Christopher Doyle

Christopher Doyle

Born: May 2, 1952
in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Christopher Doyle is an Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer who often works on Chinese language films. He has won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, as well as AFI Award for cinematography, the Golden Horse awards (four times), and Hong Kong Film Award (six times). Doyle is an affiliate of the Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers. Doyle was born in Sydney, Australia in 1952. He left his native country on a Norwegian merchant ship at the age of eighteen, after which he took on a number of odd jobs including as a Kibbutz-nick cowboy in Israel, homeopathic doctor in Thailand, and “green agriculturalist” in India work. In the late seventies, Doyle was “re-birthed” as Du Ke Feng, which means “like the wind.” Following his time as a language student in Taiwan and having found work as a photographer, he was hired as a cinematographer on Edward Yang’s That Day, on the Beach in 1983.

Since his “birth in art,” Du Ke Feng has worked on over fifty Chinese-language films. He is best known for his collaborations with Wong Kar-Wai, including Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love and 2046 (the latter of which saw Doyle walking off set mid-way through production). He has collaborated with other Chinese filmmakers on projects including Temptress Moon, Hero, Happy Together, and Dumplings. As his "alter ego" Christopher Doyle he has made more than twenty in various other languages and film cultures, working as director of photography on Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho, Liberty Heights, Last Life in the Universe, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Paranoid Park, The Limits of Control.

He also wrote, shot, and directed Warsaw Dark, Away with Words starring Asano Tadanobu, and Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous, an experimental portrait of three generations of Hong Kong people.[5] He is currently filming The White Girl, another tribute to his adopted hometown of Hong Kong, with co-director Jenny Suen.

On May 26, 2017 Doyle was honored during the 70th Cannes Festival with the “Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography” award, in tribute to his rich and influential career. The ceremony was co-hosted by filmmaker Olivier Assayas and actress Juliette Binoche, among others.

Movies for Christopher Doyle...

