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Andrzej Bartkowiak

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Andrzej Bartkowiak
Bartkowiak at the premiere of Doom, 2005
Born (1950-03-06) 6 March 1950 (age 74)
Alma materŁódź Film School
Occupation(s)Cinematographer, director
Years active1973–present
Spouse
(m. 1980; div. 1989)

Andrzej Bartkowiak, ASC (born 6 March 1950) is a Polish cinematographer and film director based in the United States.[1][2][3]

He became known in the 1980's for his partnership with director Sidney Lumet, shooting 11 of his films between 1981 and 1993.[4]

He later became known as a director of action films,[5] including the Jet Li vehicles Romeo Must Die (2000) and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), and the video game adaptations Doom (2005) and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009).

Life and career[edit]

Bartkowiak was born and raised in Łódź, and studied at the Łódź Film School from 1970 to 1972.

After graduating, he moved to the United States and settled in New York City, where he worked as a cinematographer and director on dozens of television commercials and industrial films, for clients like IBM, Xerox, American Express, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Toyota. He also worked for several years in Italy.[3]

He shot his first feature, the independent feature Deadly Hero, in 1975.

Cinematography[edit]

He achieved prominence in the early 1980's through a close association with director Sidney Lumet, beginning with the Oscar-nominated 1981 film Prince of the City. He shot almost of all of Lumet's films, 11 in total, between 1981 and 1993. He also worked with other prominent directors, like John Huston, James L. Brooks, James Ivory, Martin Ritt and William Friedkin.

Three of his films in the 1980's - The Verdict (1982, dir. Lumet), Terms of Endearment (1983, dir. Brooks), and Prizzi's Honor (1985, dir. Huston) - were Academy Award nominees for Best Picture.

In 2010, he worked as cinematographer in the thriller Trespass, directed by Joel Schumacher, both had collaborated before on Falling Down.

Bartkowiak is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.[6]

Directing[edit]

Bartkowiak made his directorial debut with Romeo Must Die, a martial arts action film starring Jet Li and Aaliyah, which grossed $91 million at the box office.[7] A year later he made the action thriller film Exit Wounds starring Steven Seagal, the film was a hit in theaters.[citation needed] Cradle 2 the Grave was a moderate success at the box-office.[citation needed]

Later he teamed up with Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment and Capcom to direct Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

In 2017, he directed the Russian-American co-production film Maximum Impact, starring Alexander Nevsky, Kelly Hu, Mark Dacascos, Tom Arnold, and Danny Trejo.

In 2020, he directed the film Dead Reckoning, with KJ Apa and India Eisley.

Personal life[edit]

Barkowiak was married to actress Diane Venora between 1980 and 1989. They have one daughter, Madzia.[8] He also has a son, named Marco.[3]

Filmography[edit]

As cinematographer

Year Title Director Notes
1979 3 by Cheever: The 5:48 James Ivory Television film
1981 Prince of the City Sidney Lumet First of 11 collaborations with Lumet
1982 Deathtrap
The Verdict
1983 Daniel
Terms of Endearment James L. Brooks
1984 Garbo Talks Sidney Lumet
1985 Prizzi's Honor John Huston
1986 Power Sidney Lumet
The Morning After
1987 Nuts Martin Ritt
1988 Twins Ivan Reitman
1989 Family Business Sidney Lumet
1990 Q&A
1991 Off and Running Ed Bianchi
1992 Hard Promises Martin Davidson
A Stranger Among Us Sidney Lumet
1993 Falling Down Joel Schumacher
Guilty as Sin Sidney Lumet
1994 Speed Jan de Bont
A Good Man in Africa Bruce Beresford
1995 Losing Isaiah Stephen Gyllenhaal
Species Roger Donaldson
Jade William Friedkin
1996 The Mirror Has Two Faces Barbra Streisand with Dante Spinotti
1997 Dante's Peak Roger Donaldson
The Devil's Advocate Taylor Hackford
1998 U.S. Marshals Stuart Baird
Lethal Weapon 4 Richard Donner
2000 Gossip Davis Guggenheim
Thirteen Days Roger Donaldson
2011 Trespass Joel Schumacher
2017 Grey Lady John Shea
2020 A Zebra-Riding Boy Chen Juzhi
Fan Xiaotian

As director

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sandra Brennan (2015). "Andrzej Bartkowiak". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 11 April 2015 suggested (help)
  2. ^ Brennan, Sandra. "Andrzej Bartkowiak Biography". AllMovie. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  3. ^ a b c "Art Confidential Magazine - Andrzej Bartkowiak | Remy Haynes Photography". remyhaynes.com. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Andrzej Bartkowiak | Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles". Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  5. ^ Srisavasdi, Greg (13 November 2020). "Director Andrzej Bartkowiak Takes Indie Approach To Filming 'Dead Reckoning'". Deepest Dream. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  6. ^ "A Happy 100th Birthday Party Held at the ASC Clubhouse". The American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Romeo Must Die". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  8. ^ www.myheritage.com https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-2304415/madzia-bartkowiak-horgan-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people. Retrieved 8 July 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links[edit]