FRC Icon World Tour #10 – Australia – Christopher Doyle
This week we are moving our FRC World Tour down to Australia and Christopher Doyle
Moving down to a country that has a very special place in our hearts, Australia. The reason it is so special? Well myself and Lynette were married there and we conceived our first child whilst staying there. Here with this weeks episode of the Icon world tour is Toby from blahblahblahgay, his icon? Christopher Doyle
What is your name and the title of your blog?
Hey Scott’s Frontroom, I’m blahblahblahtoby from blahblahblahgay
What Country are you from?
I’m originally English but in the process of becoming an Australian.
Who is your Icon?
This was incredibly tough, I decided that if at all possible I would not use somebody who had gone to America to become famous. But this proved quite hard as anyone half decent leaves at the first opportunity. I asked around and in typical Australian fashion the answers provided were TV actors so I have plumped for a Director of Photography. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Christopher Doyle.
Can you please give a small Biography of your chosen Icon
Christopher Doyle, born to a family of doctors in an outer suburb of Sydney, he didn’t make a film until he was 34. He traveled all over Asia working a variety of interesting sounding jobs such as oil driller, cow herder and alternative doctor.
What he missed out on in those first 34 years of not making films he more than made up for with his output since with imdb listing 57 credits to his name in the last 27 years. Winning awards at Cannes (In The Mood For Love – 2000) and Venice (Ashes of Time – 1994) he has been in increasing demand in recent years. Making 8 films with Wong Kar-Wai to date you will find his name on films made in America, Japan, Thailand, China and Australia.
Untrained in film he talked his way in to film after meeting a young director in a Hong Kong bar and despite having since tried studying cinematography in a French school his philosophy is to disregard film school and film theory, just jump in and learn from your mistakes.
What makes your Icon special and standout from the crowd?
Christopher Doyle brings a special quality to anything he works on, he has a unique eye for capturing the beauty of a scene, often quoted as saying that he tries to “capture the dance between camera and actor” creating something fluid rather than mechanized. I started to notice his name on films whose beauty caught my breath and it was then that I began associating his name with quality. Words like lyrical and poetic are what spring to mind when you think of his work
Please give us some examples of the best of their work?
For me Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Last Life In The Universe is all Chris Doyle, I’ve tried watching some of the directors other work without Chris Doyle behind the camera and none of them have the same magic quality or simple beauty to them.
Similar praise could be used to describe Chungking Express and In The Mood For Love, two incredible pieces of Chinese cinema made with Wong Kar-Wai.
In English language film his most poetic visuals can be found in the Australian movie Rabbit Proof Fence and the Vietnam based The Quiet American.
Any bad apples to avoid?
Well I’ve certainly avoided them so far, please do not judge him on his American output of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Lady in the Water or his most recent Mickey Rourke and Megan Fox starrer Passion Play.
Are you a fan of Christopher Doyle? Have you any questions for Toby? Any other Australian Icons you like? Comment below
Scott Lawlor
![mystic1[1]](http://www.frontroomcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/mystic11-110x70.jpeg)
Nice pick Toby, and a great tie in to my previous post. You can’t talk about WKW without mentioning Doyle and vice-versa.
I haven’t seen much of his English language work, but I did love his work on Paranoid Park and The Limits of Control.
hey BT – for some reason i didn’t connect the dots to paranoid park, i vaguely recall it all being handheld stuff? very un-Doyle like?
but yes absolutely on The Limits of Control, that movie made me want to go to Seville, he made everything look so pretty. Jarmusch definitely got a lot out of Doyle for that film.
Yeah noticeably more handheld and less romantic than his usual work, but I loved the skateboarding shots, and also the scene at the train tracks.
i think i might take another look at it BT, i was semi dismissive of it because it felt like a van Sant/MySpace publicity stunt to me.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Toby for wirting todays post.
Thanks my friend!
hey buddy, you’re welcome, thanks for having me as part of this entertaining blogathon of sorts. i have also posted about it incase you’ve alread passed me on your daily rounds.
just saw your tags, do you have a widget that picks your tags for you?
No Problemo!
