Top Cinematographers / Directors of Photography on my Top 1000 Movies list
List order: most works per cinematographer / director of photography. Secondary order: alphabetical. Qualification requirements: at least 5 film titles.
In similar fashion as with my Top Directors on my Top 1000 Movies list and my Top Film Editors on my Top 1000 Movies list, this ranking only grants that these cinematographers are good and employed often (with some old partner. Compare this list with my Top Directors list). I'm not saying anything about "who's the best", who's second and so on. This only gives some general idea / an overview.
In similar fashion as with my Top Directors on my Top 1000 Movies list and my Top Film Editors on my Top 1000 Movies list, this ranking only grants that these cinematographers are good and employed often (with some old partner. Compare this list with my Top Directors list). I'm not saying anything about "who's the best", who's second and so on. This only gives some general idea / an overview.
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- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
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 (1990). He began his collaboration with the Coen brothers in 1991 on the film Barton Fink. He received his first major award from the American Society of Cinematographers for his outstanding achievement in cinematography for the internationally praised major motion picture The Shawshank Redemption (1994).
He is also known for his work in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010), Skyfall (2012), Sicario (2015), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
Deakins also worked as one of the visual consultants for Pixar's animated feature WALL-E.
In 2018 he won an Oscar for best cinematographer for his work in Blade Runner 2049.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 22
1984, A Beautiful Mind, Barton Fink, Blade Runner 2049, Doubt, Fargo, House of Sand and Fog, In the Valley of Elah, No Country for Old Men; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Prisoners, Revolutionary Road, Sicario, Skyfall, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Big Lebowski, The Hurricane, The Man Who Wasn't There, The Reader, The Shawshank Redemption, True Grit (2010), Unbroken- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Robert Richardson has won three Academy Awards and earned seven Academy Award nominations for his cinematography. His work on director Oliver Stone's JFK earned him his first Oscar. His second and third came with The Aviator and Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese. These two films also garnered him BAFTA nominations for Best Cinematographer.
Prior to regularly collaborating with well-known directors like Oliver Stone and Quentin Tarantino, Richardson served an apprenticeship shooting second unit on Repo Man while filming television documentaries for PBS and the BBC. His work in television led Stone to hire Richardson to shoot both Salvador and Platoon. From there, he worked almost exclusively with Stone, filming Wall Street, Born on the Fourth of July and The Doors, while occasionally branching out to shoot films like John Sayles' Eight Men Out and City of Hope.
Richardson also shot Stone's Natural Born Killers, Nixon and U-Turn. He then began collaborating with Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. Scorsese chose him as DP on 1999's Bringing Out the Dead, while Tarantino snapped him up for Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and Kill Bill, Vol. 2.
Richardson continued to make his mark as Tarantino's DP on 2012's Django Unchained and 2015's The Hateful Eight, as well as on Ben Affleck's 2016 film Live By Night. He shot Director Andy Serkis's 2017 Breathe starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy; 2018's Adrift for Director Balthasar Kormakur starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin for STX, and 2018's A Private War for Director Matthew Heineman starring Rosamund Pike. Richardson then shot Tarantino's 2020 hit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, and 2021's Venom 2 for Sony/Director Andy Serkis.
