As Clear As the Bright Blue Sky

Nicolas Jack Roeg, born on August 15, 1928 in London, England is an internationally-known cinematographer and film director. Contributing to the visual look of Lawrence of Arabia and Roger Corman's The Masque of the Red Death, and co-directing Performance, he would later become the guiding force behind such landmark films as Don't Look Now, Walkabout and The Man Who Fell to Earth, which starred David Bowie.

These and his other pictures are known for their use of the cut-up technique, through which a linear narrative is given a new and less conventional meaning. Often, Roeg will photograph his stories in disjunctive and semi-coherent ways that only make full sense in the film's final moments, when a crucial piece of information surfaces. These techniques, and Roeg's uniquely foreboding sense of atmosphere, have greatly influenced later filmmakers such as Ridley Scott and François Ozon. His later films, however, have received a colder reception by the viewing public.