Donald McAlpine
Biography
One of the most successful Australian cinematographers of all time, Donald McAlpine graces the credits of a great many popular films from the 1980s to well past the turn of the millennium. This very long winning streak began modestly in the late 1960s in his native country. The first significant film lensed by McAlpine to draw international attention was the well-distributed "My Brilliant Career" (1979), the period drama about female emancipation that indeed launched a brilliant career for actress Judy Davis.
The following year, the cinematographer was part of another celebrated global hit set in roughly the same era--"Breaker Morant," a tragedy about soldiers unfairly prosecuted by their superiors in the Boer War. From then on, the Hollywood call was too loud to ignore. McAlpine made the transition across the Pacific several years later and quickly landed a series of jobs in high-budget American movies.
His credit list includes durable blockbusters such as the supernatural jungle thriller "Predator" (1987) and the 1993 Robin Williams-in-grandma-drag comedy, "Mrs. Doubtfire." McAlpine continued his long tradition of working with prominent Australian directors, including Baz Luhrmann, filming the fantastical 19th-century musical romance "Moulin Rouge!," for which he was nominated for a cinematography Oscar and won a BAFTA in the same category.