Recent credits include 2022's Emancipation again with Fuqua for Apple Studios, 2023's Air directed by Ben Affleck for Amazon Studios, and The Equalizer 3 for Director Antoine Fuqua and for Columbia Pictures.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 16
Born on the Fourth of July, Casino, Django Unchained, Heaven & Earth, Hugo, Inglourious Basterds, JFK, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Nixon, Platoon, Shutter Island, The Aviator, The Doors, The Hateful Eight, Wall Street- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
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 other film's as an cinematographer includes Amistad (1997), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012), Bridge of Spies (2015), The BFG (2016), and Ready Player One (2018).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 13
Artificial Intelligence: AI, Amistad, Bridge of Spies, Catch Me If You Can, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Lincoln, Minority Report, Munich, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, The Post, War Horse, War of the Worlds (2005)- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Don Burgess was born on 28 May 1956 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Forrest Gump (1994), Cast Away (2000) and Contact (1997). He has been married to Bonnie Ann Burgess since 4 December 1982. They have three children.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 11
42, Cast Away, Contact, Eight Below, Flight, Forrest Gump, Source Code, Spider-Man, The Muppets, What Lies Beneath, Wonder- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
- Director
Tom Stern was born on 16 December 1946 in Palo Alto, California, USA. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Changeling (2008), Flags of Our Fathers (2006) and Mystic River (2003). He was previously married to Françoise Combadière.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 11
American Sniper, Changeling, Flags of Our Fathers, Gran Torino, Hereafter, Invictus, J. Edgar, Letters from Iwo Jima, Mystic River, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Things We Lost in the Fire- Cinematographer
- Visual Effects
- Camera and Electrical Department
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 Paul Thomas Anderson and has worked with George Clooney several times. He shot Clooney's black and white, multiple-Oscar nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck. Notably, Elswit shot the film in color, then converted the film into black and white in post production.
He received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography in 2006 for his work on the movie Good Night, and Good Luck. Two years later, he would again be nominated and this time win the Oscar for Best Cinematography, for his work on There Will Be Blood.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 10
8MM, Boogie Nights, Heist, Magnolia, Michael Clayton, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Nightcrawler, Punch-Drunk Love, The Town, There Will Be Blood- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
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 collaborated with several noteworthy directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Edward Zwick, Terrence Malick, Mel Gibson, John Madden, The Wachowskis, and Ang Lee. Outside of film, he has shot several commercials, the pilot episode of Golden Globe-winning drama series Breaking Bad, and has served as chief cinematographer on the Netflix original series Sense8.
Toll was also nominated for an Academy Award for his work on The Thin Red Line (1998).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 10
Almost Famous, Braveheart, Cloud Atlas, Gone Baby Gone, It's Complicated, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, The Thin Red Line, Tropic Thunder, Vanilla Sky- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Robert D. Yeoman was born on 10 March 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Asteroid City (2023) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 10
Bridesmaids, Love & Mercy, Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Squid and the Whale, Yes Man- Cinematographer
- Director
- Actor
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 (2002), and The Departed (2006).
Ballhaus was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, for Broadcast News (1987), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), and Gangs of New York (2002), but never won.
His son Florian Ballhaus is also a cinematographer who worked on Flightplan (2005) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006).
Ballhaus died on 11 April 2017, at the age of 81.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 9
Gangs of New York, Goodfellas, Guilty by Suspicion, Outbreak, Quiz Show, Something's Gotta Give, The Color of Money, The Departed, What About Bob?- Cinematographer
- Director
- Producer
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 Alfonso Cuarón. The two have been friends since they were teenagers and attended the same film school at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Together they have worked on six motion pictures: Love in the Time of Hysteria (1991), A Little Princess (1995), Great Expectations (1998), And Your Mother Too (2001), Children of Men (2006), and Gravity (2013). His work with Cuarón on Children of Men (2006), has received universal acclaim. The film utilized a number of new technologies and distinctive techniques. The "roadside ambush" scene was shot in one extended take utilizing a special camera rig invented by Doggicam systems, developed from the company's Power Slide system. For the scene, a vehicle was modified to enable seats to tilt and lower actors out of the way of the camera. The windshield of the car was designed to tilt out of the way to allow camera movement in and out through the front windscreen. A crew of four, including Lubezki, rode on the roof. Children of Men (2006) also features a seven-and-a-half-minute battle sequence composed of roughly five seamless edits.
Lubezki has been nominated for eight Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, winning three, for Gravity (2013), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), and The Revenant (2015). He is the first cinematographer in history to win three consecutive Academy Awards.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 9
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Ali, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Burn After Reading, Children of Men, Meet Joe Black, Sleepy Hollow, The Revenant, Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too)- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Location Management
Anthony Dod Mantle was born on 14 April 1955 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. He is a cinematographer, known for Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Antichrist (2009) and The Last King of Scotland (2006).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 9
28 Days Later..., Antichrist, Dogville, Dredd, Manderlay, Rush, Slumdog Millionaire, T2 Trainspotting, The Last King of Scotland- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
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 (2014), starring Johnny Depp.
His first collaboration with Nolan was on the neo-noir thriller Memento (2000). The success of this collaboration resulted in Pfister taking over as director of photography for Nolan's subsequent films: Insomnia (2002), Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), which he partially shot with IMAX cameras, and Inception, which was shot partially in 5-perf 65 mm. He is the only cinematographer that has worked with director Christopher Nolan between Memento and Dark Knight Rises.
Pfister won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Inception (2010).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 9
Batman Begins, Inception, Insomnia, Memento, Moneyball, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Italian Job, The Prestige- Cinematographer
- Director
- Actor
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).
Pietro was nominated for two Academy Award for Best Cinematography, first in Brokeback Mountain and later in Silence.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 9
21 Grams, 25th Hour, 8 Mile, Amores Perros, Argo, Babel, Silence, The Homesman, The Wolf of Wall Street- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
As an Academy Award-winning cinematographer who made the successful segue to directing features, Chris Menges has carved out a successful, but understated career. Menges got his start as an assistant editor and camera operator and even worked as a sound recordist several times, before working his way up to director of photography. Menges had his first real break as a documentary camera person and editor in the 1960s and 1970s, traveling wherever there was war and insurrection - Burma, Angola, Vietnam and Tibet - while working with filmmaker Adrian Cowell. Once he made the permanent jump to feature films in the 1980s, Menges developed a style as a cinematographer that never overwhelmed audiences with gaudy colors or outlandish camera moves In fact, Menges understood the oft-accepted theory that color could be less realistic than black and white, because it focused the audience away from emotion to an object. Menges' work was defined by a low-key naturalism, plain composition, and a mix of lenses to tug at the audience at the appropriate moments, which helped him craft memorable images in several award-winning films, including "The Killing Fields" (1984), "Michael Collins" (1996) and "The Reader" (2008).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 8
Michael Collins, North Country, Notes on a Scandal, The Boxer, The Killing Fields, The Mission, The Reader, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Philippe Rousselot was born on 4 September 1945 in Briey, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. He is a cinematographer and director, known for A River Runs Through It (1992), Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) and Dangerous Liaisons (1988).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 8
A River Runs Through It, Antwone Fisher, Big Fish, Constantine, Dangerous Liaisons, Remember the Titans, The Great Debaters, The People vs. Larry Flynt- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Multiple award-winning cinematographer Dean Cundey, ASC, CSC who was nominated for an Oscar for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and took home the BAFTA for the same film, has a career spanning decades with awards and nominations including a Primetime Emmy (2023 "The Mandalorian") a Daytime Emmy (2001 "The Face: Jesus in Art"), a Chicago Film Critics Association award ("Apollo 13"), to American Society of Cinematographers awards ("Apollo 13," "Hook"). His prolific career also includes a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASC and a President's Award from the SOC, and he's still not done shooting. Born in Alhambra, California, Cundey spent his childhood building miniature sets and reading "American Cinematographer." Following graduation from UCLA film school, where he was taught by James Wong Howe, ASC, Cundey's first job on set was as a makeup artist on Roger Corman's "Gas!" or "It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It." Cundey's first assignment as a director of photography was on the revenge film "The No Mercy Man." He continued with other horror and exploitation movies, then began a collaboration with director John Carpenter on five films for which he received accolades: "Halloween," "The Fog," "Escape from New York," "The Thing" and "Big Trouble in Little China." Cundey transitioned into a collaboration with Robert Zemeckis on impressive features such as "Romancing the Stone," all three "Back to the Future" films, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Death Becomes Her." Not content to settle for that, he also dabbled in directing with his debut on "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves" and was also the second-unit director on "Deep Rising" and "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties." .Movies on my Top 1000 list: 7
Apollo 13, Back to the Future, Big Trouble in Little China, Halloween, The Holiday, The Thing, Who Framed Roger Rabbit- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Andrew Lesnie was an Australian cinematographer who frequently worked with Peter Jackson. He did the photography for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. He also did the photography for Babe, King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I Am Legend and The Lovely Bones. He passed away in April 2015 due to a heart attack.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 7
King Kong (2005), Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
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 Born (2018).
