Oscar Profile #632: Owen Roizman

Born September 22, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, Owen Roizman was born into a family of filmmakers. His father, Sol Roizman, was a cinematographer for Fox Movietone News. His uncle, Morrie Roizman, was an editor of documentary films. Morrie received an Oscar nomination for producing the 1954 short subject, Rembrandt: A Self-Portrait.

As a child, Owen Roizman wanted to become a baseball player, physician, or mathematician. He tried out for the New York Yankees but developed polio as a teenager. Working during summer breaks at a camera rental store in Manhattan led to his becoming an assistant to cinematographer Gerald Hirschfeld at MPO Videotronics. He married his wife, Mona, in 1964 with whom he had one son, camera operator Eric Roizman.

After creating several TV commercials, Roizman made his film debut as cinematographer on the obscure 1970 film, Stop. His second film was William Friedkin’s The French Connection for which he received the first of his five Oscar nominations for his gritty camera work that set the standard for films made in New York with available light.

In 1972, Roizman was the cinematographer for Hebert Ross’ Play It Again Sam, Elaine May’s The Heartbreak Kid. and Bob Fosse’s TV production of Liza with a Z for which he received an Emmy nomination. Again, working for Friedkin on 1973’s The Exorcist, he received a much deserved second Oscar nomination for his distinctive cinematography. That was followed by two quintessential made in New York films, Joseph Sargent’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in 1974, and Sydney Pollack’s The Three Days of the Condor in 1975. Sandwiched between those two works was Bryan Forbes’ science fiction film, The Stepford Wives.

Back in New York for Sidney Lumet’s 1976 film, Network, Roizman received his third Oscar nomination. This one, however, took place in bedrooms, boardrooms, and TV studios, rather than the gritty city streets. His mid to late 1970s films included Irvin Kershner’s The Return of a Man Called Horse, Ulu Grosbard’s Straight Time, Michael Shultz’s Sgt. Peper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Mark Rydell’s The Rose, and Pollack’s The Electric Horseman.

The early 1980s brought Harold Becker’s The Black Marble, Grosbard’s True Confessions, Pollack’s Absence of Malice, Becker’s Taps, and Pollack’s Tootsie, for which Roizman received his fourth Oscar nomination, his fourth for a film made at least in part in New York.

Subsequent works included Beck’s Vision Quest, Lawrence Kasdan’s I Love You to Death, Pollack’s Havana, Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family, and Kasdan’s Grand Canyon, Wyatt Earp for which he received his fifth Oscar nomination, and French Kiss, his last film, released in 1995.

Owen Roizman was President of the American Society of Cinematographers from 1997-1998 and a member of the Academy’s Board of Governors from 2002-2011. He died on January 6. 2023 at 86.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971), directed by William Friedkin

Nominated for 8 Oscars, and winner of 5, Friedkin’s gritty filmed in New York classic owes more to Roizman’s cinematography than anything else yet incredibly his nomination was one of the three that did not win. Roizman lost to Oswald Morris for Fiddler on the Roof. That film also won for sound over The French Connection. Roy Scheider lost Best Supporting Actor to Ben Johnson in The Last Picture Show. The awards that The French Connection won were for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Gene Hackman), Adapted Screenplay, and Film Editing.

THE EXORCIST (1973), directed by William Friedkin

The opening sequence of this horror classic was filmed in Iraq, but the bulk of it was filmed in Washington, D.C., and New York. Nominated for 10 Oscars and winner of 2, Roizman was in good company here, losing along with Best Picture, Director, Actress (Ellen Burstyn), Supporting Actor (Jason Miller), Supporting Actress (Linda Blair), Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Film Editing. It won for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Sound. Roizman lost to Sven Nykvist who won for Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers. Best Picture went to The Sting which won a total of 7 Oscars out of 10 nominations.

THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974), directed by Joseph Sargent

As I stated in my recent review of the film, the best thing about it is the authentic “you-are-there” cinematography of Owen Roizman which captures the look and feel of the bristling city at that point in time. Unlike many films which features false pictures of the city – the turn of a corner leading to a part of the city miles away – this is one that stays true to the city’s geography as cars race uptown to stop a highjacked subway car headed toward oblivion. Roizman equaled this realistic approach to films made in New York with the following year’s The Three Days of the Condor, his first film for Sydney Pollack.

NETWORK (1976). directed by Sidney Lumet

Nominated for 10 Oscars and winner of 5, Roizman’s cinematography lost this one to Haskell Wexler for Bound for Glory. The film lost Best Picture and Director to John G. Avildsen’s Rocky but won Best Original Screenplay for Paddy Chayefsky and took home acting awards for Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, and Beatrice Straight. Joining Roizman and director Lumet on the sidelines were acting nominees William Holden and Ned Beatty and editor Alan Heim. This was the first since A Streetcar Named Desire win three acting awards but lose Best Picture.

TOOTSIE (1982), directed by Sydney Pollack

Nominated for 10 Oscars, and winner of just one for Best Supporting Actress Jessica Lange, the film lost Best Picture and Director to Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. Roizman, who received his fourth Oscar nomination for a film made at least in part in New York for his work here, also lost to Gandhi’s cinematographers, Billy Williams, and Ronnie Taylor. This laugh out loud comedy starring Dustin Hoffman as an out of work actor who becomes an overnight sensation as a woman on a soap opera, was a departure for Roizman on the heels of the heavily dramatic Absence of Malice and True Confessions.