American Cinematographer - September 2008 - 63

other reason was fear: If Vilmos couldn’t do it, no one could!” Fortunately, the cinematographer did have a few allies on the production, including effects expert Douglas Trumbull. “Without Doug,” Zsigmond says, “I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.” Three decades later, Zsigmond still ponders his obstinate position. “Why did I have the courage to insist on more light?” he asks. “If I had wanted to protect my job, I would have shut up and not cared — that’s what they wanted.” Despite the wealth of cinematic anecdotes offered in No Subtitles, the heart of the film is the extraordinary friendship between the two Hungarians. As Audrey Kovacs muses during the documentary, “Vilmos is really Laszlo’s widow. They were as close as any two men could be.” When told about Audrey’s quote, Zsigmond laughs, saying, “That’s not altogether true, but it’s funny. We were inseparable. We basically lived the same life, though not in the same house. The beautiful thing was that we helped each other. From the very beginning, if I had two job offers, the other one went to Laszlo, and vice-versa. Whenever he couldn’t do pickup shots because he was on another movie, I would go. Many times Laszlo timed my films for me. We could jump in at any time and do good work for each other. And it’s also true that people often mixed us up.” Addressing the documentary’s core theme, cinematographer Malatynska writes, “What truly left an impression on me was how these two friends supported each other’s careers and elevated each other. I think that kind of bond between two people is a rare sight in the world. Laszlo and Vilmos carried themselves with exemplary integrity through thick and thin. They serve as an example to all cinematographers. It was force of will and passion that got them to where they are in the pages of history. Their friendship and mutual support illustrates how support among cinematographers benefits not only individual careers, but also the craft itself.” I TECHNICAL SPECS 1.78:1 Super 16mm, High-Definition Video, Mini DV, Super 8mm Aaton XTR Prod; Arri 16SR-3, 416; Panavision Genesis; Panasonic AG-HDX200 Kodak Vision2 250D 7205, 200T 7217, 500T 7218 and Vision3 500T 7219 Digital Intermediate DIRECTOR‘S VIEWFINDER NEW OIC 35 Eyepiece adjustable from -4 to +4 diopter Eyepiece adjustable to right or left eye For all lenses with 54 PL-mount For Arriﬂex 435/535 ground glasses Pivot holder for easy grip OIC 16 Eyepiece adjustable from -5 to +5 diopters 7 integrated ground glass markings Therefore no exchange of any ground glasses Immediate change from format to format For all lenses with 54 PL-mount Pivot holder for easy grip Boot C10 h No. Hall 3 Precision Engineering Denz · www.denz-deniz.com Tel: +49 89 - 62 98 66 0 · Fax: +49 89 - 62 98 66 20 63

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American Cinematographer - September 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - September 2008