Edward Lachman<\/strong> was born on March 31st<\/sup>, 1946 in Morristown, New Jersey. His grandfather (on the mother\u2019s side) owned a number of vaudeville theatres in the 1920s, which were later converted into movie houses, co-managed together with his son-in-law (Ed\u2019s father), a film theatre distributor, who eventually acquired a small cinema in the town of Boonton, New Jersey. Additionally, he represented a French company Lorraine Carbone, which sold arc carbons, the light sources used in film projectors. Therefore, it is safe to say that Ed Lachman<\/strong> literally grew up immersed in the light of cinema.<\/span><\/p>\n Edward Lachman<\/em><\/span> However, it was not the family business, but his father\u2019s and mother\u2019s private passions to painting and photography influenced the beginning of Lachman’s <\/strong>entry into adulthood. He decided to study art and art history, but didn\u2019t foresee a future in cinema.<\/span><\/p>\n During his student years, spent in France at the University of Tours, Harvard and Ohio Universities he was influenced by the Dada artists who challenged accepted definitions of art, as well as his interest in colour theory and its ability to create emotional response in the viewer as implemented strongly in the German Expressionist movement. Simultaneously, with film courses at Harvard taught by film critic Dwight Macdonald <\/strong>and Italian cinema scholar Gideon Bachmann<\/strong>, he began to examine cinematic works with a genuine artistic interest. This led him to focus on the visual aesthetics of film imagery and the deliberate intent behind its presentation. During this period, Lachman <\/strong>also discovered Robert Frank’s <\/strong>seminal photographic book, The Americans<\/em><\/span>, which further expanded his perspective on interpreting images as reflections of the artist’s experiences and subjective expression. This greatly fueled his interest in cinema and directed young Lachman <\/strong>towards a specific perspective on the cinematographer’s role in the filmmaking process. It marked him as an image maker who sought a visual psychological dimension of the image and the emotions it could potentially evoke in the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n “Airport Beirut-Kuwait”\u00a0<\/em><\/span> During his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program at Ohio University, Ed Lachman <\/strong>began creating his first documentary shorts of people he met, gaining practical knowledge in the art of filmmaking. This experience not only led to his initial professional assignments but also a two-year internship at the Maysles Brothers’ studio. <\/strong>In the film program while studying Italian neorealism he also explored the modern Italian cinema of the filmmakers of Federico<\/strong> Fellini<\/strong>, Michelangelo Antonioni<\/strong> and an aspiring young director Bernardo Bertolucci<\/strong> in which he focused his graduate thesis on Bertolucci\u2019s<\/strong> second film Before The Revolution <\/em><\/span>(1964). <\/em>He met Bertolucci<\/strong>, who was introduced to him at a press screening for the US premier for The Conformist<\/em><\/span> and The Spider Stratagem <\/em><\/span>at the New York Film Festival in 1970. Although the master’s thesis was never completed, their lasting friendship endured until Bertolucci’s<\/strong> passing in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n He worked out of college at the cin\u00e9ma v\u00e9rit\u00e9<\/em> documentary film studio of David <\/strong>and Albert Maysles<\/strong>, Ed Lachman<\/strong> took on multiple roles. He ran their office studio, and served as the second camera operator as well as managed sound recording for several of Maysles’<\/strong> films, including Christo’s Valley Curtain<\/em><\/span> and Grey Gardens<\/em><\/span>. This experience provided him with a strong foundation in documentary filmmaking and prepared for his future role as a cinematographer in documentaries and later in narrative films. Throughout his whole career, Lachman <\/strong>had the ability to adapt to various directors\u2019 styles, though he has always maintained an affinity to the documentary approach even in the narrative form.