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Best Cinematographers Of All Time


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I needed some names to use for honor acknowledgments for donations of my films. I came up with this group to honor. By the time I get to the end that should cover my donations. My fav is Gordon 'Low Light' Willis.
 
 
Emmanuel Lubezki

1. Emmanuel Lubezki

Cinematographer | Children of Men

Lubezki began his career in Mexican film and television productions in the late 1980s. His first international production was the 1993 independent film Twenty Bucks (1993), which followed the journey of a single twenty-dollar bill.

Lubezki is a frequent collaborator with fellow Mexican filmmaker ...

 
Roger Deakins

2. Roger Deakins

Cinematographer | Skyfall

Roger Deakins is an English cinematographer best known for his work on the films of the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes, and Denis Villeneuve.

He is a member of both the American and British Society of Cinematographers.

Deakins' first feature film in America as cinematographer was Mountains of the Moon (...

 
László Kovács

3. László Kovács

Cinematographer | Easy Rider

László Kovács was born on May 14, 1933 in Cece, Hungary. He is known for his work on Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Ghostbuster (1984) and Copycat (1995). He won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASC in 2002. He was married to Audrey. He died on July 22, 2007 in Beverly Hills, ...

 
Sven Nykvist

4. Sven Nykvist

Cinematographer | The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Sven Nykvist was considered by many in the industry to be one of the world's greatest cinematographers. During his long career that spanned almost half a century, Nyvist perfected the art of cinematography to its most simple attributes, and he helped give the films he had worked on the simplest and...

 
Harris Savides

5. Harris Savides

Cinematographer | Elephant

Harris Savides was born on September 28, 1957 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a cinematographer, known for Elephant (2003), Zodiac (2007) and American Gangster (2007). He was married to Medine Chenet. He died on October 9, 2012 in Manhattan, New York City.

 
Ellen Kuras

6. Ellen Kuras

Cinematographer | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Ellen Kuras was born on July 10, 1959 in New Jersey, USA. She is known for her work on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Betrayal - Nerakhoon (2008) and P.O.V. (1988).

 
Edward Lachman

7. Edward Lachman

Cinematographer | Carol

Edward Lachman was born on March 31, 1948 in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. He is known for his work on Carol (2015), Far from Heaven (2002) and Ken Park (2002).

 
Matthew Libatique

8. Matthew Libatique

Cinematographer | Black Swan

Matthew Libatique is an American cinematographer. He is best known for his work with director Darren Aronofsky on the films Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), Black Swan (2010), Noah (2014) and Mother! (2017). He also shot Bradley Cooper's directorial debut film, A Star Is ...

 
Robert Richardson

9. Robert Richardson

Cinematographer | Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Robert Richardson an American cinematographer. He is best known for work with Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and Oliver Stone.

He has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography three times, for his work on JFK (1991), The Aviator (2004), and Hugo (2011). He is one of three living persons who...

 
Tak Fujimoto

10. Tak Fujimoto

Cinematographer | The Silence of the Lambs

Tak Fujimoto was born on July 12, 1939 in San Diego, California, USA as Takashi Fujimoto. He is known for his work on The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Sixth Sense (1999) and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).

 
Janusz Kaminski

11. Janusz Kaminski

Cinematographer | Schindler's List

Janusz Kaminski is a Polish cinematographer and film director. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his movies since 1993. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

His ...

 
Anthony Dod Mantle

12. Anthony Dod Mantle

Cinematographer | Slumdog Millionaire

Anthony Dod Mantle was born on April 14, 1955 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He is known for his work on Slumdog Millionaire (2008), 127 Hours (2010) and Antichrist (2009).

 
Geoffrey Unsworth

13. Geoffrey Unsworth

Cinematographer | Cabaret

Goeffrey Unsworth was one of the great cinematographers of the 20th Century, the winner of two Oscars, five BAFTA awards, and three awards from the British Society of Cinematographers for his work as a director of photography. Born in 1914 in Lancashire, England, Unsworth started in the industry in...

 
Jordan Cronenweth

14. Jordan Cronenweth

Cinematographer | Blade Runner

Jordan Cronenweth was born on February 20, 1935 in Los Angeles, California, USA as Jordan Scott Cronenweth. He is known for his work on Blade Runner (1982), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Altered States (1980). He died on November 29, 1996 in Los Angeles.

 
Haskell Wexler

15. Haskell Wexler

Cinematographer | Medium Cool

Two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler was adjudged one of the ten most influential cinematographers in movie history, according to an International Cinematographers Guild survey of its membership. He won his Oscars in both black & white and color, for Who's Afraid of ...

 
Maryse Alberti

16. Maryse Alberti

Cinematographer | The Wrestler

Maryse Alberti is a French cinematographer. She is best known for her work in Velvet Goldmine (1998), The Wrestler (2008), Stone (2010), Creed (2015) and the HBO film My Dinner with Hervé (2018).

She also work as a cinematographer in The Visit (2015).

Alberti work as a cinematographer includes more ...

 
Gordon Willis

17. Gordon Willis

Cinematographer | Zelig

Gordon Willis was an American cinematographer. He's best known for his work on Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather films, as well asWoody Allen's Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979).

His work on the first two Godfather films turned out to be groundbreaking in its use of low-light photography and ...

 
Benoît Debie

18. Benoît Debie

Cinematographer | Enter the Void

Benoît Debie is known for his work on Enter the Void (2009), The Sisters Brothers (2018) and Spring Breakers (2012).

 
Conrad L. Hall

19. Conrad L. Hall

Cinematographer | Road to Perdition

Born in Tahiti, the son of writer James Norman Hall, author of "Mutiny on the Bounty," Conrad Hall studied filmmaking at USC. He and two classmates formed a production company and sold a project to a local television station. Hall's company branched out into making industrial films and TV ...

 
Christopher Doyle

20. Christopher Doyle

Cinematographer | Paranoid Park

Christopher Doyle was born on May 2, 1952 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Paranoid Park (2007), Hero (2002) and 2046 (2004).

 
Vittorio Storaro

21. Vittorio Storaro

Cinematographer | Apocalypse Now

Vittorio Storaro, the award-winning cinematographer who won Oscars for "Apocalypse Now (1979)", "Reds (1981)" and "The Last Emperor (1987)". He was born on June 24, 1940 in Rome, where his father was a projectionist at the Lux Film Studio. At the age of 11, he began studying photography at a ...

 
Vilmos Zsigmond

22. Vilmos Zsigmond

Cinematographer | The Black Dahlia

Along with László Kovács, a fellow student who fled Hungary in 1956, Zsigmond rose to prominence in the 1970s. He is known for his use of natural light and vivid use of color on features such as The Long Goodbye (1973) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

 
Allen Daviau

23. Allen Daviau

Cinematographer | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Allen Daviau was born on June 14, 1942 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA as John Allen Daviau. He is a cinematographer, known for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Empire of the Sun (1987) and The Color Purple (1985).

 
Dean Cundey

24. Dean Cundey

Cinematographer | Jurassic Park

Dean Cundey reigns supreme as one of the best, most prolific, and talented cinematographers to ever grace celluloid with his often striking and accomplished photography. Cundey was born on March 12th, 1946, in Alhambra, California. One of his hobbies during his elementary school days was building ...

 
Stephen Goldblatt

25. Stephen Goldblatt

Cinematographer | The Help

Stephen Goldblatt was born in 1945 in South Africa. He is known for his work on The Help (2011), Closer (2004) and Angels in America (2003).

 
Darius Khondji

26. Darius Khondji

Cinematographer | Amour

Darius Khondji was born on October 21, 1955 in Tehran, Iran. He is known for his work on Amour (2012), Se7en (1995) and Delicatessen (1991). He is married to Marianne Khondji. They have three children.

 
Jeff Cronenweth

27. Jeff Cronenweth

Cinematographer | Gone Girl

Jeff Cronenweth was born on January 14, 1962 in Los Angeles County, California, USA as Jeffrey Scott Cronenweth. He is known for his work on Gone Girl (2014), The Social Network (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).

 
Eduardo Serra

28. Eduardo Serra

Cinematographer | Girl with a Pearl Earring

Eduardo Serra was born on October 2, 1943 in Lisbon, Portugal. He is known for his work on Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), Unbreakable (2000) and Blood Diamond (2006).

 
Russell Boyd

29. Russell Boyd

Cinematographer | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Russell Boyd was born on April 21, 1944 in Victoria, Australia. He is known for his work on Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and Gallipoli (1981).

 
Rodrigo Prieto

30. Rodrigo Prieto

Cinematographer | Brokeback Mountain

Rodrigo Prieto is a Mexican cinematographer. He is best known for Brokeback Mountain (2005), Babel (2006), Argo (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and Silence (2016).

He also worked with Alejandro González Iñárritu on the acclaimed Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), and Biutiful (2010).

...

 
Robert Elswit

31. Robert Elswit

Cinematographer | There Will Be Blood

Robert Elswit is an American cinematographer. He is best known for Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), There Will Be Blood (2007), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), Inherent Vice (2014), and Nightcrawler (2014).

Elswit frequently works with director ...

 
Bruno Delbonnel

32. Bruno Delbonnel

Cinematographer | Un long dimanche de fiançailles

Bruno Delbonnel was born in 1957 in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. He is known for his work on A Very Long Engagement (2004), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) and Amélie (2001).

 
Michael Ballhaus

33. Michael Ballhaus

Cinematographer | Goodfellas

Michael Ballhaus was a German cinematographer. He worked on many American films, including Baby It's You (1983), Old Enough (1984), After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Dracula (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993), Gangs of New York ...

 
Jack Cardiff

34. Jack Cardiff

Director | Sons and Lovers

Almost universally considered one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, Jack Cardiff was also a notable director. He described his childhood as very happy and his parents as quite loving. They performed in music hall as comedians, so he grew up with the fun that came with their theatrical ...

 
Subrata Mitra

35. Subrata Mitra

Cinematographer | New Delhi Times

Subrata Mitra, one of India's leading cinematographers, is most famous for his collaboration with Satyajit Ray. He was a frequent visiting lecturer at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, near Bombay.

 
Russell Carpenter

36. Russell Carpenter

Cinematographer | Avatar 2

Russell Carpenter was born on December 9, 1950 in Van Nuys, California, USA as Russell Paul Carpenter. He is known for his work on Avatar 2 (2021), Titanic (1997) and Ant-Man (2015).

 
John Toll

37. John Toll

Cinematographer | The Last Samurai

John Toll is an American cinematographer. His filmography spans a wide variety of genres, including epic period drama, comedy, science fiction, and contemporary drama. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in both 1994 and 1995 for Legends of the Fall and Braveheart respectively.

He has ...

 
Gregg Toland

38. Gregg Toland

Cinematographer | Citizen Kane

Born in Illinois in 1904, the only child of Jennie and Frank Toland, Gregg and his mother moved to California several years after his parents divorced in 1910. Through Jennie's work as a housekeeper for several people in the movie business, Gregg may had gotten a $12-a-week job at age 15 as an ...

 
Néstor Almendros

39. Néstor Almendros

Cinematographer | Days of Heaven

One of the highest appraised contemporary cinematographers. He was born in Spain but moved to Cuba by age 18 to join his exiled anti-Franco father. In Havana, he founded a cineclub and wrote film reviews. Then, he went on to study in Rome at the Centro Sperimentale. He directed six shorts in Cuba ...

 
Harold Rosson

40. Harold Rosson

Cinematographer | The Wizard of Oz

Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, a cinematographer known for his subtle and imaginative lighting, was born in Genaseo, New York, on August 24, 1895, although some sources cite his birthday as April 6, 1895, or in 1889.

Rosson entered the movie industry in 1908 as an actor at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn...

 
Ernest Haller

41. Ernest Haller

Cinematographer | Gone with the Wind

Distinguished American cinematographer Ernest Haller started in the industry in 1914 as an actor with Biograph after leaving his first job as a bank clerk. Within one year he discovered his true calling: being on the other side of the camera. By 1920, he had become a full director of photography ...

 
Robert D. Yeoman

42. Robert D. Yeoman

Cinematographer | The Grand Budapest Hotel

Robert D. Yeoman was born on March 10, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA as Robert David Yeoman. He is known for his work on The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and Drugstore Cowboy (1989).

 
John Alcott

43. John Alcott

Cinematographer | Barry Lyndon

John Alcott, the Oscar-winning cinematographer best known for his collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, was born in 1931, in Isleworth, England, the son of movie executive Arthur Alcott, who would become the production controller at Gainsborough Studios during the 1940s.

Alcott began his film...

 
Michael Chapman

44. Michael Chapman

Cinematographer | Raging Bull

Michael Chapman is an American cinematographer. He is best known for Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Fugitive (1993), and Primal Fear (1996).

Chapman began his film career as a camera operator before making the leap to cinematographer. As a cinematographer, he became famous for his two ...

 
James Wong Howe

45. James Wong Howe

Cinematographer | Hud

Master cinematographer James Wong Howe, whose career stretched from silent pictures through the mid-'70s, was born Wong Tung Jim in Canton (now Guangzhou), China, on August 28, 1899, the son of Wong How. His father emigrated to America the year James was born, settling in Pasco, Washington, where ...

 
John Seale

46. John Seale

Cinematographer | Mad Max: Fury Road

John Seale was born on October 5, 1942 in Warwick, Queensland, Australia as John Clement Seale. He is known for his work on Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The English Patient (1996) and Witness (1985). He has been married to Louise Seale since September 23, 1967. They have two children.

