Christian Blackwood

July 7, 1942 — Berlin, Germany

Christian Blackwood was an American film director and cinematographer. He was initially a child actor, then a cinematographer acclaimed for his work in Charlotte Zwerin's Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser. But his major work was as the director of over 80 films, mostly documentaries, over a 25-year career. His most famous films are Observations Under The Volcano and On the Set of Death of a Salesman, behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of movies by John Huston and Volker Schlöndorff from the famous novel and play. The latter film won him the grand prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Christian Blackwood died in 1992 of lung cancer. He was married to film writer, producer and fine art photographer, Carolyn Marks Blackwood. His film archives are stored in the Museum of Modern Art.