--- name: "Alex Thomson" canonical: "https://film.one/person/alex-thomson" fi1m_id: "alex-thomson" imdb_id: "nm0004287" tmdb_id: 21516 wikidata_id: "Q489174" roles: ["Cinematographer"] born: "12 January 1929" died: "14 June 2007" reviewed_on_fi1m: 11 average_fi1m_score: 71 average_over: 11 updated: "2026-10-04T23:11:37.252081+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Alex Thomson ## Identity Alex Thomson - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/alex-thomson - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** alex-thomson - **IMDb ID:** nm0004287 - **TMDB ID:** 21516 - **Wikidata ID:** Q489174 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Thomson_(cinematographer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q489174, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004287/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21516 Cinematographer. Born 12 January 1929 in London, England, UK. Died 14 June 2007. ## Details - **Work:** Cinematographer - **Born:** 12 January 1929, London, England, UK - **Died:** 14 June 2007 - **Active:** 1964–1996 - **Also known as:** Alexander Thompson, Alex Thompson - **Frequently works with:** [Sylvester Stallone](https://film.one/person/sylvester-stallone.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 76 (2), 1980s 66 (4), 1990s 72 (5) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 71 to 63 across 11 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 8 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Genres:** Adventure 4, Drama 4, Fantasy 4, Action 3, Horror 3, Crime 2 - **Screen time:** 24 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $824m across 10 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Thomson_(cinematographer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q489174, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004287/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21516 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Hamlet*](https://film.one/film/hamlet.md) (81), [*Cliffhanger*](https://film.one/film/cliffhanger.md) (74) - **Disney+:** [*Labyrinth*](https://film.one/film/labyrinth.md) (74) - **Apple TV:** [*High Spirits*](https://film.one/film/high-spirits.md) (52) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Biography Alex Thomson (12 January 1929 – 14 June 2007) was a British cinematographer. Born in London, he entered the film industry in the late 1940s as a clapper boy and later worked extensively as a camera operator for Nicolas Roeg in the 1960s before becoming a director of photography. His credits include *The Krays* (1990), *Alien³* (1992), *Cliffhanger* (1993), *Demolition Man* (1993), *Executive Decision* (1996) and *Hamlet* (1996). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for *Excalibur* (1981) and won British Society of Cinematographers awards for *Legend* (1985) and *Hamlet* (1996). Thomson served as president of the British Society of Cinematographers from 1980 to 1982 and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. He also photographed *Love's Labour's Lost* (2000) for Kenneth Branagh. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, britishcinematographer.co.uk.* ## On Fi1m (11) - *Hamlet* (1996), Fi1m 81, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/hamlet.md) - *Cliffhanger* (1993), Fi1m 74, Cinematography, Camera Operator, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/cliffhanger.md) - *Demolition Man* (1993), Fi1m 68, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/demolition-man.md) - *Alien³* (1992), Fi1m 62, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/alien3.md) - *The Krays* (1990), Fi1m 74, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-krays.md) - *High Spirits* (1988), Fi1m 52, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/high-spirits.md) - *Labyrinth* (1986), Fi1m 74, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/labyrinth.md) - *Legend* (1985), Fi1m 61, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/legend.md) - *Excalibur* (1981), Fi1m 79, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/excalibur.md) - *Doctor Zhivago* (1965), Fi1m 70, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-zhivago.md) - *The Masque of the Red Death* (1964), Fi1m 83, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/the-masque-of-the-red-death.md) ## Complete filmography (57) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Der letzte Flug* (2004), Director of Photography - *Listening* (2003), Director of Photography - *A Shot at Glory* (2000), Director of Photography - *Love's Labour's Lost* (2000), Director of Photography, Cinematography - *Hamlet* (1996), Director of Photography — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/hamlet.md) - *Executive Decision* (1996), Director of Photography - *The Scarlet Letter* (1995), Director of Photography - *Black Beauty* (1994), Director of Photography - *Demolition Man* (1993), Director of Photography — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/demolition-man.md) - *Cliffhanger* (1993), Camera Operator, Director of Photography — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/cliffhanger.md) - *Alien³* (1992), Director of Photography — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/alien3.md) - *Mr. Destiny* (1990), Director of Photography - *The Krays* (1990), Director of Photography — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/the-krays.md) - *Wings of Fame* (1990), Director of Photography - *The Rachel Papers* (1989), Director of Photography - *Leviathan* (1989), Director of Photography - *High Spirits* (1988), Director of Photography — Fi1m 52, [page](https://film.one/film/high-spirits.md) - *Track 29* (1988), Director of Photography - *Date with an Angel* (1987), Director of Photography - *The Sicilian* (1987), Director of Photography - *Duet for One* (1986), Director of Photography - *Labyrinth* (1986), Director of Photography — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/labyrinth.md) - *Raw Deal* (1986), Director of Photography - *Legend* (1985), Director of Photography — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/film/legend.md) - *Year of the Dragon* (1985), Director of Photography - *Electric Dreams* (1984), Director of Photography - *The Keep* (1983), Director of Photography - *Bullshot* (1983), Director of Photography - *Eureka* (1983), Director of Photography - *Skokie* (1981), Director of Photography - *Excalibur* (1981), Director of Photography — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/excalibur.md) - *The Gold Bug* (1980), Director of Photography - *Follow that Rainbow* (1979), Cinematography - *The Class Of Miss MacMichael* (1978), Director of Photography - *Superman* (1978), Additional Photography - *The Cat and the Canary* (1978), Director of Photography - *Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse* (1978), Director of Photography - *Fear Is the Key* (1972), Director of Photography - *Death Line* (1972), Director of Photography - *Dr. Phibes Rises Again* (1972), Director of Photography - *The Road Builder* (1971), Director of Photography - *The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer* (1970), Director of Photography - *I Start Counting* (1970), Director of Photography - *The Best House in London* (1969), Director of Photography - *The Strange Affair* (1968), Director of Photography - *Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush* (1968), Director of Photography - *A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum* (1966), Camera Operator - *Fahrenheit 451* (1966), Camera Operator - *Judith* (1966), Camera Operator - *Doctor Zhivago* (1965), Camera Operator — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-zhivago.md) - *Every Day's a Holiday* (1965), Camera Operator - *The Masque of the Red Death* (1964), Camera Operator — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/the-masque-of-the-red-death.md) - *The System* (1964), Camera Operator - *Nothing But the Best* (1964), Camera Operator - *The Caretaker* (1964), Camera Operator - *Dr. Crippen* (1963), Camera Operator - *Girl on Approval* (1961), Camera Operator ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1982: Best Cinematography (nominated), for *Excalibur* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/alex-thomson