attached to many of the auteurs of the day – and you can kind of tell which movies are his. Even with his versatility. Shampoo LOOKS like a Kovacs picture, for example. Five Easy Pieces might be my favorite, but then – there’s the Bogdonavich classics – and how THOSE movies looked. But without Shampoo, without Five Easy Pieces (keep going …) – American cinema flat out would not be the same today. We would all be poorer for it.
He was IT for a while. The 1970s – in the aftermath of the collapse of the studio system – brought about a lot of good, and also a lot of crap – a lot of exploded ego, and a lot of mess – but that’s to be expected, with a lessening of control. His work – his passion and ambition and just how damn GOOD he was – helped to create the look of the 1970s American movie (Hungarian-born though he was!). Helped put American cinema on the international map again, because we had been falling far behind the rest of the world, in terms of what we were putting out, and the conventions we were willing to accept and not question. Made us look shallow and uncurious. That all changed – and the way those movies look – still have a deep impact.
Oh, and of course there is a Dean Stockwell connection. They were both at their hippie/biker/lover-o-flowers height at the same time, along with Dennis Hopper and all the others. Kovacs was cinematographer on Psych-Out in 1968 (which is shrieking towards me, as we speak, from a Netflix facility on the eastern seaboard).
And I want to make out with the dude just for working on What’s Up, Doc alone. i mean, honest to GOD.
I have some great quotes about him from a couple different books. I’ll share them later.
Rest in piece Mr. Kovács. And thank you.
Hi Sheila O’Malley –
I have just discovered you, and like all discoveries I’d like to believe you never existed until now but no, you are like America, waiting across the Atlantic for the first boat to touch ground. (Or like Dean Stockwell sitting in the casting agent’s outer office as a wee tot, legs dangling off the chair.) Thanks for posting about Laszlo Kovacs. Even if he had only made Paper Moon and What’s Up Doc that would be enough to show his wonderful versatility.
Sad.
Sad, sad, sad.
What a genius.
I mean, when you think about WHY those movies move us, and WHY they defined generations, it’s partly because of the way they looked. There’s a *feel* to them all.
One of the things I love about “Doc” is the fact that it’s filmed in a glowing, sparkly sense of reality. It gives the film an old time 1930’s screwball comedy feel. Not forced in any way, but something that seeps into you slowly and for me, makes the film fun and bright from the very first frame.
He was brilliant.
And…..CVN from the above post? How cool was THAT??
Alex – yes, yes – and then to compare the bright zippy look of What’s Up Doc to the almost documentary feel of Shampoo or the classic black and white of Paper Moon – and I think Five Easy Pieces is such a good-looking movie – but not ostentatiously so …
He was so so good!!
I like the story about Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond filming the Hungarian Revolution through a hole in a paper bag, and then smuggling the footage out of Hungary after ’56.
The quality of his work is impressive–I’ve seen maybe half of the films named here and at the Hollywood Reporter–but the diversity of it every bit as much. That’s range.
Sheila
I was JUST thinking that! Like, the difference between how frightening, almost eery “Paper Moon” is compared to “Doc.”
And “5 Easy Pieces”? Like a completely different feel and look altogether.
cvn – really cool comment. Glad you discovered me. :)
i discovered Sheila in 1984!!!!! …and ive been obsessed ever since!!!!
man ive seen soooo many of this man’s films..what a true artist…thank u for the post!
Say Anything has to have been one of the most influential movies of my childhood, an absolute gem!
If only there were more Lloyd Doblers in the world…
“But Dad, how can I break up with him?”
“Give him this pen…” (Diane’s dad holds up a slightly used ballpoint)
Dug the shit out of Say Anything………..
Yup – Say Anything will be regarded as a classic some day. I mean, it is now – but it’s still too soon to tell. I think its impact will definitely last thru generations. Great movie.
Five Easy Pieces
Larry’s thoughts on it. I love how he opens: What is it about the face of Karen Black? It’s like a car accident you can’t turn away from. If you ever wonder why the ’70s was a golden era of…