Peter Sova Dies: Cinematographer On ‘Diner’ And ‘Donnie Brasco’ Was 75

Bruce Haring
·2 min read

Milan Peter Sova, who was the cinematographer on such revered films as Diner and Donnie Brasco during his long career, has died. He passed Aug. 27 at his home in South Kortight, New York. No cause of death was given.

Born in Czechoslovakia, Sova emigrated to the US in the mid-1960s. Early in his career, he shot the award-winning Short Eyes,” a 1977 film directed by Robert M. Young and starring Bruce Davison. The film was shot in a Manhattan prison and featured real inmates in the cast.

From there, Sova went on to shoot many of Barry Levinson’s early films, including Diner, Good Morning Vietnam, and Tin Man. He also was the director of photography on Mike Newell’s Donnie Brasco and worked with director Paul McGuigan on the films Gangster #1, The Reckoning, and Lucky Number Slevin.

His most recent work was on the documentary Driven to Abstraction.

He is survived by his son, Milan Joseph Sova. No memorial details have been announced.

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