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'The Godfather' cinematographer Gordon Willis dead

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IANS Los Angeles

Ace cinematographer Gordon Willis, who lensed director Francis Ford Coppola's "Godfather" series, died Sunday.

Willis, whose photography for Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" (1977) and "Manhattan" (1979) helped define the look of the 1970's cinema, died at the age of 82.

The cause of death has not been disclosed, reports variety.com.

Phone calls and social media posts about the cinematographer's passing away trickled Sunday evening.

"This is a momentous loss. He was one of the giants who absolutely changed the way movies looked. Up until the time of 'The Godfather' one and two, nothing previously shot looked that way. He changed the way films looked and the way people looked at films," said Richard Crudo, president, American Society of Cinematographers.

 

Willis received an honorary Academy Award in 2009 at the first Governor's Awards ceremony.

Among the other films of Woody Allen that he shot are "Interiors," "Stardust Memories," "Broadway Danny Rose," "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Zelig," for which he was Oscar-nominated.

Willis also had an Oscar nomination for "The Godfather Part III" (1990).

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First Published: May 19 2014 | 11:50 AM IST

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