Biography
Japanese-American director of photography Tak Fujimoto may have held a degree from the London film school, but his acceptance into the clannish, inbred American Society of Cinematographers was a hard-won victory. He worked as assistant to Haskell Wexler in television, then worked the "B"-picture circuit through the auspices of Roger Corman alumnus Jonathan Demme. His first full director-of-photography credit was for director Terence Malick's
Badlands (1973); later on, he was one of a battalion of camera operators on George Lucas's
Star Wars (1977). Since that time, Tak Fujimoto has ascended to the top of his profession, with such award-winners to his credit as
Melvin and Howard (1980),
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and
Philadelphia (1993), not to mention such pure-and-simple entertainments as
Swing Shift (1984),
Pretty in Pink (1986) and
Married to the Mob (1988). He has also worked on several TV movies, including
Seduced (1985) and
Cast the First Stone (1990). Tak Fujimoto is decidedly not to be confused with actress Taki Fujimoto. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide