The amazing cinematographer Gordon Willis passed away two weeks ago. Willis was a monumental talent and one of my personal heroes. I deeply admired the distinctiveness of his vision—and the fact that many of the movies he shot number among my favorites of all time. A brief list includes “The Landlord,” “Klute,” “All the President’s Men,” “The Godfather” trilogy and several of Woody Allen’s classics from the 1970s, including the breathtakingly beautiful “Manhattan,” which I wrote about in this post from 2007.

For those unfamiliar with Willis and his work, film critic A.O. Scott provides an overview in this video eulogy from The New York Times.

Last year, Willis recorded an interview with the film series Craft Truck in which he discussed his work and ideas. In this short excerpt from the interview, he talks about the importance of simplicity in cinematography—and storytelling. (The full interview is here.)

Gordon Willis, rest in peace.