 
Lance Acord

47. Lance Acord

Cinematographer | Lost in Translation

Lance Acord was born on September 9, 1964 in Fresno, California, USA. He is a cinematographer and producer, known for Lost in Translation (2003), Where the Wild Things Are (2009) and Marie Antoinette (2006). He is married to Rima. They have two children.

 
Newton Thomas Sigel

48. Newton Thomas Sigel

Cinematographer | Drive

Newton Thomas Sigel was born in 1955. He is known for his work on Drive (2011), Three Kings (1999) and The Usual Suspects (1995). He is married to Lisa Chang.

 
Yorick Le Saux

49. Yorick Le Saux

Cinematographer | Only Lovers Left Alive

Graduated from La Fémis (6th promotion, cinematography department)

 
Peter Suschitzky

50. Peter Suschitzky

Cinematographer | Dead Ringers

Peter Suschitzky was born on July 25, 1941 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. He is known for his work on Dead Ringers (1988), Eastern Promises (2007) and Naked Lunch (1991).

 
Malik Hassan Sayeed

51. Malik Hassan Sayeed

Camera_department | Eyes Wide Shut

Malik Hassan Sayeed was born in 1969 in New York, USA. He is known for his work on Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Just Married (2003) and He Got Game (1998).

 
Dean Semler

52. Dean Semler

Cinematographer | Apocalypto

Dean Semler was born in 1943 in Renmark, South Australia, Australia as Dean William Semler. He is known for his work on Apocalypto (2006), Dances with Wolves (1990) and The Road Warrior (1981). He is married to Annie Semler.

 
Takao Saitô

53. Takao Saitô

Cinematographer | Ran

Takao Saitô was born on March 5, 1929 in Kyoto, Japan. He is known for his work on Ran (1985), Kagemusha (1980) and Yojimbo (1961). He died on December 6, 2014 in Zama, Kanagawa, Japan.

 
Wally Pfister

54. Wally Pfister

Cinematographer | Inception

Wally Pfister is an American cinematographer and film director, who is best known for his work with Christopher Nolan. He is also known for his work on director F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job (2003) and Bennett Miller's Moneyball (2011).

He made his directorial debut with the film Transcendence (...

 
Amir Mokri

55. Amir Mokri

Cinematographer | Man of Steel

Amir Mokri was born on June 11, 1956 in Iran as Amir M. Mokri. He is known for his work on Man of Steel (2013), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and Lord of War (2005). He is married to Winnie Mokri.

 
John A. Alonzo

56. John A. Alonzo

Cinematographer | Chinatown

John A. Alonzo was born on June 12, 1934 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was a cinematographer and actor, known for Chinatown (1974), The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Star Trek Generations (1994). He was married to Jan Murray and Suzanne L. Heltzel. He died on March 13, 2001 in Beverly Hills, California,...

 
Tonino Delli Colli

57. Tonino Delli Colli

Cinematographer | Der Name der Rose

Tonino Delli Colli was born on November 20, 1922 in Rome, Lazio, Italy as Antonio Delli Colli. He is known for his work on The Name of the Rose (1986), Life Is Beautiful (1997) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984). He was married to Alexandra Delli Colli. He died on August 16, 2005 in Rome.

 
Luca Bigazzi

58. Luca Bigazzi

Cinematographer | La grande bellezza

Luca Bigazzi was born in 1958 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He is known for his work on The Great Beauty (2013), Youth (2015) and This Must Be the Place (2011).

 
John Mathieson

60. John Mathieson

Cinematographer | Gladiator

John Mathieson came up through the traditional camera ranks. Before his start as a cinematographer in feature films he shot many music videos, documentaries and TV commercials. He also worked in cutting rooms and has always considered himself as a film maker, interested in all areas of the process,...

 
Vadim Yusov

61. Vadim Yusov

Cinematographer | Solyaris

Vadim Yusov was born on April 20, 1929 in Klavdino, Leningrad Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR as Vadim Ivanovich Yusov. He is known for his work on Solaris (1972), The Black Monk (1988) and Pasport (1990). He was married to Inna Zelentsova. He died on August 23, 2013 in Moscow, Russia.

 
Hoyte Van Hoytema

62. Hoyte Van Hoytema

Cinematographer | Dunkirk

Hoyte Van Hoytema was born in Horgen, Switzerland. Van Hoytema is a Dutch-Swedish director of photography known for his work on The Fighter (2010), Her (2013), Interstellar (2014), and Dunkirk (2017). Van Hoytema always wanted to be a filmmaker, therefore he wished to attend a film school in The ...

 
 
Edited by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.
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