Alex Thomson
Alexander Thomson BSC (12 January 1929 – 14 June 2007) was a British cinematographer. Born in London, England, he was first offered a job by Bert Easey (1901-1973), who was head of cameras at Denham and Pinewood Studios. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Excalibur (1981). His other films included Year of the Dragon (1985), Legend (1985), Labyrinth (1986), The Krays (1990), Alien 3 (1992), Cliffhanger (1993), Demolition Man (1993), Executive Decision (1996) and two of Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations, Hamlet (1996) and Love's Labour's Lost (2000). After beginning his film career in the late 1940s, he went on to serve as a camera operator under cinematographer Nicolas Roeg on twelve films between 1961 and 1966. In 1998 he shot the Royal Premiered CinemaScope short "The Troop" (dir: Marcus Dillistone) An interview with Alex Thomson appears in a new book Conversations with Cinematographers by David A Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press. Thompson was an avid user of Joe Dunton's custom-built Xtal Xpress lenses, shooting many of his more high-profile projects such as Labyrinth, Legend, The Keep, Year of the Dragon and The Sicilian with them. He was married to the sculptor Diana Thomson, and they had a daughter. Thomson died on 14 June 2007, at the age of 78, in Chertsey, Surrey.
Executive Decision
(Director of Photography)
Mr. Destiny
(Director of Photography)
Raw Deal
(Director of Photography)
The Scarlet Letter
(Director of Photography)
Hamlet
(Director of Photography)
The Krays
(Director of Photography)
Death Line
(Director of Photography)
Year of the Dragon
(Director of Photography)
Cliffhanger
(Camera Operator)
Excalibur
(Director of Photography)
Alien³
(Director of Photography)
Legend
(Director of Photography)
Cliffhanger
(Director of Photography)
Demolition Man
(Director of Photography)
Labyrinth
(Director of Photography)
Electric Dreams
(Director of Photography)
Track 29
(Director of Photography)
A Shot at Glory
(Director of Photography)
Leviathan
(Director of Photography)
Fear Is the Key
(Director of Photography)
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
(Director of Photography)
I Start Counting
(Director of Photography)
Duet for One
(Director of Photography)
Love's Labour's Lost
(Director of Photography)
Eureka
(Director of Photography)
The Keep
(Director of Photography)
The Rachel Papers
(Director of Photography)
The Masque of the Red Death
(Camera Operator)
Dr. Crippen
(Camera Operator)
Love's Labour's Lost
(Cinematography)
The Road Builder
(Director of Photography)
The Best House in London
(Director of Photography)
High Spirits
(Director of Photography)
Judith
(Camera Operator)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
(Camera Operator)
Doctor Zhivago
(Camera Operator)
The Class Of Miss MacMichael
(Director of Photography)
Skokie
(Director of Photography)
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
(Director of Photography)
The Sicilian
(Director of Photography)
Black Beauty
(Director of Photography)
The Strange Affair
(Director of Photography)
Bullshot
(Director of Photography)
The Gold Bug
(Director of Photography)
Superman
(Additional Photography)
The System
(Camera Operator)
Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse
(Director of Photography)
Every Day's a Holiday
(Camera Operator)
The Cat and the Canary
(Director of Photography)
Der letzte Flug
(Director of Photography)
Fahrenheit 451
(Camera Operator)
The Caretaker
(Camera Operator)
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
(Director of Photography)
Listening
(Director of Photography)
Girl on Approval
(Camera Operator)
Nothing But the Best
(Camera Operator)