Dean Cundey

Understand that this is all a point of opinion... and that I will get to talk about all of Cundey's work... because his resume is immaculate.

The No Mercy Man. Black Shampoo. Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks. Creature from Black Lake. Satan's Cheerleaders. Hi-Riders. Bare Knuckles.

Those are a list of the first films that Cundey ever shot, from 1975 until 1978. They read from hunger... a man trying desperately to get work in the 1970's in Hollywood, working on whatever he could grab. But, you won't believe what his next film was.

In 1978, John Carpenter had already come out with two films. Dark Star (with Alien scribe Dan O'Bannon) and (one of my personal Carpenter favorites) Assault on Precinct 13. Both of them were well done (for what they were)... but did not receive the hype that Carpenter's next movie did.

Halloween, in 1978, became the biggest grossing horror films ever... working off a budget of just over $300,000. Dean Cundey got the job to shoot what would be the ultimate diving platform for his work to come. He got the job, probably, because he came cheap.

Cundey's work on Halloween was smart, well lit, brilliantly shot. The steady-cam work showcased in Halloween would become the standard for all of Hollywood. Cundey was definitely on his way...

But he didn't know it... but someone did, and Carpenter stuck with this winning horse for quite some time. Cundey went and did other films to pay the bills, obviously. Roller Boogie. Rock n' Roll High School. The Charge of the Model Ts. Angels' Brigade.

Then, another Carpenter movie, in 1980. The Fog, another Carpenter low budget cult flick.

Then on to Without Warning and Galaxina.

Then a Carpenter flick again, this time the wildly successful Escape From New York in 1981.

At this time, it was obvious that Cundey was gaining more respect in Hollywood, for the sole fact that his B-movie jobs were slowing down. After Escape, he shot Halloween II. Then Separate Ways, Jaws of Satan... and then, in my opinion, the greatest horror movie ever made: John Carpenter's The Thing.

It was with The Thing that Cundey showed how brilliant he was. The shoot was brutal. Dealing with exceptional special effects proved to be difficult. The locations were brutal, as well. But Cundey helped Carpenter realize the film he wanted to make... and you can't mention these earlier Carpenter films without the brilliant work of Dean Cundey.

After The Thing came Halloween III, Psycho II, D.C. Cab... and then his other big break. Romancing the Stone, one of the biggest money makers of 1984, also directed by Robert Zemeckis. This would be the start of a brilliant relationship between the two. Cundey had already proved his value, working on the many different Carpenter films... and proved himself a diverse hero on the set, regardless of location, effects... anything.

In 1985, Zemeckis and Cundey teamed up for the biggest money maker of that year, the incredible film Back to the Future. The work was smart work. Everyone knew it. And people in Hollywood wanted Cundey to shoot for them.

Carpenter and Cundey teamed up one more time... for the effects laden Big Trouble in Little China. Since its release... the work on China has always been deemed as so-so... at least from my perspective of pan-and-scan video. The DVD just came out (review to follow), and I have to say... it's the best looking Carpenter film there is (not taking away from the other work, though).

A number of films followed China, including the second and third installments of Back to the Future, Nothing but Trouble, Hook and Death Becomes Her.

It was after Death Becomes Her (and his work with Spielberg on Hook) that he got to shoot one of the biggest money makers of all time, Jurassic Park. His track record (along with his work on Hook) had shown Spielberg his ability to work with effects, to work in difficult locations... and the photography on that film showed how well Cundey could handle himself.

Unfortunately, after Jurassic Park, it seems that Cundey 'shot his load'. He did some other features... Casper, Apollo 13, Flubber, Krippendorf's Tribe, The Parent Trap, What Women Want... but you can see he wasn't working for the big guys any more.

It's a shame. People like Cundey, who entertained us with brilliant shoots... they go the way of the dinosaur for no apparent reason... only when the new kid on the block shows up (ie Janusz Kaminski and Don Burgess) and directors like Spielberg and Zemeckis use fresh blood. I'm not close enough to these men, or this industry, to surmise exactly why this happened to Cundey... but I can guess. And I think it's unfair.

There are some fantastic articles on Cundey at cinematographer.com. Here are some of them:

Dean Cundey, ASC Discusses 'The Face'

Cundey Named UCLA's Next DP in Residence

The Birth of the Teen-Scream Genre: 'Halloween'

Dean Cundey Short Bio