Philippe Rousselot

Biography

Philippe Rousselot (born 4 September 1945) is a French director of photography. Rousselot was born in Briey, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. After having studied cinema at l'École Louis Lumière, he graduated in 1966 with, among others, François About, Eduardo Serra, Noël Very, and Jean-François Robin. He began as an assistant to Nestor Almendros, then quickly emerged as chief operator, leading to his career. He collaborated, in particular, with Jean-Jacques Beineix (Diva), Alain Cavalier (Thérèse), Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear), Robert Redford (A River Runs Through It), Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons), Patrice Chéreau (Queen Margot), Bertrand Blier (Thanks Life), and Tim Burton on Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on A River Runs Through It and earned three César Awards, in 1982 for Diva, in 1987 for Thérèse and in 1995 for Queen Margot. With Beineix and Diva, he worked successfully to make photographic aesthetics a central element of the filming process, developing a photographic light "effect" and creating a timeless, almost unreal atmosphere, which would become his trademark as in the films of Bertrand Blier. He tried to achieve this effect in 1997 with The Serpent's Kiss. Filmography 1970 : Le Clair de terre [The Earthshine] 1970 : Un couple d'artistes [A Couple of Artists] 1971 : Côté cour, côté champs [The Side Courtyard, by the Fields] 1972 : Absences répétées [Repeated Absences] 1973 : La Raison du plus fou est toujours la meilleure [The Craziest Reason is Always the Best] 1974 : Histoires d'A [The Stories of A] 1975 : Cyrus le violoncelliste [Cyrus the Cellist] 1975 : Il pleut toujours où c'est mouillé [It Always Rains When It's Wet] 1976 : L'Affiche rouge [The Red Poster] - Frank Cassenti 1977 : Je veux mourir dans la patrie de Jean-Paul Sartre [I want to Die in the Land of Jean-Paul Sartre] 1977 : Pour Clémence [For Clemency] 1977 : Adam ou Le sang d'Abel [Adam, or the Blood of Abel] 1977 : Le Couple [The Witness Couple] - William Klein 1977 : Paradiso [Paradise] 1977 : Diabolo menthe [The Diabolo Mint] - Diane Kurys 1978 : Pauline et l'ordinateur [Pauline and the Computer] 1979 : La Drôlesse [Hussy] - Jacques Doillon 1980 : Vive la mariée [Long Live the Bride] 1980 : Cocktail Molotov [Molotov Cocktail] 1981 : La Provinciale [The Provincial One] 1981 : Diva [Diva] - Jean-Jacques Beineix 1981 : La Gueule du loup [The Mouth of the Wolf] - Michel Leviant 1982 : Guy de Maupassant - Michel Drach 1983 : La Lune dans le caniveau [The Moon in the Gutter] - Jean-Jacques Beineix 1984 : Les Voleurs de la nuit [Robbers of the Night] - Samuel Fuller 1984 : End of the Rainbow 1984 : Nemo 1985 : Night Magic - Lewis Furey 1985 : Des terroristes à la retraite [Terrorists in Retirement] 1985 : La Forêt d'émeraude (The Emerald Forest) - John Boorman 1986 : Thérèse [Teresa] - Alain Cavalier 1987 : La Guerre à sept ans (Hope and Glory) - John Boorman 1988 : L'Ours [The Bear] - Jean-Jacques Annaud 1989 : Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) - Stephen Frears 1989 : Trop belle pour toi [Too Beautiful for You] - Bertrand Blier 1989 : We're No Angels 1990 : Henry et June (Henry & June) 1991 : Merci la vie [Thanks Life] - Bertrand Blier 1991 : L'Étrangère (The Miracle) 1992 : Et au milieu coule une rivière (A River Runs Through It) - Robert Redford 1993 : Sommersby 1993 : Flesh and Bone 1994 : La Reine Margot [Queen Margot] - Patrice Chéreau 1994 : Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles 1996 : Mary Reilly 1996 : The People vs. Larry Flynt 1997 : The Serpent's Kiss 1999 : Instinct 1999 : Random Hearts 2000 : Remember the Titans 2001 : The Tailor of Panama 2001 : Planet of the Apes 2002 : Antwone Fisher 2003 : Big Fish 2005 : Constantine 2005 : Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2007 : The Brave One 2007 : Lions for Lambs 2007 : The Great Debaters 2009 : Sherlock Holmes 2010 : Peacock 2011 : Larry Crowne 2011 : Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Awards Caesar for best photography in 1987, Thérèse - Alain Cavalier Oscar for best photography in 1992, A River Runs Through It - Robert Redford Caesar for best photography in 1995, La Reine Margot - Patrice Chéreau.