Ernest Laszlo

reference Ernest Laszlo, man, what a legend behind the lens. Born in Budapest in 1898, back when Hungary was still tangled up in that Austro-Hungarian Empire business, Laszlo eventually made his way to the US and just started working his magic. Early on, he got his hands on the camera for “Wings” (1927) – yeah, the first movie to ever win Best Picture – not too shabby for a start. By 1928, he was already calling the shots as director of photography with “The Pace That Kills.” But it’s his wild ride with Robert Aldrich that really put him in the spotlight. Seriously, Laszlo shot eleven films for Aldrich, including “Vera Cruz,” that bonkers noir “Kiss Me Deadly,” and “The Big Knife.” He just had this gritty, stylish touch, y’know? That’s not even counting his work on “Two Years Before the Mast,” “Road to Rio,” “Stalag 17,” and the trippy sci-fi flick “Logan’s Run.” Oh, and don’t sleep on his version of “M” (1951) – taking the classic and flipping it into a moody LA noir. It took the Academy ages to wake up – he finally snagged his first Oscar nom after three decades for “Inherit the Wind,” then kept the streak going with “Judgment at Nuremberg,” “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World,” and finally, victory with “Ship of Fools.” Even his last film, “The Domino Principle,” had him working for Kramer. The guy even ran the American Society of Cinematographers for a couple years. Laszlo passed away in 1984, but man, his style’s stamped all over movie history.