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Christopher Challis

Cinematographer · Died May 31, 2012, aged 93 · London, England, UK

Born
March 18, 1919
Died
May 31, 2012 (aged 93)
From
London, England, UK
Works as
Cinematographer
Titles
43 on MovieCove · 67 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Up 13% in 30 days

What are Christopher Challis' films like?

Across their 42 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Comedy9 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 58th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Action8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Drama8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 71st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Adventure7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 61st percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Crime5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 78th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Musical2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 49th percentile
: browse their Musical movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
27%
Morality
24%
Power
15%
Survival
13%
Self
13%
Society
7%
Ideas
1%
Romantic love11 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception9 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty5 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themePower4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose4 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal5 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 42 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 22 · Serious 7 · Dark 13

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 17 · Stylized 13 · Heightened 12

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 13 · Charged 16 · Intense 13

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 19 · Shifting 23 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 17 · Some laughs 18 · Funny 7

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 22 · Even-paced 16 · Relentless 4

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 16 · Engaged 22 · Full focus 4

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 23 · Affecting 8 · Heavy 11

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 33 · Open-ended 7 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
26
Joyful
12
Melancholic
13
Warm
8
Dread
7
Other
39

How their films linger

Feel-good18 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 7 with a twist

  • Happy20
  • Bittersweet18
  • Tragic3
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Christopher Challis' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 21 of their 43 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (14).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Christopher Challis' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

67 credits, 43 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Steaming(1985)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Top Secret!(1984)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Secrets(1983)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Evil Under the Sun(1982)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The Making of Agatha Christie's 'Evil Under the Sun' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Cinematographer

  • The Nightingale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Cinematographer

  • S.O.S. Titanic(1979)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • The Mirror Crack'd(1980)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • The Riddle of the Sands(1979)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Force 10 from Navarone(1978)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • The Deep(1977)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Incredible Sarah (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Cinematographer

  • Mr. Quilp(1975)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • In This House of Brede(1975)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The Little Prince(1974)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • The Boy Who Turned Yellow(1972)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films

  • The Public Eye(1972)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Mary, Queen of Scots(1971)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Catch Me a Spy(1971)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • Villain(1971)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes(1970)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Staircase (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Cinematographer

  • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(1968)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • A Dandy in Aspic(1968)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Two for the Road(1967)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Kaleidoscope(1966)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Arabesque(1966)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Rome Sweet Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Director

  • Return from the Ashes(1965)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes(1965)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • A Shot in the Dark(1964)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Long Ships(1964)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • The Victors(1963)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Damn the Defiant!(1962)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Flame in the Streets(1961)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Five Golden Hours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Cinematographer

  • The Grass Is Greener(1960)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Surprise Package (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Cinematographer

  • Never Let Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Cinematographer

  • Sink the Bismarck!(1960)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Blind Date (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Cinematographer

  • The Captain's Table(1959)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Floods of Fear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Cinematographer

  • Rooney (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Cinematographer

  • Windom's Way (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Cinematographer

  • Miracle in Soho (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Cinematographer

  • Night Ambush(1957)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • The Spanish Gardener(1956)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Pursuit of the Graf Spee(1956)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Oh... Rosalinda!!(1955)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Footsteps in the Fog(1955)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Quentin Durward(1955)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • The Sorcerer's Apprentice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Cinematographer

  • Raising a Riot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Cinematographer

  • Malaga (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Cinematographer

  • Flame and the Flesh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Cinematographer

  • Saadia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Cinematographer

  • Twice Upon a Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Cinematographer

  • Genevieve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Cinematographer

  • The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Cinematographer

  • 24 Hours of a Woman's Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Cinematographer

  • Angels One Five (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Cinematographer

  • The Tales of Hoffmann(1951)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The Elusive Pimpernel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    Cinematographer

  • The Wild Heart(1950)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • The Small Back Room(1949)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The End of the River(1947)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 66 titles from 1947 to 1985.

Biggest box office

The Deep (1977)

$47M worldwide

Highest rated

Two for the Road (1967)

Midcredits 90th

Most popular right now

Evil Under the Sun (1982)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing1 of 66: 1 only directing, 0 with another roleCinematography65 of 66: 65 only cinematography, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score63rd

By decade

1940s2 · crew1950s25 · crew1960s19 · crew1970s12 · crew1980s8 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Christopher Challis' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 64th percentile, the median of all 43; across their 42 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 63rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 42

Approval · how many liked their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 42

Reach · how many have seen their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 42

Midcredits score across 43 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up16
  • 50th to 74th15
  • 25th to 49th9
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

34 of their 43 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Crowd Pleaser34
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · cinematographer

Steaming (1985)

67th percentile spread · 19% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

In This House of Brede (1975)

Midcredits 92nd · 82% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 72/100 in their films, across 38 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 56. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Christopher Challis' work okay for kids?

Across up to 13 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore8 titles25–47 · median 33 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity13 titles17–53 · median 27 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity8 titles6–38 · median 32 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs8 titles25–49 · median 35 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles9–46 · median 21 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Christopher Challis work with?

People who share at least 2 of Christopher Challis' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Powell shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles