Gordon Willis(1931-2014)

In a spectacular seven-year period from 1971-77, seven of the films he worked on as director of photography accumulated 39 Oscar nominations with 19 wins. Among these wins were three Best Picture winners (Der Pate (1972), Der Pate 2 (1974) and Der Stadtneurotiker (1977)) and six for acting (Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, John Houseman, Robert De Niro, Jason Robards and Diane Keaton). Incredibly, Willis failed to secure a single nomination for himself during this period.

[on "ruining" footage to create the look of time-ravaged 1920s newsreels] "The lack of perfection, that's the hardest quality of all, because you're fighting your instincts. You're trained to want to do things perfectly."