Millimeter celebrates the life and work of Conrad Hall, Sr. for his contribution to the art of cinema and to the community of filmmakers.

by Jon Silberg
Millimeter, Jul 1, 2002

Conrad L. Hall still recalls a slightly sarcastic suggestiondirector John Schlesinger aimed at him when the two were workingtogether on location in New York shooting the classic thrillerMarathon Man. "‘Conrad, he said, ‘you ought todirect a film before you shoot another one.’"

"I was probably coming on too strong," Hall admits all these yearslater. "That's something I don't like to do. I don't want to directanybody else's film. As a cinematographer, I just want to do the best Ican for the visuals."

Hall does have something of a reputation for strong opinions abouthis visuals, which is why so many of the films he's shot are sostriking, and why he has taken home two Oscars. Among the films he'sworked on are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Searchingfor Bobby Fischer, In Cold Blood, and AmericanBeauty.

Today, in his mid-seventies, at an age when many people would haveretired to the golf course, Hall continues to shoot cutting-edge films.Most recently, he has re-teamed with American Beauty directorSam Mendes for Mendes' second feature, Road toPerdition-—a dark, Depression-era drama starring Tom Hanksand Paul Newman. In it, Hanks, a hit man for the Irish Mafia, seeksrevenge when his boss, Newman, turns on him. For the film, Hanksassumes a darker persona than audiences have seen. "You won't believehow many guys he puts away," says Hall.

So to capture the heaviness of the story, Hall set out to create alook that was dark and monochromatic. "I abhor using too much color,"he declares. "Especially for a subject as bleak as this. It's not ahappy kind of film. It's powerful." The film is cold, both literally(it takes place in deep winter) and in its color palette. "I didn'twant it to be too visually friendly," he explains.

Hall credits the period sets by Dennis Gassner (The Man WhoWasn't There, The Hudsucker Proxy) and costumes by AlbertWolsky (The Grass Harp) with helping to sell the drama andcreating a film he believes is at least as powerful as his previouscollaboration with Mendes on American Beauty. The DP even goesso far as to cite the extras casting, which, he adds, was pitchperfect. "This is about the Irish Mafia and there's no mistaking thatthese people are Irish," he notes. "These sorts of details are allimportant."

When Mendes first approached Hall about American Beauty, Hallsays he had no compunction about working with the stage director withno previous feature film experience. In fact, Hall had recently shotSearching for Bobby Fischer, the directorial debut ofscreenwriter-turned-director Steven Zaillian, with resoundingsuccess.

"I knew Sam was a great dramatist," says Hall. "He'd done TheBlue Room in London and other plays. The script by Alan Ball told awonderful story. And I knew if Sam wanted my input, I'd be there tooffer it. To help. If something about the directing was completely outof line, I could speak up, have some influence." Just as Zaillianreturned to Hall for his next feature, A Civil Action, Mendesalso went back for this, his second feature.

Hall, a working cinematographer for more than 40 years, is quick toadd that despite his experience, he is still perpetually learning abouthis craft. He looks forward to digitally timing a feature the way RogerDeakins did for the Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? orlike his son, cinematographer Conrad W. Hall, did for David Fincher'sPanic Room. "You can make the final prints more exactly what youwant them to be," he says. "Chemicals are fickle. [Digital colorcorrection] can give you a level of control you could never do withtraditional color timing. I can't wait to take advantage of that.

"I'm still a student," he concludes. "Filmmaking is a brand new artform. It's only about a century old. I'm looking forward to going intoits next century and learning new things about it all the time."