Libatique also work as an cinematographer in the films Tigerland (2000), Phone Booth (2002), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010) and Venom (2018).
He has received two Academy Awards nominations for Best Achievement in Cinematography, one for Black Swan and the other for A Star Is Born.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 7
Black Swan, Inside Man, Iron Man, Phone Booth, Requiem for a Dream, Straight Outta Compton, The Fountain- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
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, rather than a dedicated cinematographer.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 7
Gladiator, K-PAX, Kingdom of Heaven, Logan, Matchstick Men, Robin Hood (2010), X-Men: First Class- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
SEAMUS McGARVEY (Director of Photography) has collected two Academy Award nominations for his cinematography: on Joe Wright's 2007 WWI drama "Atonement," and his 2012 adaptation of Tolstoy's classic, "Anna Karenina." In addition to the Oscar nominations, McGarvey won the British Society of Cinematographers (B.S.C.) award for "Anna Karenina" and "Nocturnal Animals" as well as a nomination for "Atonement," and also earned BAFTA and A.S.C. nods for both projects. "Atonement" also earned him nominations for the British Independent Film Award, the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Online Film Critics Society, while walking off with the top honor from the Phoenix Film Critics Society. McGarvey has also won three Evening Standard British Film Awards for "Atonement," "Anna Karenina" and Stephen Daldry's "The Hours"; and five Irish Film & Television Awards for "Atonement," "Anna Karenina," "Sahara" "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "Nocturnal Animals". He was Emmy nominated in 2017 for the dystopian TV drama "Black Mirror: Nosedive" Dir. Joe Wright. In 2004, he was awarded the Royal Photographic Society's prestigious Lumière medal for contributions to the art of cinematography, sharing the company of such pioneers as Jack Cardiff, Freddie Francis, Roger Deakins and Sir Ridley Scott, McGarvey hails from Armagh, Northern Ireland, and began his career as a stills photographer before attending film school at the University of Westminster in London. Upon graduating in 1988, he began shooting short films and documentaries, including "Skin," which was nominated for a Royal Television Society Cinematography Award, and "Atlantic," directed by Sam Taylor-Wood. The latter project, an experimental, three-screen projected film created in 1997, earned Taylor-Wood a nomination for the 1998 Turner Prize, and would lead to an ongoing collaboration between McGarvey and the director. His four dozen credits as director of photography include Joss Whedon's superhero epic "Marvel's The Avengers," the industry record holder for highest opening weekend box office upon its release in May 2012, and the fourth highest-grossing film of all time; Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin"; Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," which earned an IFTA nomination; Gary Winick's "Charlotte's Web"; John Hamburg's "Along Came Polly"; Stephen Frears' "High Fidelity"; Mike Nichols' "Wit"; Michael Apted's "Enigma"; Michael Winterbottom's "Butterfly Kiss," McGarvey's first feature film credit; and two projects marking actors' directorial debuts: Tim Roth's "The War Zone" and Alan Rickman's "The Winter Guest." He also served as cinematographer on the pilot for the BBC/HBO TV series "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," directed by Anthony Minghella. He reunited with director Wright for his 2009 drama "The Soloist," and filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood (now Sam Taylor-Johnson) on her acclaimed 2008 drama, "Nowhere Boy," her 2011 short, "James Bond Supports International Women's Day" and the "Death Valley" segment of the 2006 erotic drama "Destricted." Following his work on "Godzilla" Dir. Gareth Edwards he reteamed with Taylor-Johnson on her big screen adaptation and Hollywood directorial debut of the bestselling phenomenon "Fifty Shades of Grey." "The Accountant," from director Gavin O'Connor. "Nocturnal Animals", from director Tom Ford. "LIFE" dir. Daniel Espinosa. "The Greatest Showman" Dir Michael Gracey and "Bad Times at the El Royale" Dir: Drew Goddard are his latest projects. His documentary work includes "Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home," which followed his work on Wright's "The Soloist," and filmed in the same locales; "Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction"; "Rolling Stones: Tip of the Tongue"; and "The Name of This Film Is Dogme95." Supplementing his work on features and telefilms, McGarvey has also photographed and directed over 100 music videos, for such artists as PJ Harvey, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Dusty Springfield, The Rolling Stones, U2, and Robbie Williams.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 7
