Richard Pope, the British cinematographer who worked extensively with Mike Leigh, has died at the age of 77.
Pope’s death was reported by the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) on Tuesday, October 22.
A message posted to the BSC website read, “It is with deepest sadness that we learn of the passing of our friend and colleague Dick Pope BSC. We pay tribute to our wonderful friend and colleague and out thoughts go out to his family especially his wife Pat at this difficult time.”
”On behalf of Mike, the team at Thin Man Films, and the cast and crew who worked regularly with Dick on our films for over 30 years, I wanted to say what a privilege it has been to have collaborated with him,” read a statement from Leigh’s regular producer Georgina Lowe, Leigh and the Thin Man Films team. ”His work, both with us, and on the eclectic collection of films he shot over his impressive career, was extraordinary. We have lost a friend and will miss him so much.”
Pope’s final film Hard Truths was the latest in his over-30-year collaboration with Leigh. Hard Truths debuted at Toronto Film Festival in September, and played the BFI London Film Festival earlier this month.
Richard Pope, known as Dick, was born in Bromley, Kent in 1947. Having started out in current affairs television including ITV series World In Action, Pope began working on narrative TV in the 1980s, receiving a Bafta nomination for 1987 comedy mini-series Porterhouse Blue.
He joined with Leigh for 1990 comedy Life Is Sweet, produced by Simon Channing Williams and Channel Four Films. The film won awards in both the UK and US, boosting the profile of its director, cinematographer, and cast including Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Jane Horrocks, Timothy Spall and David Thewlis.
It was one of 12 features Pope shot for Leigh, including 1996 Palme d’Or-winner Secrets & Lies; and 2014’s Mr. Turner, for which Pope was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. It was his second nomination for that prize, having previously been nominated in 2007 for Neil Burger’s The Illusionist.
Five films Pope made with Leigh were nominated for the Outstanding British Film Bafta – Naked, Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake and Another Year – with Secrets & Lies winning the award.
Pope also received the Camerimage Golden Frog, at Polish cinematography festival Camerimage, on two occasions, for Secrets & Lies and 2004’s Vera Drake.
He worked with other acclaimed directors both in the UK and abroad, including Mike Newell on An Awfully Big Adventure, Christopher McQuarrie on The Way of the Gun, Gurinder Chadha on Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and It’s A Wonderful Afterlife, and Richard Linklater on Me and Orson Welles and Bernie.
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