Carlo Di Palma

Carlo Di Palma (17 April 1925  9 July 2004) was an Italian cinematographer, renowned for his work on both color and black-and-white films, whose most famous collaborations were with Michelangelo Antonioni and Woody Allen.

Carlo Di Palma
Born(1925-04-17)17 April 1925
Died9 July 2004(2004-07-09) (aged 79)
Rome, Italy
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1954–1997
SpouseAdriana Chiesa

Early life

Carlo Di Palma was born into a poor Roman family; his mother was a flower seller on the Spanish Steps,[1] while his father was a camera operator for a number of Italian film studios.[2] In an interview shortly before his death, Di Palma recounted his childhood memories of observing his father in action: "I'd run to the studio or the location, and watch my father work. I was fascinated by the whole experience. I would stand on a crate sometimes and watch. All of the people that were on the location were pleasant to me. I was very quiet and observant, so with that they let me stay on set. I would watch many different directors over and over."[2]

Career

Di Palma's collaborations with Antonioni included Il deserto rosso (1964); the "Il provino" segment in I tre volti (1965); Blowup (1966); Identification of a Woman (Identificazione di una donna) (1982). With Woody Allen, he worked on Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), September (1987), Alice (1990), Shadows and Fog (1991), Husbands and Wives (1992), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Bullets over Broadway (1994), Don't Drink the Water (1994), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), and Deconstructing Harry (1997). He also worked with many other noted film directors during his long and productive career.

He is also a little-known film director.[3]

Carlo Di Palma moved from Italy to the United States in 1983.

He won a Silver Ribbon for best cinematography four times: in 1965 for Il deserto rosso, in 1967 for L'armata Brancaleone, in 1993 for Shadows and Fog, and in 1997 for Mighty Aphrodite, as well as the Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema award in 2003.

Later years

Di Palma was hired to shoot Allen's film Anything Else (2003), and actually started location scouting before failing an insurance physical, which was required for all key personnel on the crew, resulting in his replacement by Darius Khondji, to Di Palma's great disappointment, as he had been eager to work again after having been on the sidelines for the past six years.[4]

Personal life

In the 1980s, Di Palma married Adriana Chiesa, an exporter of Italian films. She nursed him through his final illness.[1]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Notes
1957 Lauta mancia Fabio De Agostini
1960 The Employee Gianni Puccini
Long Night in 1943 Florestano Vancini
Le svedesi Gian Luigi Polidoro
1961 The Assassin Elio Petri
Tiro al piccione Giuliano Montaldo
Divorce Italian Style Pietro Germi With Leonida Barboni
Leoni al sole Vittorio Caprioli
1962 Parigi o cara
Terrible Sheriff Alberto De Martino
Antonio Momplet
With Dario Di Palma and Ricardo Torres
1963 Omicron Ugo Gregoretti
1964 Liolà Alessandro Blasetti With Leonida Barboni and Tonino Delli Colli
Red Desert Michelangelo Antonioni
The Naked Hours Marco Vicario
1965 Terror-Creatures from the Grave Massimo Pupillo
1966 L'armata Brancaleone Mario Monicelli
A Question of Honour Luigi Zampa With Luciano Trasatti
Blowup Michelangelo Antonioni
1967 I Married You for Fun Luciano Salce
On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who... Pasquale Festa Campanile
1968 The Girl with the Pistol Mario Monicelli
1969 The Scarlet Lady Jean Valère
The Appointment Sidney Lumet
Help Me, My Love Alberto Sordi
1970 The Pizza Triangle Ettore Scola
Ninì Tirabusciò, la donna che inventò la mossa Marcello Fondato
La pacifista - Smetti di piovere Miklós Jancsó
1971 La supertestimone Franco Giraldi
That's How We Women Are Dino Risi
1972 Gli ordini sono ordini Franco Giraldi
1979 Together? Armenia Balducci
1981 Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man Bernardo Bertolucci
1982 Identification of a Woman Michelangelo Antonioni
1983 The Black Stallion Returns Robert Dalva
Gabriela Bruno Barreto
1986 Hannah and Her Sisters Woody Allen
Off Beat Michael Dinner
1987 Radio Days Woody Allen
The Secret of My Success Herbert Ross
September Woody Allen
1990 Alice
1991 Shadows and Fog
1992 Husbands and Wives
1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery
1994 Bullets Over Broadway
The Monster Roberto Benigni
1995 Mighty Aphrodite Woody Allen
1996 Everyone Says I Love You
1997 Deconstructing Harry

Short films

Year Title Director Notes
1963 Le lièvre et la tortue Alessandro Blasetti Segment of Three Fables of Love
1965 Il provino Michelangelo Antonioni Segment of The Three Faces
1966 Fata Sabina Luciano Salce Segment of Sex Quartet
1970 Il frigorifero Mario Monicelli Segment of Le coppie
1989 Roma Michelangelo Antonioni Segment of 12 registi per 12 città

Television

Year Title Director Notes
1981 Great Performances Jean-Pierre Ponnelle Episode "La clemenza di Tito"
1983 Ritorno a Lisca Bianca Michelangelo Antonioni TV documentary short
1994 Don't Drink the Water Woody Allen TV movie

Director

References

  1. Lane, John Francis (13 July 2004). "Carlo Di Palma: Italian master of cinematography". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  2. Szklarski, Stephen J. "Carlo Di Palma: An interview". Independent Film Quarterly. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  3. Moliterno, Gino (2009). The A to Z of Italian Cinema. Scarecrow Press. pp. 114–15. ISBN 9780810870598. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. Tonguette, Peter. "Carlo Di Palma: An Appreciation and a Remembrance". Senses of Cinema. Film Victoria. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
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