Other notable cinematography credits include Peter Brook's MARAT/SADE (1966), Ken Russell's THE DEVILS and THE BOY FRIEND (both 1971), THE THREE MUSKETEERS and A DELICATE BALANCE (both 1973), THE FOUR MUSKETEERS (1974), MAHOGANY (1975), ROBIN AND MARIAN (1976), ENDLESS LOVE (1981), YENTL (1983), THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE (1984), RETURN TO OZ and WHITE NIGHTS (1985), SKY BANDITS (1976), MOONSTRUCK (1987), MASQUERADE, LAST RITES and THE GOOD MOTHER (all 1988), JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1989), MEMPHIS BELLE and HAMLET (both 1990), THE OBJECT OF BEAUTY (1991), USED PEOPLE (1992), THIS BOY'S LIFE and BOPHA! (both 1993), MILK MONEY (1994), JANE EYRE and BOGUS (both 1996), THROUGH ROSES, NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN, OBSESSION and CRITICAL CARE (all 1997), GLORIA and TEA WITH MUSSOLINI (both 1999) and ALL FORGOTTEN (2000).
Watkin was known among aficionados of cinematography for his use of the bounce light, lamps aimed at walls and ceilings to create diffuse and soft lighting. He was also known for the "Wendy light" (Wendy was his nickname), which consisted of around 200 bulbs mounted on a crane at heights of up to 150 feet. It functions as a single, powerful light source, producing the type of shadows and degree of smoothness generated by natural light.
Watkin, who preferred to live a quiet life with his friends away from the world of show business, never took himself too seriously. When asked for a motto to embellish the T-shirts of the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography at Lodz, where he received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, he suggested: "One tries not to fuck it up."
In the forward to his 1998 autobiography, Why is There Only One Word for Thesaurus?, he wrote: "I was prevented from becoming an unsuccessful musician by a realistic father who said that I'd not make any money at it, and would make a noise in the house; and only came into films to avoid wearing a suit. The resulting lack of ambition has probably been my best asset. This honestly isn't a pose. Once I was actually doing photography, I quite liked it, and I suppose curiosity did the rest."
Watkin, whose second autobiography, Was Clara Schumann a Fag Hag?, is to be published soon, was openly gay long before homosexuality was decriminalised.
Cinematography 1985: OUT OF AFRICA
1 nomination, 1 Award