Christopher Doyle

Early life

Doyle was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1952. He left his native country on a Norwegian merchant ship at the age of eighteen. Doyle arrived in Taiwan for the first time in the 1970s, while his ship was docked in Keelung Harbor. Doyle met Stan Lai and Ding Nai-chu at Idea House, a restaurant in Taipei.

Career

While living in other countries, he took on several odd jobs, such as being an oil driller in India, a cow herder in Israel, and a doctor of Chinese medicine in Thailand. In the late seventies, Doyle took an interest in Chinese culture and received the Chinese name Dù Kěfēng, which translates to "like the wind". After language studies in Taiwan, he started working as a photographer. A couple of years later, he became a cinematographer, working with Taiwanese director Edward Yang on the 1983 film That Day, on the Beach.

Doyle has worked on over 50 Chinese-language films. He is best known for his collaborations with Wong Kar-wai in Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love and 2046. He has collaborated with other Chinese filmmakers on projects including Temptress Moon, Hero, and Dumplings. He has also made more than 20 films in various other languages, working as director of photography on Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho, Liberty Heights, Last Life in the Universe, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Paranoid Park, and The Limits of Control, among others.

He also wrote, shot, and directed Warsaw Dark, Away with Words starring Asano Tadanobu, and Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous, an experimental portrait of three generations of Hong Kong people. He co-directed The White Girl with Jenny Suen.

Filmography

Cinematographer

Film

Short film

Television

Documentary works

Film

Short film

-- Television

Director

Awards and nominations

On 26 May 2017, Doyle was honoured during the 70th Cannes Festival with the “Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography” award, in tribute to his successful and influential career.

Bibliography

• Angel Talk (1996) – Behind the scenes photo book covering Fallen Angels –
• Backlit by the Moon (1996) – Japanese photography monograph –
• Photographs of Tamaki Ogawa (1996) – Japanese photography monograph –
• Doyle on Doyle (1997) – Japanese photography monograph –
• Buenos Aires (1997) – Behind the scenes photo book covering Happy Together –
• Don't Cry for Me, Argentina (1997) – Photographic journal account of filming Happy Together –
• A Cloud in Trousers (1998) – Gallery exhibition monograph –
• There Is a Crack in Everything (2003) – Photography monograph
• R34g38b25 (2004) – Behind the scenes photo book covering Hero –
• Talking White - Behind-the-scenes photobook covering The White Girl (co-written with Jenny Suen)

References

References

1. Opalyn Mok, [http://m.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/10-things-about-christopher-doyle-cinematographer-extraordinaire "10 things about: Christopher Doyle, cinematographer extraordinaire"] {{Webarchive. link. (3 February 2016, ''Malay Mail'', 7 December 2014.)
2. (December 1995). "The hottest lens in the east--cinematographer Christopher Doyle". Taiwan Panorama.
3. "Christopher Doyle".
4. Anderson, Ariston. (11 November 2016). "Turin Film Fest to Fete Wong Kar Wai Innovator Christopher Doyle". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
5. (24 April 2015). "Interview – Christopher Doyle: a legend in his own Y-fronts". [[The Guardian]].
6. Wen, Philip. (27 September 2015). "Australian filmmaker Christopher Doyle films Hong Kong's 'umbrella revolution'". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
7. [http://rossirossi.com/contemporaryartist/christopher-doyle/ Christopher Doyle] at Rossi Rossi.
8. [http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/5208/year/2000.html "In the Mood for Love"], Festival de Cannes, 2000.
9. Ali Naderzad, [http://screencomment.com/2017/05/cannes-christopherdoyle "CANNES FESTIVAL, Christopher Doyle gets Excellence in Cinematography award"], ''Screen Comment'', 25 May 2017.