Atonement, Nocturnal Animals, The Avengers, The Greatest Showman, The Hours, The Soloist, We Need to Talk About Kevin- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Dion Beebe is an Australian-South African cinematographer. He is best known for his collaboration with Rob Marshall in the films Chicago (2002), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Nine (2009), Into the Woods (2014) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018);
Beebe also worked with Michael Mann in Collateral (2004) and Miami Vice (2006).
He studied cinematography at the Australian Film Television and Radio School from 1987 to 1989.
For his work on Memoirs of a Geisha he won an Oscar for best achievement in cinematography.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
13 Hours, Chicago, Collateral, Edge of Tomorrow, Equilibrium, Memoirs of a Geisha- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Peter Deming was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Mulholland Drive (2001), The Menu (2022) and The Continental (2023).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
From Hell, I Heart Huckabees, Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr., My Cousin Vinny, The Jacket- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Special Effects
Frederick Elmes was born on 4 November 1946 in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, USA. He is a cinematographer, known for The Dead Don't Die (2019), The Night Of (2016) and Paterson (2016).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
Blue Velvet, Broken Flowers, Kinsey, Paterson; Synecdoche, New York; The Namesake- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Robert Fraisse was born in 1940 in Paris, France. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Enemy at the Gates (2001), Babylon A.D. (2008) and Ronin (1998).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
Enemy at the Gates, Hotel Rwanda, Luther, Ronin, Seven Years in Tibet, The Notebook- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Writer
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 commercials. They were hired to shoot location footage for several feature films, including's Disney's The Living Desert (1953). In the early 1960s, Hall was hired as a camera assistant on several features and worked his way up to camera operator. He received his first cinematographer credit in 1965. Hall won acclaim for his rich and complex compositions, especially for In Cold Blood (1967) and won an Academy Award for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). He won two more Oscars, for American Beauty (1999), in 2000, and Road to Perdition (2002).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
American Beauty, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, Road to Perdition, The Professionals- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Phedon Papamichael, an award winning Cinematographer, was born in Athens, Greece and moved with his family to Germany, where in 1982 he completed his education in Fine Arts, in Munich. Working as a photojournalist brought Phedon to NYC in 1983, where he started crossing over into cinematography.
His first short film, the 35mm black & white SPUD, earned him the Award for Best Cinematography at the Cork Film Festival in Ireland. Following a call from John Cassavetes, his cousin and later collaborator, Phedon moved to Los Angeles. While continuing to work on short and experimental films, he began his feature career as a Director of Photography for Roger Corman, for whom he photographed seven films within two years.
Phedon now counts over 40 feature films to his credit as Director of Photography, including the early block-busters While You Were Sleeping starring Sandra Bullock and Cool Runnings, as well as Phenomenon, starring John Travolta, all directed by Jon Turteltaub.
His credits include many critically acclaimed films, such as Unstrung Heroes (Un Certain Regard, Cannes 1995), directed by Diane Keaton, and Unhook the Stars, starring Gena Rowlands and directed by Nick Cassavetes.
