Roger Pratt’s death was confirmed in a statement made by the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) on January 3. The film legend became the director of photography on over 35 films including Harry Potter, Karate Kid and Batman to name just a few.
The statement did not specify a date of location of when the legend died but his passing was in December.
It began: “It is with deepest sadness that we learn of the passing of our friend and colleague, Roger Pratt BSC (1947-2024).
“Roger Pratt BSC was an extraordinary #Cinematographer, who was awarded this society’s highest honour, our Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. Roger was born in Leicester, the son of a parish vicar, and although the church didn’t capture his career aspirations, seeing 16mm ‘fact and faith’ films did.”
Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam honoured the late cinematographer as he recalled their previous meeting on the set of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), where Pratt worked as a clapper loader.
He shared: “We were filming the Bridge of Death sequence and needed a dramatic shot looking up at the bridge with the mountains in the distance. I stuck the camera on the edge of the cliff, but the lens wasn’t wide enough.
We were a long way from the road, the light was going. It was terrible. This guy said, ‘Just give me a moment’ and in a few minutes, while we were still faffing around, he had run all the way down the mountain, forded the river, run up the other side, into the camera truck, grabbed the right lens and here it was. We stuck it on the camera and got the shot.
That was the moment I fell in love with Roger.”
Pratt was born in 1947 and grew up in the Midlands.
He became the director of photography on over 35 films, including two of the Harry Potter movies, the 2004 hit Troy, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Chocolat and 2010’s The Karate Kid.
The legend is also remembered for his incredible work with Tim Burton on the look of his 1989 Batman.
Tributes have poured in for Pratt as one fan penned: “Roger was a very, very talented cinematographer who knew how to create mood and emotion through his artistry. Sadly missed.”
Another penned: “The world has lost an awesome cinematographer. Deepest condolences to his family.”
“One of my favorite cinematographers. RIP,” a third shared.