Biography
A Chicago-born amateur filmmaker, Haskell Wexler broke into feature films in 1959 as a cinematographer on the documentary
The Savage Eye (1960). Wexler photographed the dramas
The Hoodlum Priest (1961),
Angel Baby (1961),
The Best Man (1964), and later distinguished himself as cinematographer on the
Mike Nichols drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1965). He worked on such high profile feature films as
In The Heat of the Night (1967) and
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), but also produced and directed the documentaries
The Bus and
Medium Cool (1969), the latter a very successful and controversial look at the violence and strife surrounding the anti-war movement and the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. During the 1980s, he also produced and directed the feature film
Latino (1985), which was highly critical of American policy in Central America. Wexler has won Academy Awards for his work in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and
Bound For Glory (1976), and also worked on such documentaries as Gimme Shelter and The Stones At the MAX. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide