Related: Here Are 7 of the Greatest Cinematographers of All Time Road to Perdition was to be Hall’s last gift to the film industry, passing away just six months after its theatrical release, with his penultimate film, American Beauty, also a collaboration with Sam Mendes. Staying true to what he called “Magic Naturalism,” legendary cinematographer and three-time Academy Award winner Conrad Hall utilized a disarmingly neutral color palette and atmospheric contrasting that makes the film's aesthetic feel so timeless. Road to Perdition excels both thematically and cinematically. References are made to Looney’s real newspaper business, Rock Island News, and certain events such as Connor’s murder have been included, albeit during a different period and by a different perpetrator. While David Self’s screenplay, based on Max Allan Collins’ novel of the same name, incorporates large segments of both fictionalized and dramatized accounts, including the protagonist, Mike Sullivan (Tom Hanks), and his son, there are some fascinating details that are very much taken from the real-life escapades of Looney and his son, Connor. When he killed William Gabel, he sparked a bloody gang war. Controlling the illicit businesses in the area, including prostitution, gambling, racketeering, and bootlegging, Looney was both a man of great power and of considerable notoriety. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression of 1931, and the backend of the era of Prohibition, Road to Perdition has its roots loosely based on John Patrick Looney, a political fixer and mob boss who was a key figure and benefactor in the various illegal trades of the 1920s and 30s in Rock Island, Illinois.

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