I will go and check your site right away!!
Yeah it is an auto tagger. Just saves me a little time and helps with seo (apparently)
I’ve never heard of his name before, which is strange since I loved loved loved THE QUIET AMERICAN, both the film and the magnificent Oscar deserving performances by Caine and Fraser.
As everybody knows all of my most favourite stars are from Down Under – Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Hugh Jackman, Craig Parker, Karl Urban .. I adore them all. I also love most of Australian music stars beside the film ones.
Hoping to visit the country someday since I do have some beloved friends down there.
it’s not often people really pay attention to the techy guys behind the scenes i suppose dezmond.
i admit that those names you’ve mentioned do not even feature on my radar as australian or in some cases i have no idea who you are talking about!
yes australia is a beautiful country that everyone should be lucky enough to visit. i hop eyou manage it.
This is cool that you chose to highlight a cinematographer, Tony. They’re the ‘unsung heroes’ of the movie biz if you will, much like editors who often go unnoticed. I saw on his IMDb page that he also knows how to speak Mandarin, very impressive. I have yet to see In The Mood for Love but have heard praises about how beautiful that film is, a testament to Doyle’s great work obviously. Great post!
thanks ruth. it’s toby by the way.
you’re absolutely right about unsung heroes, as a wannabe film maker myself i know exactly how important getting the right editor and the right cinematographer can be to achieving the desired end goal. with the wrong person in charge of those areas your film could easily look like a michael bay movie when you’re after something closer to woody allen.
the movie LIVING IN OBLIVION by Tom DiCillo, starring Steve Buscemi & Catherine Keener is a fun look at the struggles of a small budget film crew, highlighting the importance of having the right people for those ‘ignored’ jobs.
Damn, I was hoping to get up in time to edit the name error before you saw toby!
Reckon the 8 hour time difference was always gonna put paid to that. You edit comments scott?
Oh I’m so sorry, yes I know it’s Toby, a slight misspell on my part! That is cool that you’re working in film, man. Do share with us when your upcoming project is up
I’m trying to be a film maker. In an ideal world. But I’m just a book dealer at the moment. Fret not though, the second I make any profress towards my dreams I won’t hesitate to share with the world!
Great write-up, Toby! I don’t know much about Doyle, but I’d have picked Peter Weir. Nevertheless I have learned something and I will go and check out some of these movies!
Tyler peter weir is a director working in hollywood isn’t he? He made that movie with russell crowe “more than twice our guns, more than twice our numbers” right?
If I hadn’t placed a restriction on people who’ve gone to hollywoodland to make it I couldve picked most of hollywood, australia is a hotbed of talent for americans to pick from.
Please don’t hesitate to check out last life in the universe. Its wonderful.
He directed Passion Play? o_O
I’ll take your word that I shouldn’t judge him for it.
Note to self : Watch more Australian films.
anna – dont bother watching more australian films, im not enamoured of them. although there is a new(ish) film that i did enjoy, Griff The Invisible. if you get a chance to see it, do, its sweet and fun and really nice to look at quite often (and my bosses son is one of the lead actors it turns out)
but no doyle didnt direct passion play, he merely shot the thing, i think he must’ve wanted a new experience, there’s no real reason for him to have been involved with what turned out to be pretty bad by all accounts.
But but …. Romper Stomper? Animal Kingdom? There must be other pearls.
i know what you mean but statistically they are few and far between. the major problem i have found with the australian film industry is that they are either too preoccupied with being hollywood or massively preoccupied with trying to find a national identity that they movies arent exactly watchable.
sadly (for me as a book dealer) i have discovered it is the same with their literature too.
Have you seen any of the early work by the Australian cinematographer, Dion Beebe? I recommend Jane Campion’s Holy Smoke, and Clara Law’s The Goddess of 1967.
actually, i bought the goddess of 1967 a few years ago based on the back of the box blurb and images and still haven’t seen it. but i do not know the name Dion Beebe. I’m sure i will watch it now you’ve reminded me to see it. you seem to have that effect on me.
i agree. thankshttp://www.yugiohrpgonline.net