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
Title: Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
Character: Self - Guest / Cinematographer (archive footage)
Released: July 16, 2021
Type: Movie
An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.
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Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks
Title: Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks
Character: Self
Released: August 14, 2019
Type: Movie
The fantastic story of how an ancient martial art, Chinese kung fu, conquered the world through the hundreds of films that were produced in Hong Kong over the decades, transformed Western action cinema and inspired the birth of cultural movements such as blaxploitation, hip hop music, parkour and Wakaliwood cinema.
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Parts Unknown: Hong Kong
Title: Parts Unknown: Hong Kong
Character: Himself
Released: June 3, 2018
Type: Movie
Anthony Bourdain experiences Hong Kong through the eyes and lens of legendary cinematographer and longtime Hong Kong resident Christopher Doyle.
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Wind
Title: Wind
Character: Himself
Released: November 21, 2016
Type: Movie
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Christopher Doyle: Filming in the Neon World
Title: Christopher Doyle: Filming in the Neon World
Released: May 14, 2014
Type: Movie
"I feel like a piece of neon, I'm just a gas inside a tube." — 'Christopher Doyle: Filming in the Neon World' is part of NEONSIGNS.HK — an online exhibition on Hong Kong's neon signs.
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Pinku Eiga: Inside the Pleasure Dome of Japanese Erotic Cinema
Title: Pinku Eiga: Inside the Pleasure Dome of Japanese Erotic Cinema
Released: January 1, 2011
Type: Movie
Documentary on one of the most famous branches of Japanese filmmaking, the erotic Pink film genre, known as Pinku Eiga, and the closely related Roman Porno cult films series produced by notorious Nikkatsu studios from 1971 to 1988.
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Showtime
Title: Showtime
Released: September 2, 2010
Type: Movie
Shanghai, 2009. After four years of studying, a group of dance students are wished well by their teacher as they start rehearsals for their graduation performance. Meanwhile, 5 members of a 1936 Shanghai theatre troupe, lead by Master Liu, are transported into the present to broaden their horizons.
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A Moment in Time
Title: A Moment in Time
Released: May 8, 2010
Type: Movie
Documentary about the experience of the Chinese in San Francisco's Chinatown, told through the films they loved. This retrospective film retells the immigrant story, and revives the emotions felt by audiences in Chinatown's theaters. An uplifting reflection on how cinema shaped the community, and a tribute to the Chinatown theater movie-goers.
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Behind the Blur
Title: Behind the Blur
Released: January 1, 2009
Type: Movie
An insightful documentary about Thai cinema, which features a colourful and long running film history, yet struggles as the industry attempts to move forward. This film examines the past and focuses on the Thai New Wave since 1997 by combining film clips, and interviews from Thai directors and others artists, like Asian hip-hop sensation Thaitanium, who are trying to create a more personal style of art.
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Making Paranoid Park
Title: Making Paranoid Park
Released: April 24, 2008
Type: Movie
Behind the scenes documentary of Gus Van Sant's "Paranoid Park." Felix Andrew: director, cinematographer, editor. Dane La Chiusa: titles and original drawings. Joel Shelton, composer. Additional music: "Songs" by Ethan Rose, "Sangue de Bairro" by Chico Science e Nacao Zumbi. Made in 2006. Length: 27 minutes
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In the Mood for Doyle
Title: In the Mood for Doyle
Character: Himself
Released: August 30, 2007
Type: Movie
Christopher Doyle is one of the best known and most acclaimed directors of photography in world cinema. Born in Australia, he sees himself as an Asian citizen rather than a Westerner. His artistic contribution to the films of Wong Kar-wai, Zhang Jimou and Fruit Chan films, among others, is indisputable. Filmed in DV and Super8, this documentary is a kind of wild and stylized road movie -- from Bangkok to Hong Kong, via New York. The camera follows this eccentric and outrageous artist as he gives us his thoughts on his past and present work. From the recent sets of Invisible Waves by Thailand's Pen ek Ratanaruang, and M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water, to the locations in Hong Kong where he shot some of his most famous pictures, such as In The Mood for Love and Dumplings, Chris Doyle talks about his cinematic fascination for Asian culture.
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Paranoid Park
Title: Paranoid Park
Character: Uncle Tommy
Released: July 12, 2007
Type: Movie
A teenage skateboarder becomes suspected of being connected with a security guard who suffered a brutal death in a skate park called "Paranoid Park".
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Reflections of Lady in the Water
Title: Reflections of Lady in the Water
Released: December 19, 2006
Type: Movie
Explores the nature of creativity and collaboration on the making of this very unique story in an earnest and unexpectedly touching manner.
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McDull, the Alumni
Title: McDull, the Alumni
Character: BBQ cook
Released: January 22, 2006
Type: Movie
In McDull, the Alumni, our protagonist has grown up. He is no longer the little boy who banters with his mates at school. How he wishes he could just go on bantering all day long with his mates at the renowned Flower on the Spring Field Kindergarten. But that is not to be. Like all grown-ups, he has to grapple with harsh reality. McDull and his mates are scattered all over the place. Each one of them has to find his or her own path. In each of their hearts, they know they have failed. Meanwhile, life goes on in the kindergarten. Someone strums a guitar and the pupils chime in to the song: Puff the magic dragon, lives by the sea… A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys. With hindsight, McDull believes this could well be the maxim of the Flower on the Spring Field Kindergarten alumni.
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Twelve Twenty
Title: Twelve Twenty
Character: Taxi Driver / Captain
Released: January 1, 2006
Type: Movie
One of three films commissioned by the Jeonju International Film Festival in 2006. It is a short film based on Beauty and an Airplane, a short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ratanaruang's film tells the story of a man (Ananda Everingham) who falls in love with a woman (Khemapsom Sirisukha) he sees at the check-in counter of an airport. Most of the film takes place in the sleek blackened interior of the plane's cabin -- the camera panning between the two seats, lighting now one, now the other of the occupants. The two passengers never exchange a word, title cards occasionally allowing us to know what the man is thinking. Those familiar only with his work on Dumplings or Wong Kar-wai's films might be surprised at cinematographer Christopher Doyle's uncustomary restraint. Christopher Doyle doubles as both taxi driver and captain in the film.
