Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: Alexander Thompson , Alex Thompson

Gender: Male

Place of birth: London, England, UK

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 56

TV Involvements: 0


Most Famous Work

Biography

Alexander Thomson BSC (12 January 1929 – 14 June 2007) was a British cinematographer. Born in London, England, he was first offered a job by Bert Easey (1901-1973), who was head of cameras at Denham and Pinewood Studios. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Excalibur (1981). His other films included Year of the Dragon (1985), Legend (1985), Labyrinth (1986), The Krays (1990), Alien 3 (1992), Cliffhanger (1993), Demolition Man (1993), Executive Decision (1996) and two of Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations, Hamlet (1996) and Love's Labour's Lost (2000). After beginning his film career in the late 1940s, he went on to serve as a camera operator under cinematographer Nicolas Roeg on twelve films between 1961 and 1966. In 1998 he shot the Royal Premiered CinemaScope short "The Troop" (dir: Marcus Dillistone) An interview with Alex Thomson appears in a new book Conversations with Cinematographers by David A Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press. Thompson was an avid user of Joe Dunton's custom-built Xtal Xpress lenses, shooting many of his more high-profile projects such as Labyrinth, Legend, The Keep, Year of the Dragon and The Sicilian with them. He was married to the sculptor Diana Thomson, and they had a daughter. Thomson died on 14 June 2007, at the age of 78, in Chertsey, Surrey.

Most Famous Work

Superman
Average
7

Superman

(1978) Additional Photography
Legend
Average
6

Legend

(1985) Director of Photography
Labyrinth
Average
7

Labyrinth

(1986) Director of Photography
Alien³
Average
6

Alien³

(1992) Director of Photography
Demolition Man
Average
7

Demolition Man

(1993) Director of Photography
Excalibur
Average
7

Excalibur

(1981) Director of Photography
Cliffhanger
Average
7

Cliffhanger

(1993) Camera Operator
Doctor Zhivago
Average
8

Doctor Zhivago

(1965) Camera Operator

Acting

Camera

Year Role Movie/Tv
2004 Director of Photography
2003 Director of Photography
2000 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1996 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1995 Director of Photography
1994 Director of Photography
1993 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
Camera Operator
1992 Director of Photography
1990 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1989 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1988 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1987 Director of Photography
1986 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1985 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1984 Director of Photography
1983 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1981 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1980 Director of Photography
1979 Director of Photography
1978 Additional Photography
Director of Photography
1972 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1971 Director of Photography
1970 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1969 Director of Photography
1968 Director of Photography
Director of Photography
1966 Camera Operator
Camera Operator
Camera Operator
1965 Camera Operator
Camera Operator
1964 Camera Operator
Camera Operator
Camera Operator
1963 Camera Operator
1961 Camera Operator
Year Role Movie/Tv

Crew

Year Role Movie/Tv
2000 Cinematography
Year Role Movie/Tv

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