Cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs, whose groundbreaking work on such films as Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces helped to define a movie generation, is being celebrated in a new book published by the American Society of Cinematographers under the ASC Press imprint. New Wave King, The Cinematography of Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, compiled and edited by Ray Zone, includes a collection of articles from the pages of American Cinematographer Magazine, a foreword by Kovacs friend, colleague and Hungarian compatriot Vilmos Zsigmond, a 16-page section of color photos, and a comprehensive filmography of 63 feature films photographed by the DP.
After escaping with Zsigmond from Communist Hungary in the 1950s, Kovacs arrived in the United States and began the arduous process of learning English and breaking into the American film industry. His reputation was sealed in 1969 with Easy Rider, a low-budget box-office sensation which owed no small part of its success to Kovacs' dynamic use of the telephoto zoom lens. Five Easy Pieces, Paper Moon, Shampoo, and New York, New York were among the many films that followed, and in the 1980s and 90s Kovacs was among the industry's busiest directors of photography, counting Ghostbusters, Say Anything, My Best Friend's Wedding, and Miss Congeniality as just a few of his credits.
To order New Wave King, which retails for $39.95, visit the Online Store at the ASC website, or call (323) 969-4333.