The Million Dollar Hotel, directed by Wim Wenders, was chosen as the Opening Film of the 2000 Berlin Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize, the Silver Bear, as well as the Golden Camera. The European co-production, 27 Missing Kisses, directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Nana Djordjadze, premiered at Directors Fortnight in Cannes 2000. It garnered the Grand Prix Award at the 2000 New York/Avignon Film Festival, the Audience Award at the 2000 Montpellier Film Festival, as well as the Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography. In 2000 both films received a Camerimage nomination, for Best Cinematography.
In 2001 Phedon shot Moonlight Mile (Berlinale, 2003), directed by Brad Silberling, starring Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Holly Hunter. It was followed by Identity, directed by James Mangold, and the Oscar-nominated Sideways, directed by Alexander Payne.
His credits continued with The Weatherman, directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine and Walk the Line, again directed by Mangold and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.
Phedon shot the Academy Award nominated western 3:10 to Yuma, directed by James Mangold, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, and the blockbuster Pursuit of Happyness. In 2008 he photographed Oliver Stone's W. and then re-teamed again with James Mangold on Knight and Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, which shot all over the world.
He shot two of the most award-winning films of 2011: Alexander Payne's The Descendants and The Ides of March, directed by George Clooney. This is 40, directed by Judd Apatow was released in 2012 and won Comedy of the Year from the Hollywood Film Festival.
For his gorgeous B&W lensing on the highly acclaimed Nebraska, which received 6 Academy Award nominations and was directed by Alexander Payne, Phedon received an Oscar nomination, a BAFTA nomination and an ASC nomination amongst other honors. His latest film is The Monuments Men, a period film directed by George Clooney, and starring Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett and Jean Dujardin which was shot in Germany and England.
In addition to his feature work, Phedon has shot and/or directed over 100 commercials for such clients as Nespresso, BMW, Audi, and Nextel.
On the music video side, his work includes The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Eelectrical Storm, directed by Anton Corbijn.
Papamichael's work also includes several forays into television. He received an ASC Award Nomination for Best Cinematography for Oliver Stone's innovative mini-series Wild Palms, as well as his second ASC Award Nomination for Best Cinematography for the Francis Ford Coppola-produced pilot White Dwarf.
Phedon resides in Los Angeles and Athens, Greece and speaks fluent English, German, French and Greek. He holds German, Greek and U.S. citizenship.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
3:10 to Yuma, Nebraska, Sideways, The Ides of March, The Pursuit of Happyness, Walk the Line- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Dick Pope was born in August 1947 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for The Illusionist (2006), Mr. Turner (2014) and Vera Drake (2004).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
All or Nothing, Bernie, Mr. Turner, Nicholas Nickleby, The Illusionist, The Way of the Gun- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Harris Savides was born on 28 September 1957 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a cinematographer and actor, known for Elephant (2003), Zodiac (2007) and Birth (2004). He was married to Medine Chenet. He died on 9 October 2012 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
American Gangster, Greenberg, Milk, The Game, Whatever Works, Zodiac- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
- Director
John Seale was born on 5 October 1942 in Warwick, Queensland, Australia. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The English Patient (1996) and Witness (1985). He has been married to Louise Seale since 23 September 1967. They have two children.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
Mad Max: Fury Road, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Rain Man, The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Witness- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Newton Thomas Sigel was born in August 1955 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Cherry (2021), Da 5 Bloods (2020) and Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). He is married to Lisa Chang.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
Drive, Fallen, The Conspirator, The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, X-Men: Days of Future Past- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Dante Spinotti was born in Tolmezzo, Udine, in the northeastern Italian Region of Friuli. He began his career at RAI (Italian TV), before that he spent lot of time in Kenia as cinematographer for his uncle. In 1985, producer Dino De Laurentiis offered him a chance to work in USA for the first time with Michael Mann for the feature Manhunter (1986). From that experience, Spinotti became one of the most appreciated cinematographer in Hollywood. His particular vision gives a movie a great sense of reality. Among his works are: The Last of the Mohicans (1992) (Academy Nomination), Heat (1995), L.A. Confidential (1997) (Academy Nomination), The Insider (1999) (Academy Nomination), and Wonder Boys (2000). He married his wife Marcella, and they live in Los Angeles, Rome, and Tolmezzo.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
