Nook NotesPick a film
Christopher Doyle

Cinematographer

Christopher Doyle

Born May 2, 1952 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia82 films

Christopher Doyle is an Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer who often works on Chinese language films. He has won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, as well as AFI Award for cinematography, the Golden Horse awards (four times), and Hong Kong Film Award (six times). Doyle is an affiliate of the Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers. Doyle was born in Sydney, Australia in 1952. He left his native country on a Norwegian merchant ship at the age of eighteen, after which he took on a number of odd jobs including as a Kibbutz-nick cowboy in Israel, homeopathic doctor in Thailand, and “green agriculturalist” in India work. In the late seventies, Doyle was “re-birthed” as Du Ke Feng, which means “like the wind.” Following his time as a language student in Taiwan and having found work as a photographer, he was hired as a cinematographer on Edward Yang’s That Day, on the Beach in 1983.

Read more

Since his “birth in art,” Du Ke Feng has worked on over fifty Chinese-language films. He is best known for his collaborations with Wong Kar-Wai, including Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love and 2046 (the latter of which saw Doyle walking off set mid-way through production). He has collaborated with other Chinese filmmakers on projects including Temptress Moon, Hero, Happy Together, and Dumplings. As his "alter ego" Christopher Doyle he has made more than twenty in various other languages and film cultures, working as director of photography on Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho, Liberty Heights, Last Life in the Universe, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Paranoid Park, The Limits of Control.

He also wrote, shot, and directed Warsaw Dark, Away with Words starring Asano Tadanobu, and Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous, an experimental portrait of three generations of Hong Kong people.[5] He is currently filming The White Girl, another tribute to his adopted hometown of Hong Kong, with co-director Jenny Suen.

On May 26, 2017 Doyle was honored during the 70th Cannes Festival with the “Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography” award, in tribute to his rich and influential career. The ceremony was co-hosted by filmmaker Olivier Assayas and actress Juliette Binoche, among others.

Start here

The best way into Christopher Doyle's work
In the Mood for Love posterFirst watchIn the Mood for Love20008.1In 1960s Hong Kong, two neighbors form an intimate bond after making a discovery about their spouses in this visually stunning tale of unrequited love.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Chungking Express poster8.0Chungking Express1994Hero poster7.5Hero2002Fallen Angels poster7.7Fallen Angels1995Happy Together poster7.6Happy Together19972046 poster7.220462004Days of Being Wild poster7.3Days of Being Wild1990Ashes of Time poster7.1Ashes of Time1994Rabbit-Proof Fence poster7.0Rabbit-Proof Fence2002

Filmography

82 films
  1. TBAHunters in the DarkDirector of Photography
  2. TBALate in SummerDirector of Photography
  3. 2026Morte CucinaDirector of Photography
  4. 2025In the Mood for Love 2001Director of Photography
  5. 2021Love After LoveDirector of Photography
  6. 2021The HandDirector of Photography
  7. 2020Tezuka's BarbaraDirector of Photography
  8. 2019They Say Nothing Stays the SameDirector of Photography
  9. 2017The White GirlDirector of Photography
  10. 2017Human FlowDirector of Photography
  11. 2017You Mean The World To MeDirector of Photography
  12. 2016WINDDirector of Photography
  13. 2016Stockholm, My LoveDirector of Photography
  14. 2016I Am BelfastDirector of Photography
  15. 2016Endless PoetryDirector of Photography
  16. 2015Port of CallDirector of Photography
  17. 2015Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied PreposterousDirector of Photography
  18. 2015Fundamentally HappyDirector of Photography
  19. 2015Beijing, New YorkDirector of Photography
  20. 2014Ruined Heart: Another Lovestory Between a Criminal & a WhoreDirector of Photography
  21. 2013BendsDirector of Photography
  22. 2013Magic MagicDirector of Photography
  23. 2013American Dreams in ChinaDirector of Photography
  24. 2013A Good StoryDirector of Photography
  25. 2011Rabbit HorrorDirector of Photography
  26. 2011Love for LifeDirector of Photography
  27. 2011Underwater LoveDirector of Photography
  28. 2011Passion PlayDirector of Photography
  29. 2010ShowtimeDirector of Photography
  30. 2010Ocean HeavenDirector of Photography
  31. 2010OndineDirector of Photography
  32. 2009The Limits of ControlDirector of Photography
  33. 2008Downloading NancyDirector of Photography
  34. 2007Paranoid ParkDirector of Photography
  35. 2006Lady in the WaterDirector of Photography
  36. 2006Invisible WavesDirector of Photography
  37. 2006Digital Sam in Sam Saek 2006: Talk to HerDirector of Photography
  38. 2005Perhaps LoveDirector of Photography
  39. 2005The White CountessDirector of Photography
  40. 2004ErosDirector of Photography
  41. 20042046Director of Photography
  42. 2004Three... ExtremesDirector of Photography
  43. 2004DumplingsDirector of Photography
  44. 2003Green TeaDirector of Photography
  45. 2003Last Life in the UniverseDirector of Photography
  46. 2002HeroDirector of Photography
  47. 2002The Quiet AmericanDirector of Photography
  48. 2002ThreeDirector of Photography
  49. 2002Three: Going HomeDirector of Photography
  50. 2002Rabbit-Proof FenceDirector of Photography
  51. 2001MadeDirector of Photography
  52. 2000In the Mood for LoveDirector of Photography
  53. 1999Liberty HeightsDirector of Photography
  54. 1999Away with WordsDirector of Photography
  55. 1999Buenos Aires Zero Degree: The Making of 'Happy Together'Director of Photography
  56. 1998PsychoDirector of Photography
  57. 1998Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese CinemaDirector of Photography
  58. 1997First Love: The Litter on the BreezeDirector of Photography
  59. 1997Chinese BoxSecond Unit Director of Photography
  60. 1997Motel CactusDirector of Photography
  61. 1997Happy TogetherDirector of Photography
  62. 1996wkw/tk/1996@7'55''hk.netDirector of Photography
  63. 19964 Faces of EveDirector of Photography
  64. 1996Temptress MoonDirector of Photography
  65. 1996Tri-StarDirector of Photography
  66. 1995The Peony PavilionDirector of Photography
  67. 1995Fallen AngelsDirector of Photography
  68. 1994Red Rose White RoseDirector of Photography
  69. 1994Ashes of TimeDirector of Photography
  70. 1994Red Lotus SocietyDirector of Photography
  71. 1994Chungking ExpressDirector of Photography
  72. 1992Mary from BeijingDirector of Photography
  73. 1992Secret Love in Peach Blossom LandDirector of Photography
  74. 1990Days of Being WildDirector of Photography
  75. 1990Return EngagementDirector of Photography
  76. 1989I Am SorryDirector of Photography
  77. 1989My Heart Is That Eternal RoseDirector of Photography
  78. 1988Burning SnowDirector of Photography
  79. 1986SoulDirector of Photography
  80. 1986Noir et blancDirector of Photography
  81. 1984Ah FuDirector of Photography
  82. 1983That Day, on the BeachDirector of Photography