Christopher Doyle (born 2 May 1952), also known as Dou Ho-fung (),Opalyn Mok, "10 things about: Christopher Doyle, cinematographer extraordinaire" , Malay Mail, 7 December 2014. is an Australian cinematographer, known for his work in arthouse cinema, mainly Hong Kong films, as well as films directed by Wong Kar-wai.
Doyle has won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, as well as the AFI Award for cinematography, the Golden Horse award (four times), and the Hong Kong Film Award (six times).
Early life
Doyle was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1952. He left his native country on a Norwegian merchant ship at the age of eighteen. Doyle arrived in Taiwan for the first time in the 1970s, while his ship was docked in Keelung Harbor. Doyle met Stan Lai and Ding Nai-chu at Idea House, a restaurant in Taipei.
Career
While living in other countries, he took on several odd jobs, such as being an oil driller in India, a cow herder in Israel, and a doctor of Chinese medicine in Thailand. In the late seventies, Doyle took an interest in Chinese culture and received the Chinese name Dù Kěfēng, which translates to "like the wind". After language studies in Taiwan, he started working as a photographer. A couple of years later, he became a cinematographer, working with Taiwanese director Edward Yang on the 1983 film That Day, on the Beach.
Doyle has worked on over 50 Chinese-language films. He is best known for his collaborations with Wong Kar-wai in Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love and 2046. He has collaborated with other Chinese filmmakers on projects including Temptress Moon, Hero, and Dumplings. He has also made more than 20 films in various other languages, working as director of photography on Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho, Liberty Heights, Last Life in the Universe, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Paranoid Park, and The Limits of Control, among others.
He also wrote, shot, and directed Warsaw Dark, Away with Words starring Asano Tadanobu, and Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous, an experimental portrait of three generations of Hong Kong people. He co-directed The White Girl with Jenny Suen.
Filmography Cinematographer Film Year Title Director Notes 1983 That Day, on the Beach Edward Yang With Hui-Kung Chang 1984 A Fu de li wu Chi-Hua LiWei-Ming LoPeter Mak With Hui-Kung Chang and Chi-Ming Leung1986 Shu Kei Noir et Blanc Claire Devers With Daniel Desbois, Alain Lasfargues and Jean-Paul Rosa da Costa 1988 Burning SnowPatrick Tam1989 My Heart Is That Eternal Rose With David Chung Shuo huang de nu ren Tony Au 1990 Days of Being Wild Wong Kar-wai1992 The Peach Blossom Land Stan Lai Mary from Beijing Sylvia Chang1994 Chungking ExpressWong Kar-wai With Andrew Lau Ashes of Time With Pun-Leung Kwan Fei xia a da Stan Lai Red Rose White Rose Stanley Kwan1995 The Peony Pavilion Chen Kuo-fu Fallen Angels Wong Kar-wai1996 Tristar Tsui Hark With Arthur Wong Temptress Moon Chen Kaige Kwok-Leung GanEric KotJan Lamb1997 Happy Together Wong Kar-wai Ki-Yong Park Choh chin luen hau dik yi yan sai gaai Eric Kot 1998 Psycho Gus Van Sant1999 Away with Words Himself Liberty Heights Barry Levinson 2000 In the Mood for Love Wong Kar-wai With Pun-Leung Kwan and Ping Bin Lee 2001 Made Jon Favreau2002 Rabbit-Proof FencePhillip Noyce The Quiet American Hero Zhang Yimou2003 Last Life in the Universe Pen-ek Ratanaruang Green Tea Zhang Yuan2004 2046 Wong Kar-wai With Pun-Leung Kwan Dumplings Fruit Chan 2005 The White Countess James Ivory2006 Invisible Waves Pen-ek Ratanaruang Lady in the Water M. Night Shyamalan 2007 Paranoid Park Gus Van Sant With Rain Li 2008 Downloading Nancy Johan Renck2009 The Limits of Control Jim Jarmusch Ondine Neil Jordan2010 Ocean Heaven Xue Xiao-Lu Yong xin tiao Stanley Kwan With Rain Li Passion Play Mitch Glazer2011 Underwater Love - A Pink Musical Shinji Imaoka Love for Life Gu Changwei With Changwei Gu and Tao Yang Tormented Takashi Shimizu2013 Magic Magic Sebastian Silva With Glenn Kaplan American Dreams in China Peter Chan Bends Flora Lau Lanse gotou Jian Cui 2014 Ruined Heart! Another Love StoryBetween