Heat, L.A. Confidential, Public Enemies (2009), Red Dragon, The Insider, The Last of the Mohicans- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Oliver Wood was born on 21 February 1942 in London, England, UK. He was a cinematographer and actor, known for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Other Guys (2010) and Morbius (2022). He was married to Jane Forth and Sabine Groh. He died on 13 February 2023 in Hollywood, California, USA.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 6
Die Hard 2, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Barry Ackroyd was born on 12 May 1954 in Oldham, Lancashire, England, UK. He is a cinematographer and director, known for The Hurt Locker (2008), Captain Phillips (2013) and United 93 (2006).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Captain Phillips, Detroit, Green Zone, The Big Short, The Hurt Locker- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
John Bailey was born on 10 August 1942 in Moberly, Missouri, USA. He was a cinematographer and director, known for In the Line of Fire (1993), American Gigolo (1980) and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1991). He was married to Carol Littleton. He died on 10 November 2023 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
As Good as It Gets, Groundhog Day, In the Line of Fire, Silverado; The Way, Way Back- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Tonino Delli Colli was born on 20 November 1922 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was a cinematographer and actor, known for 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 16 August 2005 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
C'era una volta il West (Once Upon a Time in the West), Death and the Maiden, Der Name der Rose (The Name of the Rose); Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly); Once Upon a Time in America- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Ben Davis was born in 1961 in London, England, UK. He is a cinematographer and producer, known for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). He is married to Camille Griffin. They have three children.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Guardians of the Galaxy, Kick-Ass, Layer Cake, The Debt; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Sound Department
Jim Denault is a cinematographer known for his work in feature films and television. He is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the American Society of Cinematographers. He received a BFA in Photographic Illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Boys Don't Cry, Freedom Writers, Game Change, Recount, Trumbo- Cinematographer
- Actor
- Director
Christopher Doyle was born on 2 May 1952 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Paranoid Park (2007), Hero (2002) and 2046 (2004).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
2046, Ah fei zing zyun (Days of Being Wild), Chung Hing sam lam (Chungking Express), Faa yeung nin wa (In the Mood for Love), Ying xiong (Hero)- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Stuart Dryburgh was born on 30 March 1952 in London, England, UK. He is a cinematographer, known for The Piano (1993), The Great Wall (2016) and The Painted Veil (2006).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
In My Father's Den, Once Were Warriors, The Painted Veil, The Piano, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty- Cinematographer
Simon Duggan was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He is a cinematographer, known for The Great Gatsby (2013), Hacksaw Ridge (2016) and I, Robot (2004).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
300: Rise of an Empire, Hacksaw Ridge, Knowing, Live Free or Die Hard, The Great Gatsby (2013)- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Tak Fujimoto was born on 12 July 1939 in San Diego, California, USA. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Sixth Sense (1999) and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Breach, Signs, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), The Silence of the Lambs, The Sixth Sense- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Composer
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 Netherlands, but was rejected twice. After the rejection, Van Hoytema worked in a soap factory, carpentry factory and even played in a band. Hoyte and his brother decided to go to Poland to visit their roots, considering their grandpa was Polish. He eventually went on to attend the Polish film school in Lodz, which has been attended by other notable film makers, with the most notable being Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polanski, and Krzysztof Kieslowski. At the later stages of Hoyte's education at the Lodz film school, Kieslowski was a professor there, who even supervised one of Hoyte's last projects. Hoyte left the Lodz film school early without having received a degree, but with many credentials. He started out with making documentaries. He later met someone who asked him to shoot a very low-budget film in Norway, which he accepted to do. This let Hoyte to film another film in Norway which was led by a a producer who was very active in Sweden. The producer offered Hoyte to work on a television show and another feature film. This started off Hoyte's career. He started to become a notable film maker in Sweden. His film 'Let the right one in' made him more known internationally.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Dunkirk, Her, Interstellar, The Fighter, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Alar Kivilo was born on 17 February 1953 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He is a cinematographer and director, known for A Simple Plan (1998), The Blind Side (2009) and Taking Chance (2009).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
