Cinematographer Eduardo Serra Passes Away at 81
Eduardo Serra, who was the director of photography for What Dreams May Come and late Harry Potter films, has died at the age of 81.
Though he was able to shoot a few blockbusters throughout his distinguished career, cinematographer Eduardo Serra was known more for his work on independent and artistically ambitious character-driven movies. Serra has passed away, but the beauty of his work lives on in the films he helped bring to life through his camera work.
Serra was nominated for the Academy Award for his cinematography on The Wings of the Dove, a 1997 Henry James adaptation that starred Helena Bonham Carter, and 2003’s Scarlett Johansson-led Girl With a Pearl Earring which was a visually rewarding movie and, most likely, a challenging endeavor for the accomplished Serra.
Though he worked on pictures like Patrice Leconte’s The Hairdresser’s Husband, Tango and A Promise, Serra also made some movies with a bit more mainstream appeal. For me, it was 1996’s Jude, a Thomas Hardy adaptation (which wasn’t very mainstream, but featured Kate Winslet) that led me to the cinematographer’s beautiful work. After seeing Jude, I visited a prior movie Serra filmed – Vincent Ward’s Map of the Human Heart and understood how his work had the power to take the audience into a given film’s world.
Oscar-winner for Best Visual Effects, 1998’s What Dreams May Come, proved to be one of the most ambitious and wonderfully crafted films of Serra’s prolific career. That Robin Williams dramatic movie showcased an afterlife that was fascinating to behold with many colors, visions and landscapes that were appealing to the eye. Serra also was behind the camera for the last of the Harry Potter films which were Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Serra’s skill sets were perfect for these blockbusters and captured the world of Harry Potter pretty much to perfection.
One film that significantly stands out in his filmography is M. Night Shyamalan’s haunting Unbreakable from the year 2000. That movie had tricky imagery that was expertly brought to life on-screen. Serra stated in a prior interview that Shayamalan worked differently than other filmmakers and the director was coming off the successful The Sixth Sense at the time. Unbreakable was almost more brilliant from an artistic standpoint than The Sixth Sense because of the way Serra helped Shyamalan bring his damaged characters into fruition through visuals in the 2000 follow-up film.
Although What Dreams May Come is, arguably, the most visually stirring of the films Serra shot, it was impossible to look away from the screen during any of the pictures Serra was behind the camera for. Serra was also known for the 2006 Leonardo DiCaprio adventure, Blood Diamond, as well which solidified his ability to capture many different types of stories through his cinematography. A talent to be reckoned with, Serra’s movies were usually scrumptious to behold and his career lives on through the integrity of the films he worked on.
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