Andrzej Bartkowiak

Andrzej Bartkowiak, ASC (born 6 March 1950) is a Polish cinematographer and film director based in the United States.^[1][2][3]

He became known in the 1980's for his partnership with director Sidney Lumet, shooting 11 of his films between 1981 and 1993.^[4]

He later became known as a director of action films,^[5] including the Jet Li vehicles Romeo Must Die (2000) and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), and the video game adaptations Doom (2005) and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009).

Life and career

Bartkowiak was born and raised in Łódź, and studied at the Łódź Film School from 1970 to 1972.

After graduating, he moved to the United States and settled in New York City, where he worked as a cinematographer and director on dozens of television commercials and industrial films, for clients like IBM, Xerox, American Express, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Toyota. He also worked for several years in Italy.^[3]

He shot his first feature, the independent feature Deadly Hero, in 1975.

Cinematography

He achieved prominence in the early 1980's through a close association with director Sidney Lumet, beginning with the Oscar-nominated 1981 film Prince of the City. He shot almost of all of Lumet's films, 11 in total, between 1981 and 1993. He also worked with other prominent directors, like John Huston, James L. Brooks, James Ivory, Martin Ritt and William Friedkin.

Three of his films in the 1980's - The Verdict (1982, dir. Lumet), Terms of Endearment (1983, dir. Brooks), and Prizzi's Honor (1985, dir. Huston) - were Academy Award nominees for Best Picture.

In 2010, he worked as cinematographer in the thriller Trespass, directed by Joel Schumacher, both had collaborated before on Falling Down.

Bartkowiak is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.^[6]

Directing

Bartkowiak made his directorial debut with Romeo Must Die, a martial arts action film starring Jet Li and Aaliyah, which grossed $91 million at the box office.^[7] A year later he made the action thriller film Exit Wounds starring Steven Seagal, the film was a hit in theaters.^{[citation needed]} Cradle 2 the Grave was a moderate success at the box-office.^{[citation needed]}

Later he teamed up with Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment and Capcom to direct Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

In 2017, he directed the Russian-American co-production film Maximum Impact, starring Alexander Nevsky, Kelly Hu, Mark Dacascos, Tom Arnold, and Danny Trejo.

In 2020, he directed the film Dead Reckoning, with KJ Apa and India Eisley.

Personal life

Barkowiak was married to actress Diane Venora between 1980 and 1989. They have one daughter, Madzia.^[8] He also has a son, named Marco.^[3]

Filmography

As cinematographer

As director

• Romeo Must Die (2000)
• Exit Wounds (2001)
• Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)
• Doom (2005)
• Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)
• Maximum Impact (2017)
• Dead Reckoning (2020)

References

External links

• Andrzej Bartkowiak at IMDb