6 Brilliant Films by This Weekend's Honorary Oscar-Winning DP Gordon Willis

5. Manhattan (1979)

Willis's only more fruitful directorial collaboration came with Woody Allen, with whom he made eight films -- the best of which are probably in black and white. Does Manhattan need any introduction? Besides the Gershwin-scored city montage, that is, another iconic bit of cinema that joyless MGM has repeatedly yanked from the Web. There's always that ending, though, Allen's widescreen resolution to follow Mariel Hemingway's simple, stirring advice: Have a little faith in people.

6. Zelig (1983)

Zelig is Willis's most playful collaboration with Allen, the title of which has passed into the zeitgeist as a person who is seemingly always at the crossroads of history almost without trying. His mix of film stocks, hand-cranked cameras and more adventuresome black-and-white tricks earned Willis the first of his two career Oscar nods. The second came in 1990 for The Godfather Part III; Willis would retire seven later after reuniting with Pakula on The Devil's Own. A tip of the cap and many congrats on his belated honor this weekend.

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