R.I.P. JOHN BAILEY, A.S.C.

Veteran cinematographer John Bailey, whose skill in finding the most beautiful, evocative shot composition in often everyday settings made him a much sought-after studio ally, passed away on Friday November 9. He was 81.

Amassing 86 credits as D.O.P./Cinematographer since his debut in 1972 on Alan Rudolph’s hippy-horror indie Premonition, Bailey very quickly found himself in demand. Lensing Michael Pressman’s Boulevard Nights in 1979 opened the door for Bailey, who next entered into a creative partnership with Paul Schrader on American Gigolo (1980), followed by Cat People (1982); Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985, for which he earned a ‘Best Artistic Contribution’ honour at the Cannes Film Festival); and, the Michael J. Fox starrer, Light of Day (1987).

ORDINARY PEOPLE (Dir: Robert Redford; Paramount Pictures, 1980)

Bailey earned his stripes as camera assistant and operator on such iconic works as Pierre Aldridge’s concert-doc Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1971),  Monte Hellman’s Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) and, later, Robert Altman’s 3 Women (1977) and Terence Malick’s masterpiece Days of Heaven (1978).

GROUNDHOG DAY (Dir: Harold Ramis; Columbia Pictures 1993)

It would be Robert Redford’s Oscar-winner Ordinary People (1980) - only Bailey’s 10th credit as D.O.P. - that solidified his status as one of Hollywood’s elite artisans. Over the next four decades, he would shoot alongside such names as Walter Hill (Crossroads, 1986); Robert Benton (Nobody’s Fool, 1994); James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets, 1997); Wolfgang Peterson (In The Line of Fire, 1993); and Ken Kwapis (Vibes, 1988; The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, 2005; A Walk in the Woods, 2015).

THE LAWRENCE KASDAN FILMS - CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, 1981; THE BIG CHILL, 1983; SILVERADO, 1985; THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST, 1988.

In the latter stage of his career, his lightness of touch visually and experience on set made him the go-to cameraman for romance and comedy. His buoyant colours and composition enlivened such hits as The Out-of-Towners (1999), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), How to Lose a Guy in 10 days (2003), Must Love Dogs (2005), The Producers (2005); He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), Romona and Beezus (2010), The Way Way Back (2013) and How to Be  a Latin Lover (2017). His final film was Richard Pagano’s Ten Tricks in 2022, a two-hander drama starring Lea Thompson shot in evocative black-&-white.

CYNDI LAUPER: TRUE COLOURS (Dir: Patricia Birch, 1986)

His vast body-of-work earned him unparalleled respect amongst his peers, a following that led to him being elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2017 to 2019 (the organisation that, ironically, never nominated him for an Oscar). Bailey is survived by his wife, Oscar-nominated editor and former Academy governor Carol Littleton.

THE DOCUMENTARIES - SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA (Dir: Jonathan Demme, 1987); THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE (which he also directed, in 1991); A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME (Dir: Errol Morris, 1991); THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE (Dirs: Nanette Burstein, Brett Morgen; 2002)