Lars Pettersson FSF: “Celebrating 75 years of the BSC at BSC Expo 2024”

It cannot have escaped any cinematography buffs that the BSC mark their 75th anniversary this year. And obviously this calls for some celebration. So, without further ado, here are some voices from BSC members we found at BSC Expo last week.

We did make one curious observation though: in the BSC gift shop at their booth the logos on all the shirts and caps still said ”70 years”… But then it could be argued that the BSC badge obscures the zero and technically, there could be a five behind there…

We asked: Who is your candidate for best British cinematographer of all time and what is the best British film of all time?

Living legend Harvey Harrison BSC, one of IMAGO’s founding fathers, needs about half a second to come up with his candidates. “Freddie Francis (BSC). The only BSC member to win Oscars for both black-and-white and colour cinematography. Best British film of all time? Don’t Look Now (1973), Nicolas Roeg (BSC).” (Also a brilliant DP.)

James Friend ASC BSC won last year’s Oscar for Best Cinematography for All Quiet on the Western Front (2022). He suggests Freddie Young OBE BSC as best British cinematographer of all time and Young’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962) as best British film of all time. He offers Casino Royale, shot by Phil Méheux BSC, as a runner-up for the latter title.

Nina Kellgren BSC has a Scandinavian heritage. Born in the UK with an American mother and a Swedish father hailing from Åre in Jämtland in Sweden (a mountainous region, although in the Himalayas these wouldn’t even qualify as hills). “There have been a number of brilliant British cinematographers and many brilliant British films. I don’t think in terms of ‘the best of all time’, that’s not the way my mind works.”

Next up were titans of British cinematography, Jamie Harcourt GBCT ACO Assoc BSC (of Star Wars (1977) fame, need we go on..?) and former BSC President Robin Vidgeon (Hellraiser 1987, some 43 features with Dougie Slocombe OBE BSC etc…).

Jamie’s choices: Billy Williams BSC and Gandhi (1982). Robin’s choices: Dougie Slocombe and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Says Robin, “Dougie got Raiders because he shot the India sequence in Close Encounters of the Third Kind for Spielberg, who was highly impressed with Dougie’s expertise and unbelievable track record. I felt Dougie was a brilliant choice for an action/adventure film like Raiders, because he gave it a touch of class, as if it had been a high society drama, like The Great Gatsby or similar.”

Former IMAGO President Nigel Walters BSC feels that “the greatest all-round British cinematographer in my opinion is Chris Menges (ASC BSC), because of his outstanding work on both documentary and feature films. The greatest British film is A Clockwork Orange (1971) shot by John Alcott BSC, whom I nominate as best cinematographer for feature films.

“And I’m also going to suggest – as ‘honourable mention’ – a somewhat controversial candidate, in that I feel Adrian Biddle (BSC) may have become one of the best British cinematographers of all time had he lived. As things now stand, he turned in sterling work on James Cameron’s Aliens, Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise, 1492: Conquest of Paradise and many others.”

Mike Eley BSC, another former President of the BSC, picks Jack Cardiff OBE BSC and The Third Man (1949). “Normally, cinematography isn’t supposed to call attention to itself, but I just loved all those giant shadows and the atmospheric night exteriors in Vienna.”

We have a little chat about what Orson Welles’ contributions may or may not have been to the final look and sound of the picture. “I can’t imagine anyone as creative as Orson Welles not offering ideas or suggestions on the set, I’m sure he contributed a great deal. And it doesn’t make sense – but it works! The scene where Harry Lime’s cat gives him away: we see the cat stroking itself against Harry’s shoes and trouser leg in a dark doorway, a woman turns on the light in her apartment and suddenly a powerful spotlight illuminates Harry in the doorway. A car comes down the street, and in the split second it takes for it to pass the doorway, Harry has disappeared without a trace!”

Incredibly, Nic Knowland BSC also offers Jack Cardiff and The Third Man – the exact same two choices as Mike. “It must be because we’re from the same part of London,” Nic laughs. “I was a member of a film club in my youth,” he reminisces, “and I would run the projector. And I remember running The Third Man was just magical!”

Technically not a BSC member, but the bona fide members would suffer enormously if they couldn’t rely on Jeff Lawrence’s sterling camera supports and had to hand-hold everything… so Jeff is in. But he gracefully choses ‘The Kellgren Option’ and remains silent. We’ve noticed the scarcity of gear heads at the Expo and wonder if this is because the industry is physically running out of gear heads? “It’s running out of people who can operate a gear head,” Jeff clarifies.

Finally, another Scandinavian connection, as Mattias Nyberg BSC was one of the panellists at the Expo. “The questions are almost impossible to answer,” he explains, “because there are so many absolutely brilliant British cinematographers and so many British films that I love. But Douglas Slocombe has to be up there among the finest cinematographers of all time and Dr Zhivago (1965, directed by David Lean) is simply a film masterpiece.”

In summing up, surely Robert Krasker BSC must also be a strong contender for the title of best British cinematographer of all time, since his magnum opus The Third Man turns up twice in this little survey.

Words: Lars Pettersson FSF