<\/span><\/p>\n Edward Lachman on the set of documentary “La soufri\u00e8re”<\/em><\/span> During the initial stages of his professional career in the early 1970s, Edward Lachman<\/strong> had the privilege of collaborating with a remarkable array of cinematic legends. Alongside the Maysles Brothers<\/strong> and Bernardo Bertolucci<\/strong>, with whom he worked on the set of La Luna<\/em><\/span> (where he met Vittorio Storaro<\/strong>), Lachman<\/strong> crossed paths with Robby M\u00fcller<\/strong> (while working on Wim Wenders’<\/strong> The American Friend<\/em><\/span> and Peter Bogdanovich’s<\/strong> They All Laughed<\/em><\/span>), Sven Nykvist<\/strong> (on projects like King of the Gypsies <\/em><\/span>directed by Frank Pierson <\/strong>and Hurricane<\/em><\/span> directed by Jan Troell<\/strong>), and Werner Herzog<\/strong> with whom he shot a number of documentaries including La Soufri\u00e8re <\/em><\/span>and tragicomedy narrative Stroszek<\/em><\/span> (with cinematography of Thomas Mauch<\/strong>) in 1977. Additionally, he had the opportunity to collaborate with Jean-Luc Godard <\/strong>on The Anatomy of a Shot<\/em><\/span>, a scenario visualization of Passion<\/em><\/span>. The director also invited him to join as one of the three cinematographers (alongside Vittorio Storaro<\/strong> and Renato Berta<\/strong>) for that project, but unfortunately, it did not come to fruition in its originally intended form.<\/span><\/p>\n Edward Lachman and Jean-Luc Godard on the set of “The Anatomy of a Shot”<\/em><\/span> With his background, Ed Lachman<\/strong> connected to European cinema and American independent filmmaking, both of which offer opportunities for unconventional and often experimental visual storytelling, especially in the context of more personally driven narratives. His extensive filmography includes numerous collaborations with directors such as Todd Haynes<\/strong> (Far from Heaven, I\u2019m Not There, Carol, Wonderstruck, Dark Waters<\/em>, Mildred Pierce <\/em><\/span>miniseries, and documentary The Velvet Underground<\/em><\/span>), Ulrich Seidl<\/strong> (Import\/Export<\/em><\/span> and The Paradise Trilogy: Faith, Love, Hope<\/em><\/span>), Steven Soderbergh<\/strong> (The Limey<\/em><\/span> and Erin Brockovich<\/em><\/span>), Gregory Nava<\/strong> (Selena, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, My Family<\/em><\/span>) and Paul Schrader<\/strong> (Light Sleeper, Touch<\/em><\/span>). He served as the cinematographer for Sofia Coppola’s<\/strong> debut feature, The Virgin Suicides<\/em><\/span> and lensed such films, as True Stories<\/em><\/span> (dir. David Byrne<\/strong>), Less Than Zero<\/em><\/span> (dir. Marek Kanievska<\/strong>), Backtrack<\/em><\/span> (dir. Dennis Hopper<\/strong>), Mississippi Masala<\/em><\/span> (dir. Mira Nair<\/strong>), S1m0ne<\/em><\/span> (dir. Andrew Niccol<\/strong>), Prairie Home Companion<\/em><\/span> (Robert Altman\u2019s<\/strong> last film), as well as Desperately Seeking Susan<\/em><\/span> and Making Mr. Right <\/em><\/span>directed by Susan Seidelman<\/strong>, just to name a few. Lachman’s<\/strong> inaugural narrative feature was The Lords of Flatbush<\/em><\/span> in 1974, directed by Martin Davidson<\/strong> and Stephen Verona<\/strong>, while his most recent one is El Conde<\/em><\/span> (2023), in collaboration with director Pablo Larra\u00edn<\/strong>. Their second film together, titled Maria<\/em><\/span> and starring Angelina Jolie<\/strong> in the lead role, is currently in the post-production stage.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/archive.camerimage.pl\/assets\/uploads\/2024\/02\/01.-Ed-Lachman-at-Camerimage-2007-photo-by-Grzegorz-Piekarski-\u00a9Camerimage-scaled.jpg\")
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\n(photo by Grzegorz Piekarski \u00a9 Camerimage)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n(\u00a9 Ed Lachman’s private archive)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n(\u00a9 Ed Lachman’s private archive)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n(photo by Ed Lachman \u00a9 Ed Lachman’s private archive)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n