"Whenever a famous movie actor, director or producer passes away, it makes front page news.  Sometimes a screenwriter's death also makes headlines.  On the other hand, it's rare when the passing of other eminent film industry professionals attracts much media attention.  All this is a roundabout way of saying that many of you might not be aware that Sven Nykvist, one of the true giants in the field of cinematography, has died.  For film aficionados across the globe, this is discouraging news indeed, though we still have Nykvist's incredible body of work to remind us of his talent.
    In his illustrious career, Nykvist was most widely celebrated for his collaborations with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman and won Academy awards for 1973's "Cries and Whsipers" and 1983's "Fanny and Alexander." Nykvist's resume also includes films for American directors such as Woody Allen ("Another Woman"), Philip Kaufman ("The Unbearable Lightness of Being") and Bob Rafelson (the 1981 remake of "The Postman Always Rings Twice").  Additonally, he teamed up with fellow Swede Lasse Hallstrom for the Texas based "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."

 I guess I should have included a footnote in my email about Sven Nykvist yesterday, but I was in the computer lab at school and was having a hard time collecting my thoughts, especially given the glitch I experienced the first time I tried composing the message.  Anyway, if I could add one personal thought to the original missive it would be that when I started really reading and studying a lot about movies when I was in 6th-7th grade, Nykvist was the first cinemtographer  I learned to recognize by name. Of course, it would be a few years before a jr. high kid growing up in Garland in the early 70's would get the chance to actually see a Bergman-Nykvist film...but at least I was prepared when the day finally came.  
    Anyway, cliche that it is, his passing only reminds me of my own faded youth...and how much more I've learned since then."

--M*lani* Pruit