# Dean Cundey

Dean Raymond Cundey, A.S.C. (born March 12, 1946) is an American cinematographer and film director. He is known for his collaborations with John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Zemeckis, as well as his extensive work in the horror genre, in addition to numerous family and comedy films. His filmography as a cinematographer includes Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), the Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Jurassic Park (1993), Apollo 13 (1995), and Garfield: The Movie (2004).
Cundey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and has been nominated for numerous BAFTAs and BSC Awards.

## Life and career

Cundey was born in Alhambra, California, United States. As a child, he used to build model sets, suggesting an interest in films from an early age. Cundey already had several low-budget films when he met Debra Hill, who in 1978 recruited him to work on Halloween, a film she co-wrote with director John Carpenter.
Having Cundey work on a film brought considerable advantages. In addition to his considerable skill as a cinematographer and director of photography, he also had the advantage of owning most of his own equipment packed in a large van, referred to by Debra Hill as the "movie van".
Cundey's work on Halloween is cited by many fans as being among his best as director of photography. In addition to his lighting skills, particularly in the famous hallway scene where the hidden face of Michael Myers is slowly revealed by way of a blue light next to the mask, he was among the first cinematographers to make use of a recent invention called the steadicam, or panaglide.
The panaglide allowed the camera operator to "wear" the camera and obtain shots that were previously deemed too difficult or even impossible. In Halloween, the panaglide was used as a point of view reference for Michael Myers, allowing the audience to see what he saw.

### Other noteworthy films

Cundey would go on to work with Carpenter and Hill again on the films The Fog (1980), Escape from New York, Halloween II (both 1981), The Thing (1982), and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1983). He would also return to work with Carpenter for the last time on the 1986 big budget science fiction/comedy adventure Big Trouble in Little China. Cundey also was director of photography on the 4D film Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!, which ran in five Walt Disney theme parks around the world.

