Camera

Frederick Elmes

Born November 4, 1946 · Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, USA (age 79)

Frederick Elmes, ASC (born November 4, 1946) is an American cinematographer, known for his association with the independent film movement. He is a long-time collaborator of directors David Lynch, Ang Lee, Charlie Kaufman, Jim Jarmusch, and Todd Solondz. He has won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography twice, for Wild at Heart (1990) and Night on Earth (1991), and a Primetime Emmy Aw…

Known For

Dune

MovieActionScience Fiction

In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.

Wild at Heart

Wild at Heart · 1990

MovieCrimeThriller

Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.

Broken Flowers

Broken Flowers · 2005

MovieComedyDrama

An introverted man receives an anonymous letter from an ex-lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. A freelance sleuth neighbor motivates the man to embark on a cross-country search for his past flames, seeking answers.

Hulk

MovieScience FictionAction

Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers massive radiation exposure in his laboratory that causes him to transform into a raging green monster when he gets angry.

Brothers

Brothers · 2009

MovieDramaThriller

When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.

Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet · 1986

MovieMysteryThriller

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

Eraserhead

Eraserhead · 1977

MovieHorrorScience Fiction

First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

The Dead Don't Die

The Dead Don't Die · 2019

The Dead Don't Die

MovieComedyHorror

In the sleepy town of Centerville, the lives of a number of interconnected characters are disrupted by the undead.

Filmography

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Dune

MovieActionScience Fiction

In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.

Second Unit Director of Photography

Wild at Heart

Wild at Heart · 1990

MovieCrimeThriller

Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.

Director of Photography

Broken Flowers

Broken Flowers · 2005

MovieComedyDrama

An introverted man receives an anonymous letter from an ex-lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. A freelance sleuth neighbor motivates the man to embark on a cross-country search for his past flames, seeking answers.

Director of Photography

Hulk

MovieScience FictionAction

Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers massive radiation exposure in his laboratory that causes him to transform into a raging green monster when he gets angry.

Director of Photography

Brothers

Brothers · 2009

MovieDramaThriller

When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.

Director of Photography

Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet · 1986

MovieMysteryThriller

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

Director of Photography

Eraserhead

Eraserhead · 1977

MovieHorrorScience Fiction

First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

Director of Photography

The Dead Don't Die

The Dead Don't Die · 2019

The Dead Don't Die

MovieComedyHorror

In the sleepy town of Centerville, the lives of a number of interconnected characters are disrupted by the undead.

Director of Photography

Bride Wars

Bride Wars · 2009

MovieComedyRomance

Two best friends become rivals when their respective weddings are accidentally booked for the same day.

Director of Photography

Synecdoche, New York

Synecdoche, New York · 2008

Synecdoche, New York

A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.

Director of Photography

Father Mother Sister Brother

Father Mother Sister Brother · 2025

Father Mother Sister Brother

MovieComedyDrama

Estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents.

Director of Photography

The Ice Storm

The Ice Storm · 1997

In the weekend after thanksgiving 1973 the Hood family is skidding out of control. Then an ice storm hits, the worst in a century.

Director of Photography

A Woman Under the Influence

A Woman Under the Influence · 1974

A Woman Under the Influence

MovieDramaRomance

Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.

Assistant Camera

Coffee and Cigarettes

Coffee and Cigarettes · 2004

Coffee and Cigarettes

MovieComedyDrama

An anthology of eleven vignettes featuring star-studded casts of extremely unique individuals who all share the common activities of conversing while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

Director of Photography

Red Dawn

Red Dawn · 1984

MovieThrillerWar

It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town—and their country—from invading Soviet forces.

Second Unit Director of Photography

Moonwalker

Moonwalker · 1988

MovieFantasyMusic

This fantastical movie inspired by the music of Michael Jackson features imaginative interpretations of hit tracks from the iconic 1987 album “Bad”.

Director of Photography

Paterson

Paterson · 2016

A week in the life of Paterson, a poet bus driver, and his wife Laura, a very creative artist, who live in Paterson, New Jersey, hometown of many famous poets and artists.

Director of Photography

Trapped

Trapped · 2002

MovieCrimeThriller

Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.

Director of Photography

Night on Earth

Night on Earth · 1991

MovieComedyDrama

A quintet of cabbies in five cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.

Director of Photography

Wilson

MovieComedyDrama

Middle-aged and divorced, Wilson finds himself lonely, smug, and obsessed with his past.

Director of Photography

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold · 1986

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

MovieAdventureAction

After his brother Robeson disappears without a trace while exploring Africa in search of a legendary 'white tribe', Allan Quatermain decides to follow in his footsteps to learn what became of him. Soon after arriving, he discovers the Lost City of Gold, controlled by the evil lord Agon, and mined by his legions of white slaves.

Camera Technician

Ride with the Devil

Ride with the Devil · 1999

Ride with the Devil

Friends Jake and Jack Bull join up with Civil War guerrilla fighters, yet after the realities of war set in, they must decide what honor truly means.

Director of Photography

Horns

MovieDramaFantasy

In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.

Director of Photography

Real Genius

Real Genius · 1985

MovieComedyRomance

When teenage geniuses Mitch Taylor and Chris Knight, working on an advanced laser project, learn that the military wants to use it as a weapon, they decide to thwart the plan.

Second Unit Director of Photography

The Night Of

The Night Of · 2016

SeriesCrimeDrama

After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.

Director of Photography

Hunters

Hunters · 2020

SeriesCrimeDrama

A diverse band of Nazi Hunters living in 1977 New York City discover that hundreds of high ranking Nazi officials are living among us and conspiring to create a Fourth Reich in the U.S. The eclectic team of Hunters set out on a bloody quest to bring the Nazis to justice and thwart their new genocidal plans.

Director of Photography

Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge · 2014

Olive Kitteridge

A look at a seemingly placid New England town that is actually wrought with illicit affairs, crime and tragedy, all told through the lens of Olive, whose wicked wit and harsh demeanor mask a warm but troubled heart and staunch moral center. The story spans 25 years and focuses on Olive's relationships with her husband, Henry, the good-hearted and kindly town pharmacist; their son, Christopher, who resents his mother's approach to parenting; and other members of their community.

Director of Photography