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John Alcott

John Alcott, BSC was an English cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with director Stanley Kubrick. He won an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for his work on Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975), with additional BAFTA nominations for the director's A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984).

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John Alcott
Born(1930-11-27)27 November 1930
Isleworth, Middlesex, England
Died28 July 1986(1986-07-28) (aged 55)
Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1948–1986

John Alcott, BSC (27 November 1930 – 28 July 1986)1 was an English cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with director Stanley Kubrick.2 He won an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for his work on Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975),3 with additional BAFTA nominations for the director's A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984).

Early life

John Alcott was born in Isleworth, England, in 1930. His father, Arthur Alcott, was an executive at Gainsborough Pictures and later Pinewood Studios.4 He began his career at a young age as a clapper boy.5

Career

Alcott's big break was given to him by Stanley Kubrick,2 who promoted Alcott to lighting cameraman in 1968 while working on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Alcott completed the "Dawn of Man" sequence after Geoffrey Unsworth had to depart the production early due to a scheduling conflict.4

Alcott subsequently shot three films for Kubrick: A Clockwork Orange (1971),6 Barry Lyndon (1975), and The Shining (1980). He won an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for his work on Barry Lyndon. Three of his collaborations with Kubrick (2001, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon) were ranked between 1950 and 1997 in the top 20 of “Best Shot”, voted by the American Society of Cinematographers.4

Alcott's work for other directors included the films Overlord (1975), March or Die (1977), Terror Train (1980), The Beastmaster (1982), Under Fire (1983), and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). In 1981, he moved to the United States,4 where he directed and shot commercials for television at Paisley Productions.7

He was featured in the 1986 PBS documentary Six Kinds Of Light (Masters Of Cinematography).8

Death

Alcott died of a heart attack in Cannes, France on 28 July 1986, aged 55.1 His final two films, White Water Summer and No Way Out, were released posthumously and dedicated to his memory.

In his memory, the "BSC John Alcott ARRI Award" was created by the British Society of Cinematographers in 1990.4

Filmography

Year Title Director Notes
1968 2001: A Space Odyssey Stanley Kubrick Additional photography: "Dawn of Man" sequence4
1971 A Clockwork Orange
1974 Little Malcolm Stuart Cooper
1975 Overlord
Barry Lyndon Stanley Kubrick
1977 March or Die Dick Richards
The Disappearance Stuart Cooper
1978 Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Ted Kotcheff
1980 The Shining Stanley Kubrick
Terror Train Roger Spottiswoode
1981 Fangio: Una vita a 300 all'ora Hugh Hudson Documentary
Fort Apache, the Bronx Daniel Petrie
1982 Vice Squad Gary Sherman
The Beastmaster Don Coscarelli
1983 Triumphs of a Man Called Horse John Hough with John Cabrera
Under Fire Roger Spottiswoode
1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Hugh Hudson
1985 Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend Bill L. Norton
1986 Miracles Jim Kouf
1987 White Water Summer Jeff Bleckner Posthumous release
No Way Out Roger Donaldson

Awards and nominations

Institution Year Category Work Result
Academy Awards 1976 Best Cinematography Barry Lyndon9 Won
British Academy Film Awards 1973 Best Cinematography A Clockwork Orange10 Nominated
1976 Barry Lyndon11 Won
1985 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes12 Nominated
British Society of Cinematographers 1975 Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film Barry Lyndon Won
1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Awards 1982 Special Award N/a Won
1985 Best Technical/Artistic Achievement N/a Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association 1975 Best Cinematography Barry Lyndon Won
National Society of Film Critics 1975 Best Cinematography Won
1984 Under Fire Nominated
References

References

  1. "JOHN ALCOTT, AN OSCAR WINNER FOR CINEMATOGRAPHY, IS DEAD". The New York Times. 3 August 1986. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  2. N/A. (1977). John Alcott. The Independent Film Journal (Archive: 1937–1979), 80(3), 6–7.
  3. "Barry Lyndon: Kubrick's neglected masterpiece". The Daily Telegraph. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  4. "BSC Members | British Society of Cinematographers". bscine.com. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  5. John Alcott Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005633/bio
  6. N/A. (2000). Clockwork orange. Retrieved from http://kubrickfilms.warnerbros.com/video_detail/cwo/ Archived 7 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  7. N/A. (2014). Overview for John Alcott. Retrieved from http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/1770%7C85034/John-Alcott/
  8. "Six Kinds of Light: John Alcott, a rare documentary on cinematographer best known for his four collaborations with Stanley Kubrick • Cinephilia & Beyond". Cinephilia & Beyond. 18 February 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  9. "The 48th Academy Awards | 1976". www.oscars.org. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  10. "Film". Bafta. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  11. "Film". Bafta. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  12. "Film". Bafta. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
External links