Conrad L. Hall

Conrad L Hall was born on June 21, 1926 in Papeete, Tahiti. His father was James Norman Hall, an ace pilot and captain in the Lafayette escadrille that fought for France in World War I. James also co-wrote Mutiny on the Bounty. His mother was Sarah Winchester Hall. Growing up during the relative infancy of cinema, Hall never was around cameras and the idea of going to the movies was a foreign concept. In his teens, Hall moved from Tahiti to Santa Barbara for prep school.

After graduation Hall collaborated with his classmates, Marvin R. Weinstein and Jack C. Couffer, to create Canyon Films in 1949. In the beginning they made advertising commercials and documentaries and did pickup shots for features. In 1956 Canyon Films acquired a short film, My Brother Down There, which allowed Hall to enter into the cameraman position and become part of the International Photographers Guild. However, the Guild made Canyon Films hire an established Guild Cameraman for My Brother Down There, denying Hall credit, even though he shot the entire film. Instead he was credited as the visual consultant, after United Artists released the film under the new title Running Target.

Hall married Virginia Schwartz in 1952. They had three children, Conrad W. Hall, Kate Hall-Feist and Naia Hall-West, before they divorced in 1969. Hall met Actress Katharine Ross on the set of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, becoming her third of five husbands in 1969. Hall and Ross separated in 1973, finalizing their divorce in 1975 so that she could marry her fourth husband. His third marriage was to costume designer Susan Kowarsh-Hall, whom he worked with on Road to Perdition (2002), from an unknown date until his death.

Once Running Target was finished Canyon Films dissolved, and its members went off on their own paths. Since Hall was part of the Guild, he was able to work as an assistant cameraman at the side of many influential cinematographers such as Hall Mohr, Ernie Haller, Burnie Guffey and Ted McCord, who were all part of the ASC. Following a year of working as an assistant cameraman, he was awarded the chance to be the camera operator on the television series Stoney Burke. In 1963, he began filming another television series called The Outer Limits. Then, in 1964, he shot his first feature-length black and white film, Wild Seed, which was made in roughly 24 days with Producer Albert S. Ruddy.

(NOMINATIONS) - Morituri (1965), The Professionals (1966), In Cold Blood (1967), The Day of the Locust (1975), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Searching for Bobby Fisher (1993), A Civil Action (1998)

Their second collaboration, 1967's In Cold Blood, resulted in yet another Oscar nomination. It is notable for the documentary feel and location shots, which were rare at the time. In that same year, Hall shot Cool Hand Luke and Divorce American Style. Cool Hand Luke is known for being shot in Panavision, which contributed to its lush color palate. In 1968, Hall filmed Hell in the Pacific for Director John Boorman, which was not a box-office success but has since become a cult classic.

(WINS) - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), American Beauty (1999) Road to Perdition (2002)

Hall returned to the film industry in 1987 to shoot Black Widow. In 1988 Hall became part of the union crew for Tequila Sunrise after a few complications. His work resulted in a sixth Oscar nomination. Also in 1988, the ASC gave Hall an outstanding achievement award. After his work on Tequila Sunrise, he picked up his old pace, making Class Action (1991), Jennifer 8 (1992), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) and Love Affair (1994) one after the other. Searching for Bobby Fischer received an Oscar nomination for cinematography, his seventh.

Outstanding Achievement Award - Tequila Sunrise (1988), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), American Beauty (1999)

In 1994, Conrad L. Hall was honored with the lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Cinematographers. In 1998 he shot Without Limits and was Oscar nominated for A Civil Action, followed by his second win for American Beauty in 1999. American Beauty, his first collaboration with Director Sam Mendes, highlighted his unique use of the hand-held camera to capture the film's heightened reality and almost dream-like atmosphere. His final film was Road to Perdition in 2002, a second collaboration with Mendes, for which he was posthumously awarded another Academy Award. In total, he won three Oscars throughout his 50-year career.

Hall died in 2003 owing to complications from bladder cancer at the Santa Monica Hospital. His Oscar for Road to Perdition (2002), which is dedicated to Hall, was posthumously accepted by his son Conrad W. Hall, also a Cinematographer.

After prep school, Hall was told by his father to find his path in life. Hall attended the University of Southern California, intending to study journalism, but ended up doing poorly and instead went to cinema school. He wasn’t sure this was the right decision, yet he thought since this was a new art form it would be interesting to start from the bottom. Hall went to the cinema school at a time when Slavko Vorkapić was the head of the program; Hall recalls that “He taught me that film-making was a new visual language. He taught the principles, and left the rest up to us”. After creating his first shots in school he fell in love with the art and wanted to continue telling his stories through imagery. A few people that visited his school during his education at USC were John Huston and Orson Welles. After graduation in 1949 Hall expected to get a job right out of college. At the time, however, Hollywood only allowed the camera crew to be filled with people that were on the International Photographers Guild roster.