Nykvist's first project with Bergman was SAWDUST AND TINSEL (1953)/GYCKLARNAS AFTON; he was assigned the difficult interior shots by his former teacher, director of photography Hilding Bladh, as a final test of his skill. From their first full collaboration, THE VIRGIN SPRING (1959), the Bergman-Nykvist partnership flourished.
Nykvist's work was clearly influenced by the Swedish tradition of stark, psychologically meaningful landscape (ranging from claustrophobic forests to lonely, peaceful vistas) and minimalist shot composition (abundantly evident in his powerful close-ups, seen at perhaps their most stunning in Bergman's PERSONA, 1966). Nykvist and Bergman shared a preference for location shooting and natural light. They also agreed that subtle changes of light can alter the meaning of a character's actions.
Nykvist designed his cinematography in meticulous detail. Tests were done at all times of the day for the entire film before shooting began. When working with Bergman and their close-knit group of technicians, Nykvist lit the sets and worked the camera himself. He manipulated the light itself, rather than relying on laboratory techniques or distorting filters and lenses, and favored a soft "bounce" lighting that would contour and flatter an actor's face. His camerawork was typified by SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1973); the film is composed of long takes, some of which last ten minutes and include as many as twenty zooms.
For many years, Nykvist and Bergman favored black and white, considering color to be a source of superficial beauty. In 1964, they experimented with color in ALL THESE WOMEN. Typically, they tested the entire technical crew for color blindness and shot 18,000 feet of color experiments before shooting of the film even began. Both men were nevertheless dissatisfied with the final product, citing its lack of atmosphere and excessive lighting. Their second color film, THE PASSION OF ANNA (1969) / EN PASSION, was acclaimed for its minimum color saturation and muted tones, which would become Nykvist's trademark. Nykvist won an Academy Award for his color cinematography on Bergman's harrowing CRIES AND WHISPERS (1972).
While Nykvist was most often connected with Bergman, with whom he made more than 20 films, he worked with other Scandinavian directors such as Arne Mattsson and Gunnar Hellstrom in the 1950s and Vilgot Sjöman, Mai Zetterling and Jörn Donner in the 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s, Nykvist shot films for a variety of international directors, including Roman Polanski (THE TENANT, 1976), Louis Malle (PRETTY BABY, 1978), Volker Schlöndorff (SWANN IN LOVE, 1984) and Andrei Tarkovsky (THE SACRIFICE, 1986). He began collaborating regularly with American filmmakers in the late 1970s and by the mid-80s was filming more in Hollywood than abroad. As usual, once a director had worked with him, Nykvist was often called upon for encores; examples include Alan Pakula (STARTING OVER, 1979, DREAM LOVER, 1986), Norman Jewison (AGNES OF GOD, 1985, JUST IN TIME, 1994), and Woody Allen (ANOTHER WOMAN, 1988, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, 1989). Nykivist also combined a bit of both worlds when he worked with Swedish director Lässe Hallstrom on Hollywood's WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (1993). His cinematrographic stamp invariably added a certain pensiveness to even seemingly raucous material, so much so that Nykvist lay substantial claim to "auteur" status. The respect he held in the international filmmaking community was confirmed by his second Oscar® awarded for Bergman's period piece, FANNY AND ALEXANDER in 1984, and by a prize at Cannes in 1986.
In 1964, Nykvist directed his first feature, THE VINE BRIDGE with Harriet Andersson, Folke Sundquist and Mai Zetterling. The film draws on some elements of his own life, featuring a protagonist who, like Nykvist, was raised by missionary parents in Africa. Years later, Nykvist received his greatest acclaim to date as a director with the international success of THE OX (1991), a somber but potent drama, based on fact, about a man who betrays his community during a time of famine.
Nykvist described his own work as the emulation of the great silent storytellers, particularly Stiller, Sjöström, Eisenstein and Lang, who all mastered the art of telling stories with pictures rather than words.
Father of producer-director Carl-Gustav Nykvist (1953 - ).
Cinematography 1973: CRIES AND WHISPERS
Cinematography 1983: FANNY & ALEXANDER
Nominated for Achievement in Cinematography 1988: THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING
3 nominations, 2 Awards