[1] He began his career in the 1960s as camera operator for documentaries by Adrian Cowell, and for films including Poor Cow by Ken Loach and If.... by Lindsay Anderson.
After several documentaries and feature films, such as Black Beauty (1971), Bloody Kids (1978), The Game Keeper (1980), Babylon (1980) and Angel (1982), Menges became notable for more ambitious works, for which he was critically acclaimed.
He continued his work with helmer Roland Joffe, and Menges won his second Oscar in 1986 with the historical drama The Mission.
In 1996 he moved back behind the camera to shoot the award-winning films The Boxer (directed by Jim Sheridan) and Michael Collins.
Menges is mentioned in the book Conversations with Cinematographers by David A. Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press.