Savides first solo job as a cinematographer was on the thriller Heaven's Prisoners (1996), directed by Phil Joanou and starring Alec Baldwin.[2] Before that film, he served as a cinematographer on a TV short film entitled The Investigator (1994) directed by Matthew Tabak and a TV movie Lake Consequence (1993) directed by Rafael Eisenman.[3] One of his earliest jobs was being the director of photography on a workout video from Cindy Crawford.[4]
Savides was also the cinematographer on two films directed by Sofia Coppola, The Bling Ring and Somewhere, a departure from Coppola's regular DP Lance Acord. For the visual style of Somewhere, she discussed Bruce Weber's Hollywood portraits and Helmut Newton's of models at the Chateau Marmont, and Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), the film by Chantal Akerman about the routine of a Belgian housewife, with Savides. Savides said, "The main thing was to tell the story really simply and let it play out in long beats and have the audience discover the moment."[6] Coppola used the lenses that her father had filmed Rumble Fish (1983) with in an effort to give the film a more period look, although it is set in the present.[7]The Bling Ring was Savides' last film.
Besides his frequent collaborations with Gus Van Sant, David Fincher, Noah Baumbach and Sofia Coppola, Savides was known for the very delicate images that he created for The Yards (directed by James Gray) and Birth (directed by Jonathan Glazer). In both instances he underexposed the filmstock by several stops in order to break up the colors and give the blacks a purplish and brownish tint. This non-conventional approach leads to a look that resembles the paintings of Georges de La Tour and Caravaggio.[8]
Savides was born in New York City, New York, to parents of Greek Cypriot origin, Eleni, a clerical worker, and Savas Savides, a short-order cook.[1][14] He graduated with a degree in photography and film from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.[2][9]
Savides lived in Manhattan with his wife Medine, and daughter Sophie. He died from brain cancer, at age 55.[1]