Gordon Willis on AllMovie

American cinematographer Gordon Willis began as a summer stock actor, but turned to photography full-time after experience as an Air Force cameraman. The slow uphill climb peaked in 1970, when the 39-year-old Willis lensed his first feature film. Among his best-known assignments were the three Godfather films and several of Woody Allen's projects, notably the documentary-style Zelig (1983). As well known for his outspokenness as his photographic brilliance, Willis raised hackles on the set of The Godfather, responding to many of director Francis Ford Coppola's instructions by moaning, "Oh, that's dumb!" Perhaps partially due to this abrasiveness, Willis has received only two Oscar nominations, for Zelig (1982) and Godfather III (1990). In 1980, Gordon Willis directed his first film, the visually intriguing but otherwise worthless mad-killer melodrama Windows.