Erwin Hillier, photographer of ‘The Dam Busters’, dead at 93
The Independant
Erwin Hillier, cinematographer: born Berlin 2 September 1911; married Helen Yates-Southgate (one daughter); died London 10 January 2005.
The German-born cinematographer Erwin Hillier became one of Britain’s finest cameramen, described by the film-maker Michael Powell as “almost insanely enthusiastic”. Powell and his partner Emeric Pressburger founded Archer Films, and Hillier is considered second only to Jack Cardiff as their most important cameraman. His films included two notable Archers productions, A Canterbury Tale and I Know Where I’m Going, as well as the celebrated war film The Dam Busters and such atmospheric films noirs as The October Man and Chase a Crooked Shadow.
Born in Berlin in 1911, to English and German parents, he studied briefly at art school in the city before joining the famed Ufa studios, where the director F.W. Murnau, who had been impressed by his paintings, asked him to be an assistant on Tabu (1931).
The Dam Busters