### Later work

In addition to his work with Carpenter, Cundey would lend his talents to the films Psycho II (1983), Romancing the Stone (1984), the Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Road House (1989), Jurassic Park (1993), Apollo 13 (1995), What Women Want (2000), and Garfield: The Movie (2004), among others. In 1997, he made his directorial debut with the direct-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves. He recently worked in Canada on Camp Rock, one of several movies that he has filmed outside the United States, including Who Framed Roger Rabbit which was filmed primarily in England. In 2011, Cundey shot the comedy film Jack and Jill, which involved extensive split-screen and motion control effects to create the illusion of actor Adam Sandler interacting with multiple on-screen personas.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1973 | The No Mercy Man | Daniel Vance | |
| 1973 | Brother on the Run | Edward J. Lakso Herbert L. Strock | |
| 1974 | Where the Red Fern Grows | Norman Tokar | |
| 1974 | So Evil, My Sister | Reginald Le Borg | |
| 1975 | That Girl from Boston | Matt Cimber | |
| 1976 | The Witch Who Came From the Sea | Matt Cimber | Uncredited |
| 1976 | Black Shampoo | Greydon Clark | With Michael Mileham |
| 1976 | Creature from Black Lake | Joy N. Houck Jr. | |
| 1976 | The Human Tornado | Cliff Roquemore | With Bob Wilson; Credited as "Gene Condie" |
| 1977 | Satan's Cheerleaders | Greydon Clark | |
| 1977 | Bare Knuckles | Don Edmonds | |
| 1977 | Charge of the Model T's | Jim McCullough Sr. | |
| 1978 | Hi-Riders | Greydon Clark | |
| 1978 | Goodbye, Franklin High | Mike MacFarland | |
| 1978 | Hanging on a Star | Mike MacFarland | |
| 1978 | Halloween | John Carpenter | |
| 1978 | The Kid from Not-So-Big | Bill Crain | |
| 1979 | Angels' Brigade | Greydon Clark | |
| 1979 | Rock 'n' Roll High School | Allan Arkush | |
| 1979 | Roller Boogie | Mark L. Lester | |
| 1980 | The Fog | John Carpenter | |
| 1980 | Galaxina | William Sachs | |
| 1980 | Without Warning | Greydon Clark | |
| 1981 | Escape from New York | John Carpenter | |
| 1981 | Separate Ways | Howard Avedis | |
| 1981 | Jaws of Satan | Bob Claver | |
| 1981 | Halloween II | Rick Rosenthal | |
| 1982 | The Thing | John Carpenter | |
| 1982 | Halloween III: Season of the Witch | Tommy Lee Wallace | |
| 1983 | Psycho II | Richard Franklin | |
| 1983 | D.C. Cab | Joel Schumacher | |
| 1984 | Romancing the Stone | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1985 | Back to the Future | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1985 | Warning Sign | Hal Barwood | |
| 1986 | Big Trouble in Little China | John Carpenter | |
| 1987 | Project X | Jonathan Kaplan | |
| 1988 | Big Business | Jim Abrahams | |
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1989 | Road House | Rowdy Herrington | |
| 1989 | Back to the Future Part II | Robert Zemeckis | Shot back-to-back |
| 1990 | Back to the Future Part III | Robert Zemeckis | Shot back-to-back |
| 1991 | Nothing but Trouble | Dan Aykroyd | |
| 1991 | Hook | Steven Spielberg | |
| 1992 | Death Becomes Her | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1993 | Jurassic Park | Steven Spielberg | |
| 1994 | The Flintstones | Brian Levant | |
| 1995 | Casper | Brad Silberling | |
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | Ron Howard | |
| 1997 | Flubber | Les Mayfield | |
| 1998 | Krippendorf's Tribe | Todd Holland | |
| 1998 | The Parent Trap | Nancy Meyers | |
| 2000 | What Women Want | Nancy Meyers | |
| 2003 | Looney Tunes: Back in Action | Joe Dante | |
| 2004 | Garfield: The Movie | Peter Hewitt | |
| 2006 | The Holiday | Nancy Meyers | |
| 2007 | Whisper | Stewart Hendler | |
| 2009 | Shannon's Rainbow | Frank E. Johnson | |
| 2010 | The Spy Next Door | Brian Levant | |
| 2011 | Jack and Jill | Dennis Dugan | |
| 2013 | Crazy Kind of Love | Sarah Siegel-Magness | |
| 2014 | Walking with the Enemy | Mark Schmidt | |
| 2014 | Freedom | Peter Cousens | |
| 2015 | The Girl in the Photographs | Nick Simon | |
| 2015 | Diablo | Lawrence Roeck | |
| 2017 | Slamma Jamma | Timothy A. Chey | |
| 2017 | Home Again | Hallie Meyers-Shyer | |
| 2020 | Anastasia: Once Upon a Time | Blake Harris | |
Direct-to-video
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1982 | Citizen Soldier | Michael Elsey | With Baird Bryant |
| 2001 | The Face: Jesus in Art | Craig MacGowan | Documentary film |
| 2014 | Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure | Brian Levant | |
| 2015 | Back to the Future: Doc Brown Saves the World | Robert Zemeckis Glenn Sanders | |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1989 | Michael & Mickey | Jerry Rees | Part of the Studio Backlot Tour attraction at Disney-MGM Studios |
| 1999 | Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming | Richard Hatch Jay Woelfel | With Scott Spears |
| 2011 | Back for the Future | Frank Marshall | |
| 2011 | To Beauty | Jess Zakira Wise | |
| 2012 | Ten Men on the Field | Scott Essman | Interior shots |
| 2015 | Control Your State | Nate Hochstetler | |
| 2016 | Bad Timing | Taylor Hatch | |
| 2016 | Stripped | India Dupré | |
| 2017 | Weddings Inc. | Kalee StClair | |
| 2019 | It's Not for You (Film B) | Clark Barclay | |
| 2019 | It's Not for You (Film A) | Jiasi Emily Lai | |
| 2020 | At Last | Lorena Gordon | |
| 2024 | The Magic Shop | Nick Simon | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1981-84 | Tales of the Unexpected | Ray Danton John Peyser | 4 episodes |
| 1989 | Tales from the Crypt | Robert Zemeckis | Episode "And All Through The House" |
| 2001 | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly | | 1 episode |
| 2005 | The West Wing | Christopher Misiano | 2 episodes |
| 2014-2015 | Clinton Anderson's Outback Adventure | Grant Slawson | |
| 2022 | The Book of Boba Fett | Steph Green Kevin Tancharoen | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | The Mandalorian | Rick Famuyiwa Lee Isaac Chung Carl Weathers | 3 episodes |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director |
| 1983 | The Invisible Woman | Alan J. Levi |
| 1983 | M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers | William A. Graham |
| 1984 | Amazons | Paul Michael Glaser |
| 1984 | Invitation to Hell | Wes Craven |
| 1984 | It Came Upon the Midnight Clear | Peter H. Hunt |
| 1999 | Partners | Brett Ratner |
| 2008 | Camp Rock | Matthew Diamond |
| 2010 | Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster | Brian Levant |

### Other credits

Director
* Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997)
2nd unit director
* Deep Rising (1998)
* Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
Cameos
| Year | Title | Role |
| 1990 | Back to the Future Part III | Photographer |
| 1993 | Jurassic Park | Mate |
| 1994 | The Flintstones | Technician |

## Awards and recognition

Academy Awards
| Year | Award | Title | Result |
| 1988 | Best Cinematography | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Nominated |
American Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Award | Title | Result |
| 1991 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Hook | Nominated |
| 1995 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Apollo 13 | Nominated |
| 2014 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won |
BAFTA Awards
| Year | Award | Title | Result |
| 1988 | Best Cinematography | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Nominated |
| 1995 | Best Cinematography | Apollo 13 | Nominated |
British Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Award | Title | Result |
| 1988 | Best Cinematography | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Nominated |
| 1995 | Best Cinematography | Apollo 13 | Nominated |
Chicago Film Critics Association
| Year | Award | Title | Result |
| 1995 | Best Cinematography | Apollo 13 | Nominated |
Society of Camera Operators
| Year | Award | Result |
| 1999 | President's Award | Won |
Daytime Emmy Awards
| Year | Award | Title | Result |
| 2001 | Outstanding Cinematography | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly: The Face: Jesus in Art | Won |
Primetime Emmy Awards
| Year | Award | Title | Result |
| 2023 | Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour) | The Mandalorian (For episode "Chapter 20: The Foundling") | Nominated |