Vilis Lapenieks

Birth : 1931-11-10, Riga, Latvia

Death : 1987-07-03

Movies

Spaceship
Director of Photography
A farce satirizing extraterrestrial horror movies such as Alien. Alternate titles include "The Creature Wasn't Nice" and "Naked Space" (1999 re-release trying to capitalize on Nielsen's "Naked Gun" success).
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald
Director of Photography
The bizarre story behind the man accused of assassinating John F. Kennedy and what might have happened had he been brought to trial.
Night Terror
Director of Photography
A housewife flees from a policeman's killer on the road between Phoenix and Denver.
Capone
Director of Photography
Young Al Capone catches the eye of Johnny Torrio, a criminal visiting New York from Chicago. Torrio invites Capone to move to Illinois to help run his Prohibition-era alcohol sales operation. Capone rises through the ranks of Torrio's gang and eventually takes over. On top, he works to consolidate his power by eliminating his enemies, fixing elections to his advantage and getting rich. In his spare time, Capone courts the principled Iris Crawford.
Two
Director of Photography
In this drama, a Vietnam veteran flees an Army discharge hospital. The fugitive then kidnaps a young woman and takes her to a remote mountain cabin. The woman convinces him to free her if she stays for two days. During that time, the two begin to get closer until he travels to town for supplies and ends up robbing a bank. The woman is terribly upset with him and forces him to return the cash. Tragedy for the fugitive ensues, and the young woman ends up having learned a valuable lesson.
Newman's Law
Director of Photography
LAPD Officer Newman has not gotten the reputation of a straight arrow by avoiding conflict when fighting for right. In this police drama, his honesty is put to the test when he and his partner discover an international drug ring involving some of the department's highest ranking officers.
That Certain Summer
Cinematography
The first US teleplay to deal sympathetically with homosexuality. Divorced San Francisco contractor Doug Salter is looking forward to a summer visit from his fourteen-year-old son Nick, who lives in Los Angeles with his mother Janet. The boy does not know that his father is gay and committed to Gary McClain, his life partner of several years.
Sixteen
Director of Photography
Hickspoiltation film from the early 1970s ostensibly starring Oscar nominee Mercedes McCambridge, but really more a film looking for an excuse to show off Simone Griffeth's beauty. She plays a daughter of a swamp family. The whole family goes to a carnival where she is seduced by an older male performer, while her teen brother is seduced by an older female performer.
Future Shock
Director of Photography
“Our modern technology has achieved a degree of sophistication beyond our wildest dreams. But this technology has exacted a pretty heavy price. We live in an age of anxiety, a time of stress. And with all our sophistication we are in fact, the victims of our own technological strength. We are the victims of shock … of future shock.” No, this isn’t a quote from a Huffington Post column on the Facebookization of modern communication. Nor is it pulled from an academic treatise on the phenomenologies of post-industrial existence. This statement was made by Orson Welles in the 1972 futurist documentary Future Shock, and, unlike some of the more dated elements of 1970s educational films, Future Shock remains shockingly current in verbalizing the concerns and anxieties that come along with rapid societal and technological change. (Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive)
Cisco Pike
Director of Photography
A down on his luck former drug dealer is forced by a corrupt LAPD policeman to sell 100 kilos of confiscated marijuana in one weekend.
The Hellstrom Chronicle
Cinematography
A scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.
I Love My Wife
Director of Photography
Young surgeon becomes bored with his wife and family, he has a very successful career, but even with having so much in life, he feels empty and goes through a series of brief and meaningless relations with attractive women.
The Young Country
Director of Photography
An adventurous young gambler searches for the owner of a mysterious fortune.
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
Director of Photography
A group of travelers from the United States race through seven countries in 18 days.
Deadlock
Director of Photography
The murder of a journalist, coming shortly after the killings of a black teenager and a white cop, threatens to inflame passions in the city. To prevent a riot, Lieutenant Sam Danforth and District Attorney Leslie Washburn are determined to find the killer, even though they do not exactly get along with each other and disagree over procedure.
The Thin Blue Line
Director of Photography
The work of the US police force and the problem of fighting rising crime across the country.
Deathwatch
Director of Photography
Based on a play by Jean Genet, a small-time thief battles with his gay cellmate over a third illiterate, muscular convict.
Queen of Blood
Director of Photography
A spaceship is sent to Mars after an alien distress signal is picked up. They find one survivor, but when a crew member is found drained of blood it's evident they have rescued a bloodsucking monster. Uses footage from Encounter in Space (1963).
The Really Big Family
Director of Photography
The Really Big Family is a 1966 American documentary film directed by Alexander Grasshoff about the Dukes family of Seattle, who had 18 children. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The Teen-Age Revolution
Cinematography
Documentary about teenage life in the mid-60s.
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
Director of Photography
In 2020, after the colonization of the moon, the spaceships Vega, Sirius and Capella are launched from Lunar Station 7. They are to explore Venus under the command of Professor Hartman, but an asteroid collides and explodes Capella. The leader ship Vega stays orbiting and sends the astronauts Kern and Sherman with the robot John to the surface of Venus, but they have problems with communication with Dr. Marsha Evans in Vega. The Sirius lands in Venus and Commander Brendan Lockhart, Andre Ferneau and Hans Walter explore the planet and are attacked by prehistoric animals. They use a vehicle to seek Kern and Sherman while collecting samples from the planet. Meanwhile John helps the two cosmonauts to survive in the hostile land.
Four Days In November
Director of Photography
1964 American documentary film about the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Night Tide
Director of Photography
A young sailor falls in love with a mysterious woman performing as a mermaid on the local pier. As they become entwined, he comes to suspect the woman might be a real mermaid who lures men to a watery death during the full moon.
Eegah
Director of Photography
Teenagers stumble across a prehistoric caveman, who goes on a rampage.
V.D.
Director of Photography
A high school track star's wedding plans are capsized by venereal disease and a bad, beautiful new girl in town. His coach and a physician steer him into the light again.
The Little Shop of Horrors
Cinematography
Seymour works in a skid row florist shop and is in love with his beautiful co-worker, Audrey. He creates a new plant that not only talks but cannot survive without human flesh and blood.
Revenge of the Virgins
Director of Photography
When white settlers start to move in on their sacred grounds, a tribe of female Indians vow to do anything they can to stop them.