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Title: The Culture Show
Character: Self
Released: November 11, 2004
Type: TV
A weekly BBC Two magazine programme focusing on the best of the week's arts and culture news, covering books, art, film, architecture and more.
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1:99 Shorts
Title: 1:99 Shorts
Character: 10)
Released: August 4, 2003
Type: Movie
Shorts made by 11 directors in order to fight against the SARS epidemy that occurred in China and Hong Kong in 2003. The shorts were produced by the Information Service Departement of the Government of HK SAR. The aim was to bring back confidence to the HK popuation. The running-time is 1 to 2 minutes for each short.12 Short films: 1-"Rhapsody", director: Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai; 2-"My Sow Is Not Feeling Well", director: Fruit Chan; 3-"Smile", director: Teddy Chen; 4-"Of a Cause" (Animation) director: Tsui Hark; 5-"Hong Kong - A Winner", director: Stephen Chow; 6-"Who's Miss Hong Kong?", director: Joe Ma; 7-"Family of Heroes", director: Alex Law and Mabel Cheung; 8-"Until Then", director: Gordon Chan and Dante Lam; 9- "McDull 1:99" director: Brian Tse; 10-"Spring, 2003", director: Peter Chan; 11-"A Glorious Future", director: Andrew Lau and Alan Mak; 12-"Making of 1:99", director: Wong Shou-Ping.
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Grit & Polish: Heroines from Hong Kong
Title: Grit & Polish: Heroines from Hong Kong
Character: Himself
Released: October 1, 2001
Type: Movie
Female characters in martial arts films from Hong Kong: the women who played them and the directors who wrote the scenarios and directed the films.
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Orientations: Chris Doyle - Stirred But Not Shaken
Title: Orientations: Chris Doyle - Stirred But Not Shaken
Character: Himself
Released: April 8, 2001
Type: Movie
The life and work of Chris Doyle, the acclaimed Australian cinematographer who found regular work as the collaborator of maverick Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-Wai.
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Psycho Path
Title: Psycho Path
Character: Self - Cinematographer
Released: February 10, 2000
Type: Movie
Documentary on the making of Gus Van Sant's "Psycho."
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Andromedia
Title: Andromedia
Character: Sakkaa / Soccer
Released: July 11, 1998
Type: Movie
After his daughter Mai is killed in an auto accident, a genius programmer recreates her in the form of a computer program called AI. His jealous brother-in-law, wanting to get his hands on the technology for profit, sends his client to steal it and Mai’s father is killed in the process. Learning of her capture, Mai’s old friends race to free AI from her captors so that she won’t fall into the corporate clutches that threaten to erase her soul.
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Yesterday You, Yesterday Me
Title: Yesterday You, Yesterday Me
Character: Yeung Seng Bo at 33 (Narrator)
Released: July 16, 1997
Type: Movie
Bo finally reaches college, but he apparently still has some growing up to do as his struggles with the opposite sex continues.
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Comrades, Almost a Love Story
Title: Comrades, Almost a Love Story
Character: Jeremy
Released: November 2, 1996
Type: Movie
Jun arrives in Hong Kong from mainland China, hoping to be able to earn enough money to marry his girlfriend back home. He meets the streetwise Qiao and they become friends. As friendship turns into love, problems develop, and although they seem meant for each other they somehow keep missing out.
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Family Day
Title: Family Day
Character: Tourist
Released: September 20, 1990
Type: Movie
Struggling to support a wife a son and his sick mother a kind-hearted man is forced to work the streets as a pickpocket.
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Carry on Yakuza
Title: Carry on Yakuza
Character: Fake arms dealer
Released: May 11, 1989
Type: Movie
Michael Chan plays Charlie Chan, a boxer who goes to Japan to take on a local hotshot in the ring. A gang of yakuzas pressure him to take a dive, but Charlie beats his opponent senseless instead, resulting in a life-or-death chase in which Charlie and his coach try to escape from the angry gangsters. They are spared by the yakuza boss Yakoda, and their eagerness to impress him leads them to pretend that they are the leaders of an influential triad organization known as the Marlboro Gang. That gang doesn't really exist, and their ruse only leads them to further endangerment after Yakoda is murdered by one of his employees. Yakoda's widow sends their daughter (who speaks Cantonese) to Hong Kong so that she won't be next on the hit list, and Charlie -- still pretending to be a powerful triad gangster -- agrees to protect her. He and his friends must save the girl from assassination attempts and kidnapping along the way, as well as coming to the rescue of Yakoda's widow.
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I Love Mary
Title: I Love Mary
Released: September 2, 1988
Type: Movie
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Omega Syndrome
Title: Omega Syndrome
Character: Leonard Waxman
Released: October 26, 1986
Type: Movie
An ex-GI's daughter is abducted by a gang of white supremacists. He calls on one of his former Army buddies, and together they set out to track down the gang and rescue his daughter.
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The Sexy Lady Driver
Title: The Sexy Lady Driver
Character: Steven George
Released: January 1, 1982
Type: Movie
Centers around a beautiful female taxi driver.
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Idle Dream
Title: Idle Dream
Released: November 7, 1981
Type: Movie
A TV movie and part of groundbreaking Taiwan TV series “Eleven Women”
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The Land of the Brave
Title: The Land of the Brave
Character: Australian Man (Cameo)
Released: July 11, 1981
Type: Movie
The "Lost Generation" is an obsolete term against the Land of the Brave, in which the younger generation awakens to the fact that their community and their nation are in need of their dedication for brighter prospects. Permeated with enchanting music and campus folk songs, the film will surely animate lofty sentiments of movie-goers.
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Christopher Doyle in Conversation: Days of Being Wild
Title: Christopher Doyle in Conversation: Days of Being Wild
Character: Himself
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie