Tak Fujimoto

A leading director of photography, Tak Fujimoto began his career working on commercials as an assistant to celebrated director/cinematographer Haskell Wexler. He received his first credit as a director of photography on Terrence Malick's "Badlands" (1973). Fujimoto sent nearly three years working on films produced by Roger Corman and it was during this period he began what is arguably the most fruitful collaboration of his distinguished career--his association with producer-director Jonathan Demme. Fujimoto and Demme first worked together on the women-in-prison flick "Caged Heat" (1974) and the female killers film "Crazy Mama" (1975). Their association has encompassed everything from the Hitchcockian "Last Embrace" (1979) to the period romance "Swing Shift" (1984), perhaps reaching its zenith with Fujimoto's appropriately claustrophobic photography on "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). While "Beloved" (1998) may not have set any box-office records, the film featured strong work from the cinematographer who utilized various film stocks to achieve the film's textured look. In addition to his long-standing partnership with Demme, Fujimoto has lent his considerable talents to numerous other projects. He created the appropriately noirish look for Alan Rudolph's "Remember My Name" (1978) as well as the colorful world of teenagers in both "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Pretty in Pink" (both 1986). His work on 1995's "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995) ranks as among his best. In Carl Franklin's adaptation of Walter Mosley's detective novel, he avoiding using diffused light in order to create the subtle but rich earth tones found in old photographs. Fujimoto's photography also lent emotional resonance to both "A Thousand Acres" (1997) and M Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" (1999).

  • Job Titles:
    Director of photography
Education
  • University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California
  • National Film School, London, England
Milestones
  • 1969 Joined Haskell Wexler as an assistant on filming commercials
  • 1973 Debut feature as a director of photography, Badlands , directed by Terrence Malick; was one of three credited cinematographers
  • 1974 First teaming with Jonathan Demme, Caged Heat
  • 1977 Served as a camera operator on the 2nd unit photography for Star Wars
  • 1979 TV debut as a cinematographer on the NBC movie This Man Stands Alone
  • 1980 Shot Melvin and Howard for Demme
  • 1983 Was director of photography for Heart Like a Wheel
  • 1984 Reteamed with Demme for Swing Shift
  • 1986 Lent talents to the teen pics Ferris Bueller s Day Off and Pretty in Pink
  • 1988 Reunited with Demme for Married to the Mob
  • 1989 Last TV credit (to date), Cast the First Stone (NBC)
  • 1991 Served as director of photography for Demme s Oscar-winning Best Picture The Silence of the Lambs
  • 1993 Collaborated with Demme on Philadelphia
  • 1995 Earned widespread praise as director of photography for the moody, noirish Devil in a Blue Dress
  • 1996 Was cinematographer on Tom Hanks directorial debut, That Thing You Do!
  • 1997 Captured the heartland of America for A Thousand Acres
  • 1998 Again reteamed with Demme on Beloved
  • 1999 Forged the appropriately eerie atmosphere for The Sixth Sense
  • 2000 Was cinematographer on the sports-themed drama The Replacements

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