a Criminal and a Whore Khavn2015 Beijing, Niuyue Rain Li With Rain Li and Sion Michel Port of Call Philip Yung Tan Bee ThiamLei Yuan Bin Enishi: The Bride of Izumo Hiroshi Horiuchi2016 Endless Poetry Alejandro Jodorowsky Stockholm, My Love Mark Cousins With Mark Cousins2017 You Mean The World To Me Saw Teong Hin The White Girl HimselfJenny Suen With Kubbie Tsoi 2018 Love Only Charine Chan2019 They Say Nothing Stays the Same Joe Odagiri Tezuka's Barbara Makoto Tezuka With Kubbie Tsoi 2020 Love After Love Ann Hui 2021 Gei wo 1 tian Erica Li With Kubbie Tsoi 2025 Morte Cucina Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Short film Year Title Director Notes 1996 wkw/tk/1996@7′55″hk.netWong Kar-wai 1998 Motorola 2002 Goin Home Peter Chan Segment of Three2004 The Hand Wong Kar-wai Segment of Eros Dumplings Fruit Chan Segment of Three... Extremes 2006 The Madness of the Dance Carol MorleyWith Rain Li 2007 Meeting Helen Emily Woof 2012 Linda Linda Tsien-Tsien Zhang
Television Year Title Director Notes 2018 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Asia Argento Episode "Hong Kong";With Frederic Menou 2020 Ouverture of Something that Never Ended Alessandro MicheleGus Van Sant 7 episodes
Documentary works Film Year Title Director2015 I Am Belfast Mark Cousins Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous Himself 2017 Human FlowAi Weiwei 2019 The Rest
Television Year Title Director Notes 1996 Century of Cinema Stanley Kwan Segment Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema
Director Year Title Director Writer Notes 1998 Typhoon Shelter TV movie, co-directed with Shuji Tsukamoto 1999 Away with Words 2006 Paris, je t'aime Segment "Porte de Choisy" 2008 Izolator aka "Warsaw Dark" 2014 Beautiful 2014 Segment "HK 2014 - Education for All" 2015 Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous Documentary film 2017 The White Girl Co-directed with Jenny Suen 2018 Love Only Creative and visual director
Awards and nominations Year Title Award/Nomination 1994 Ashes of Time Osella d'Oro for Best CinematographyChristopher Doyle at Rossi Rossi. 2000 In the Mood for Love Grand Technical Prize at the Cannes Film Festival"In the Mood for Love", Festival de Cannes, 2000.New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best CinematographerNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best CinematographyNominated- Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography 2002 Hero New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best CinematographerChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best CinematographyNominated- National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography 2004 2046 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best CinematographerNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
On 26 May 2017, Doyle was honoured during the 70th Cannes Festival with the “Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography" award, in tribute to his successful and influential career.Ali Naderzad, "CANNES FESTIVAL, Christopher Doyle gets Excellence in Cinematography award", Screen Comment, 25 May 2017.
Bibliography Angel Talk (1996) – Behind the scenes photo book covering Fallen Angels – Backlit by the Moon (1996) – Japanese photography monograph – Photographs of Tamaki Ogawa (1996) – Japanese photography monograph – Doyle on Doyle (1997) – Japanese photography monograph – Buenos Aires (1997) – Behind the scenes photo book covering Happy Together – Don't Cry for Me, Argentina (1997) – Photographic journal account of filming Happy Together – A Cloud in Trousers (1998) – Gallery exhibition monograph – There Is a Crack in Everything (2003) – Photography monograph R34g38b25 (2004) – Behind the scenes photo book covering Hero – Talking White - Behind-the-scenes photobook covering The White Girl (co-written with Jenny Suen)
See also Cinema of Hong Kong
References
External links Official website
Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, interview with Christopher Doyle in three parts by Andreas Pousette, February 2005.
Video: Christopher Doyle talks about Hong Kong for CNN and Nokia’s feature series "The Scene".