Death Of Field: Remembering Jaws Camera Operator Michael Chapman (1935 - 2020)
Michael Chapman, who has passed away aged 84, shot the last third of Jaws practically handheld, helping draw us into the film and onto the ocean.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chapman said: "I had a marvellous time on that film, and I've had a house on Martha's Vineyard ever since. Steven was very young and, like Marty, had a great sense of how to tell a story with the camera. On the water, it's almost all handheld because in those days we didn't have the tools [for stabilization on boats]."
Jaws Cinematographer, Bill Butler, remembered what Manhatten-born Chapman brought to the film in an interview with Moviemaker magazine. He said: About 90 percent of the shots on the boat were handheld, Michael was intrigued by the idea and was very good at it.
"We did things that we probably wouldn’t have tried without the lightweight camera. Michael even climbed the mast and shot from the top straight down. We also put him in a small boat.”
Chapman wasn't just a camera operator on Jaws, he was a renowned cinematographer - perhaps best known for majestic beauty of his black and white photography in Raging Bull - but also was on the same duties on Scorcese's Taxi Driver, the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Lost Boys, Scrooged and The Fugitive to name but a few. Chapman would team up with Martin Scorcese for one last cinematory job, this time on Michael Jackson's Bad video.
He was also a Camera Operator on other bona-fide classics such as The Godfather and Klute. Featuring a pre-Jaws Roy Scheider. He also stepped behind the camera as Director, most notably for one of Tom Cruise's first hits, All The Right Moves.
Chapman's final cinematography role was at the age of 70, for The Bridge to Terebithia.
And now, he too has crossed that great filmmaking bridge in the sky, but his vibrant body of work still remains to enthral and delight old and new audiences alike. Viewing the films we love - some of the most iconic of all time - through his eyes, through his vision.
Written by Dean Newman
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