Introduction
Alexander Thomson BSC (12 January 1929 – 14 June 2007) was a British cinematographer.
Born in London, England, he was first offered a job by Bert Easey (1901-1973), who was head of cameras at Denham and Pinewood Studios. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Excalibur (1981). His other films included Year of the Dragon (1985), Legend (1985), Labyrinth (1986), The Krays (1990), Alien 3 (1992), Cliffhanger (1993), Demolition Man (1993), Executive Decision (1996) and two of Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations, Hamlet (1996) and Love's Labour's Lost (2000).
After beginning his film career in the late 1940s, he went on to serve as a camera operator under cinematographer Nicolas Roeg on twelve films between 1961 and 1966. In 1998 he shot the Royal Premiered CinemaScope short "The Troop" (dir: Marcus Dillistone) An interview with Alex Thomson appears in a new book Conversations with Cinematographers by David A Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press.
Thomson died on 14 June 2007 (aged 78) in Chertsey, Surrey.
Filmography
As Cinematographer
| Year | Film | Director | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Ervinka | Ephraim Kishon | |
| 1968 | The Strange Affair | David Greene | |
| Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush | Clive Donner | ||
| 1969 | Alfred the Great | ||
| I Start Counting | David Greene | ||
| The Best House in London | Philip Saville | ||
| 1970 | The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer | Kevin Billington | |
| 1971 | The Night Digger | Alastair Reid | |
| 1972 | Dr. Phibes Rises Again | Robert Fuest | |
| Death Line | Gary Sherman | ||
| 1973 | Fear Is the Key | Michael Tuchner | |
| 1978 | Rosie Dixon – Night Nurse | Justin Cartwright | |
| The Class of Miss MacMichael | Silvio Narizzano | ||
| 1979 | Game for Vultures | James Fargo | |
| The Cat and the Canary | Radley Metzger | ||
| 1981 | Excalibur | John Boorman | Nominated - Academy Award for Best Cinematography Nominated - British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography |
| 1983 | Eureka | Nicolas Roeg | Nominated - British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography |
| Bullshot | Dick Clement | ||
| The Keep | Michael Mann | ||
| 1984 | Electric Dreams | Steve Barron | |
| 1985 | Year of the Dragon | Michael Cimino | |
| Legend | Ridley Scott | British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography | |
| 1986 | Raw Deal | John Irvin | |
| Labyrinth | Jim Henson | ||
| Duet for One | Andrei Konchalovsky | ||
| 1987 | The Sicilian | Michael Cimino | |
| Date with an Angel | Tom McLoughlin | ||
| 1988 | Track 29 | Nicolas Roeg | |
| High Spirits | Neil Jordan | ||
| 1989 | Leviathan | George Pan Cosmatos | |
| The Rachel Papers | Damian Harris | ||
| 1990 | The Krays | Peter Medak | |
| Mr. Destiny | James Orr | ||
| Wings of Fame | Otakar Votocek | ||
| 1992 | Alien 3 | David Fincher | |
| 1993 | Cliffhanger | Renny Harlin | |
| Demolition Man | Marco Brambilla | ||
| 1994 | Black Beauty | Caroline Thompson | |
| 1995 | The Scarlet Letter | Roland Joffé | |
| 1996 | Executive Decision | Stuart Baird | |
| Hamlet | Kenneth Branagh | British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography Nominated - Golden Frog Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Cinematography | |
| 2000 | Love's Labour's Lost | ||
| 2003 | Listening | Short Film |