What’s Up Doc, last night’s outdoor film at Brooklyn Film Works in JJ Byrne Park, was photographed by Laszlo Kovacs, who is considered one of the great cinematographers in Hollywood. He died in his sleep on Saturday night. He was 74.
In addition to What’s Up Doc, Kovacs shot more than 60 films, including “Easy Rider” “Five Easy Pieces,” “Shampoo,” “Paper Moon,” “New York, New York,” “What’s Up, Doc,” “Mask,” “Ghostbusters,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and many more.
The man responsible for the look of all these ground-breaking American movies was born and raised on a farm in Hungary during the Nazi occupation of that country.
According to Reuters, Kovacs, along with another great cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond, documented the rebellion. They borrowed film and a camera from their school and hid the camera in a paper bag that had a hole in it for the lens.
The pair carried 30,000 feet of documentary footage across the border. They eventually entered the United States as political refugees in 1957.
In the early 1960’s Kovacs got his start in Hollywood with Roger Corman, called the King of the B’s. Bogdonavich, the director of What’s Up Doc, Peter Bogdanavich, met Kovacs while he was working on a film called The Girl in the Invisible Bikini. Bogdanavich hired him on the spot to shoot Paper Moon. At the time Kovacs went an Americanized version of his name: Leslie Kovacs. Bogdanavich told NPR that he told Kovacs that Leslie didn’t sound like a Hungarian name. Kovacs told him that no one knew how to pronoucne his real name. He told Bogdanavich that when he makes a good film, his real Hungarian name will go on it.
His real name appears on the credits of Paper Moon and What’s Up Doc.
And “What’s Up Doc?” is a great film. I forgot just how funny it is. It is perfectly entertaining from start to finish. Such fun, such perfect screwballism. Filled with great dialogue by Robert Benton and Buck Henry, the stars, Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neal make the perfect screwball pair.
The crowd of nearly 100 enjoyed the film immensely. A great night at BFW. Next week: don’t miss Duck Soup with the Marx Brothers. July 31 in JJ Byrne Park. 8:30.
“What’s Up Doc?” has always been one of my favorite movies since I was a kid, sorry i missed the screening and what timing to show it within a week Laszlo Kovacs death. He worked on SO many of the great movies (even the Roger Corman ones!).