Dick Pope Dies: Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer And Longtime Mike Leigh Collaborator Was 77 

Dick Pope, the veteran British cinematographer best known for his decades-long collaboration with legendary filmmaker Mike Leigh has died. He was 77. 

The British Society of Cinematographers confirmed the news Tuesday with a statement. 

“It is with deepest sadness that we learn of the passing of our friend and colleague Dick Pope BSC,” the statement read. “Dick had a reputation for being a wonderful collaborator and someone who was passionate about the art form of Cinematography. He was keen to embrace new technologies and ideas while also ensuring the skills and crafts of those that came before him weren’t lost. To this end ,Dick would guest tutor at schools such as the National Film and Television School.” 

Pope was born in Bromley, Kent in 1947. He began his trade as a documentary filmmaker, working on the British current affairs series World In Action. He moved into Television drama in the early 1980s and earned his first BAFTA nod for his work on the Channel 4 series Porterhouse Blue.

Pope worked on 11 films with his longtime collaborator Mike Leigh. Their first film together was Life is Sweet (1990). Their other joint credits include seminal features like Naked, Secrets & Lies, Peterloo, Another Year, and Vera Drake. Pope picked up an Oscar nod for his work on Leigh’s 2014 period drama Mr Turner. 

Other directors Pope worked with include Baroness Beeban Kidron, Mike Newell, Christopher McQuarrie, Barry Levinson, Richard Linklater, Gurinder Chadha, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Edward Norton. 

Pope’s last credit is Leigh’s latest feature Hard Truths, which debuted at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. In a recent interview with Indiewire, Leigh said that Pope had undergone “major heart surgery” just before they started shooting the film. 

The BSC ended: “We pay tribute to our wonderful friend and colleague and our thoughts go out to his family especially his wife Pat at this difficult time.”