Neglecting American Photographers: Gordon Willis
American lensers have often suffered from foreign favoritism–the preference given to their non-American counterparts.
A major talent like Gordon Willis failed to receive nominations for the first two Godfather movies, or, for that matter, for his black-and-white lensing of Woody Allen’s comedy classics, the Oscar-winning Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979).
Some believe that Gordon’s lack of popularity within his branch was related to his close identification with New York, which may or may not be the case.
But the fact remains that Willis has received only two nominations, both rather late in his career: for the black-and-white Zelig (1983) and for Coppola’s The Godfather, Part III (1990).
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