Chris Menges | |
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Born |
Kington, Herefordshire |
September 15, 1940
Chris Menges BSC, ASC (born 15 September 1940) is an English cinematographer and film director. He is a member of both the American and British Societies of Cinematographers.
Menges was born in Kington, Herefordshire, the son of the composer and conductor Herbert Menges. He began his career in the 1960s as camera operator for documentaries by Adrian Cowell and for films like Poor Cow by Ken Loach and If.... by Lindsay Anderson. Kes, directed by Ken Loach, was his first film as cinematographer. He was also behind the camera on Stephen Frears' first feature film Gumshoe in 1971.
After several documentaries and feature films like Black Beauty (1971), Bloody Kids (1978), The Game Keeper (1980), Babylon (1980) and Angel (1982) he became notable for more ambitious works for which he was critically acclaimed.
In 1983 he received his first BAFTA nomination for the Bill Forsyth film Local Hero and only a year later won his first Academy Award for the film The Killing Fields about the genocide in Cambodia. He continued his work with helmer Roland Joffe and he won his second Oscar in 1986 with the historical drama The Mission. He also shot a television play titled "Made in Britain", starring Tim Roth in 1983.