Michael Chapman, American cinematographer widely celebrated for his work with Martin Scorsese, passed away on Sunday due to heart failure. He was 84. The news of his death was confirmed by his wife, screenwriter, and filmmaker Amy Holden Jones on Twitter.
Michael Chapman’s formidable body of work included Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, The Last Waltz, and Raging Bull.
Chapman was nominated for an Academy Award in Cinematography for his work in Scorsese’s black-and-white violent sports drama Raging Bull, a biopic of Jake LaMotta starring Robert De Niro.Andrew Davis’ classic 1993 thriller The Fugitive earned Chapman a second Oscar nomination. Chapman also turned director with the films All the Right Moves and The Clan of The Cave Bear. The latter was a sports drama starring Tom Cruise.
Under the mentorship of cinematographer Gordon Willis, Chapman worked as a camera operator in his early years on iconic films including The Godfather, The Landlord and Jaws. He was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Camerimage film festival. Chapman’s last cinematography work was in Gabor Csupo’s 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia.