Vale Haskell Wexler - John Conomos remembers the great cinematographer and sometime director

Haskell Wexler

More sad news today with the passing of the iconoclastic and iconic American cinematographer, director and film producer Haskell Wexler ( 1922- 2015). Prolific politically committed documentary filmmaker with Saul Landau and in terms of his Hollywood film features as one of the definitive award wining cinematographers of his era , Wexler's indispensable contribution to Elia Kazan's autobiographical

America America, Elia Kazan, 1963

"America, America" in 1963 was the beginning of his extraordinary defining cinematography to such 1960s and 70s classics as Mike Nichols' "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" ( '66), " In the Heat of the Night " ( '67), "Thomas Crown Affair''('68), , "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ('75), " Bound for Glory" ( '76), " Coming Home'( '78), "Days of Heaven" ( '78 additional cinematography), " Matewan" ( '87), etc.

Medium Cool, Haskell Wexler, 1969

Wexler who directed , wrote and filmed the highly influential 1969 fictional film "Medium Cool" in the style of cinema verite essentially contributed to the late 1960s countercultural 'keep it real' aesthetic back then. Wexler, who was born in Chicago,went to the progressive Francis Parker School where he became best friends with the leading American avant-grade publisher Barney Rosset (Grove/Evergreen)