Oliver Wood obit

Oliver Wood, Cinematographer of ‘The Bourne Identity’ and ‘Face/Off,’ Dies at 80

 

He was not on the list.

Oliver Wood, an English cinematographer whose credits include “Die Hard 2,” “Face/Off,” “The Other Guys” and the original “Bourne” trilogy, died Monday, Feb. 13, at his home in Hollywood following a battle with cancer. He was 80.

With a career spanning across seven decades, Wood worked across a wide variety of projects, collaborating with directors like John Woo, Adam McKay, Antoine Fuqua, Barry Sonnenfeld and Larry Cohen. He was nominated for a BAFTA award for best cinematography for his work on 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum,” directed by Paul Greengrass.

Born in London, Wood moved to New York City when he was 19. His first major credit came on Leonard Kastle’s 1970 crime film “The Honeymoon Killers,” making a strong impression for his technique of using available light to give the anachronistic dark comedy the look of a newsreel.

Wood shot numerous B-movies and independent films throughout the late 1970s and ’80s, frequently collaborating with cinematographers Joseph Mangine and Fred Murphy. He also worked as a camera operator on high-profile projects, including 1984’s “Body Rock” and the 1985 film “To Live and Die in L.A.”(1985). Wood was a prolific music video and commercial cinematographer, working for directors like Bob Giraldi and Rupert Wainwright.

Wood’s breakthrough arrived working as the director of photography for 53 episodes of the hit crime series “Miami Vice,” serving as the series’ primary DP between 1987 and 1989. Big-budget Hollywood films followed in the ’90s, with notable credits including “Die Hard 2,” “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey,” “Face/Off” and “U-571.”

In the 2000’s, Wood brought his talents to the “Bourne” trilogy, popularizing a spontaneous, naturalistic visual style that often employed multiple handheld cameras. Wood cited films such as “The Battle of Algiers” as an influence on his technique. His work on the “Bourne” trilogy has been highly influential on the visual language of American action films since the start of the century.

Most recently, Wood collaborated with Daniel Espinoza on “Morbius,” released in 2022.

Wood often voiced his gratitude to be able to travel for his creative profession, as well as heralding his creative collaborators. He is survived by his wife, Sabina Groh; his daughters, Katharine Wood and Fiona Wood; and his son, Emerson Forth.

 

Filmography

Director of photography

Film

 

Year     Title            Director           Notes

1967            Popdown        Fred Marshall          

1969    The White Slave            Rene Daalder            Co-cinematographer with Jan De Bont

1970    The Honeymoon Killers            Leonard Kastle          

1977    Danny            Gene Feldman          

1978            Feedback        Bill Doukas           

1980    Don't Go in the House  Joseph Ellison 

1982    Maya            Ágúst Ágústsson        

Q - The Winged Serpent            Larry Cohen  Co-cinematographer with Fred Murphy[18]

1983    The Returning            Josh Bender

The Sex O'Clock News            Romano Vanderbes    

1984    In Our Words  Robert Richter

Stanley Warnow            Documentary

Alphabet City            Amos Poe     

1986    Joey            Joseph Ellison 

Quiet Cool            Clay Borris   Co-cinematographer with Jacques Haitkin

Neon Maniacs            Joseph Mangine            Co-cinematographer with Joseph Mangine

1990    Die Hard 2 Renny Harlin  

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane           

1991            Mystery Date            Jonathan Wacks          

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey            Peter Hewitt 

1993    For Love or Money            Barry Sonnenfeld      

Rudy    David Anspaugh        

Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit    Bill Duke   

1994            Terminal Velocity            Deran Sarafian           

1995    Mr. Holland's Opus            Stephen Herek           

1996    Celtic Pride    Tom DeCerchio       

2 Days in the Valley   John Herzfeld          

1997            Face/Off          John Woo   

Switchback            Jeb Stuart  

1998    Mighty Joe Young            Ron Underwood            Co-cinematographer with Donald Peterman

2000    U-571            Jonathan Mostow        

2002    The Adventures of Pluto Nash            Ron Underwood     

I Spy    Betty Thomas           

The Bourne Identity Doug Liman  

2003            National Security            Dennis Dugan 

Freaky Friday            Mark Waters

2004            Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed            Raja Gosnell

The Bourne Supremacy            Paul Greengrass      

2005            Fantastic Four  Tim Story   

2006            Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby  Adam McKay           

2007    The Bourne Ultimatum            Paul Greengrass            Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography

2008    Step Brothers            Adam McKay           

2009            Surrogates            Jonathan Mostow        

2010    The Other Guys            Adam McKay           

2012    Safe House  Daniel Espinosa          

2013    2 Guns            Baltasar Kormákur     

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues            Adam McKay           

2015    Child 44        Daniel Espinosa          

2016            Grimsby          Louis Leterrier          

Ben-Hur            Timur Bekmambetov 

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back    Edward Zwick  

2018    The Equalizer 2            Antoine Fuqua  

Holmes & Watson            Etan Cohen 

2022            Morbius           Daniel Espinosa          

Short films

 

Year     Title            Director

1979    Mr. Gimme Peter Mark Schifter

1984    My Hometown            Bob Giraldi

1988    One or the Other            Nicholas Hondrogen

Television

 

Year     Title            Director           Notes

1985    City Boy      Bob Giraldi  TV movie

1987    Nasty Hero    Nick Barwood

1987–89            Miami Vice                 53 episodes

1991    Angel City      Renny Harlin   TV movie

2020    Cine Chalom            Yossi Benavraham            Episode "EXTRAIT DU FILM "VOLTE FACE" DE JOHN WOO... 1997"

Other credits

Camera operator

 

Year     Title            Director           DoP.

1984    Body Rock            Marcelo Epstein            Robby Müller

1985    To Live and Die in L.A.            William Friedkin

Director of Photography: 2nd Unit

 

Year     Title            Director           DoP.

1985    Seven Minutes in Heaven Linda Ferferman            Steven Fierberg

Rappin' Joel Silberg  David Gurfinkel

1986            Hoosiers           David Anspaugh            Fred Murphy

Additional photography

 

Year     Title            Director           DoP.

2007    Breach            Billy Ray      Tak Fujimoto

2010    The Town   Ben Affleck Robert Elswit

Little Fockers            Paul Weitz   Remi Adefarasin

2011    Battle: Los Angeles            Jonathan Liebesman            Lukas Ettlin

2012    Wrath of the Titans            Ben Davis