A Simple Plan, Frequency, The Blind Side, The Lake House, The Lookout- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Dan Mindel was born on 27 May 1958 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Spy Game (2001), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015). He has been married to Lisa Fallon since 6 June 1992. They have four children. He was previously married to Paula Hamilton.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Mission: Impossible III, Shanghai Noon, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Skeleton Key- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dean Semler was born on 26 May 1943 in Renmark, South Australia, Australia. He is a cinematographer and assistant director, known for Apocalypto (2006), Dances with Wolves (1990) and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981). He is married to Annie Semler.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Apocalypto, Appaloosa, Dances with Wolves, Get Smart, The Three Musketeers (1993)- Producer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Steven Andrew Soderbergh was born on January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the second of six children of Mary Ann (Bernard) and Peter Soderbergh. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Italian ancestry. While he was still at a very young age, his family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his father was a professor and the dean of the College of Education at Louisiana State University. While still in high school, around the age of 15, Soderbergh enrolled in the university's film animation class and began making short 16-millimeter films with second-hand equipment, one of which was the short film "Janitor". After graduating high school, he went to Hollywood, where he worked as a freelance editor. His time there was brief and, shortly after, he returned home and continued making short films and writing scripts.
His first major break was in 1986 when the rock group Yes assigned him to shoot a full-length concert film for the band, which eventually earned him a Grammy nomination for the video, Yes: 9012 Live (1985). Following this achievement, Soderbergh filmed Winston (1987), the short-subject film that he would later expand into Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), a film that earned him the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or Award, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director, and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Over the next six years, he was married to actress Betsy Brantley and had a daughter named Sarah Soderbergh, who was born in 1990.
Also during this time, he made such films as Kafka (1991), King of the Hill (1993), The Underneath (1995) and Gray's Anatomy (1996), which many believed to be disappointments. In 1998, Soderbergh made Out of Sight (1998), his most critically and commercially successful film since Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989). Then, in 2000, Soderbergh directed two major motion pictures that are now his most successful films to date: Erin Brockovich (2000) and Traffic (2000). These films were both nominated for Best Picture Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards and gave him the first twin director Oscar nomination in almost 60 years and the first ever win. He won the Oscar for Best Director for Traffic (2000) at the 2001 Oscars.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Che: Part One, Contagion, Ocean's Eleven, The Informant!, Traffic (all as Peter Andrews)- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Peter Suschitzky was born on 25 July 1941 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Dead Ringers (1988), Eastern Promises (2007) and Naked Lunch (1991).Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
A Dangerous Method, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, Immortal Beloved, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Black Mass, Hostiles, Silver Linings Playbook, Spotlight, Warrior- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
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 underexposed film, as well as in his control of lighting and exposure to create the sepia tones that denoted period scenes in The Godfather Part II (1974).
In the seven-year period up to 1977, Willis was the director of photography on six films that received among them 39 Academy Award nominations, winning 19 times, including three awards for Best Picture. During this time he did not receive a single nomination for Best Cinematography.
He directed one film of his own, Windows (1980). His last film as a cinematographer was The Devil's Own (1997), directed by Alan J. Pakula.
Willis died of cancer on May 18, 2014, ten days before his 83rd birthday, at the age of 82.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
All the President's Men, The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, The Godfather: Part III, Zelig- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dariusz Wolski is a Polish film and music video cinematographer. He is best known for Crimson Tide (1995), Dark City (1998), the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), The Martian (2015) and All the Money in the World (2017).
Many of his collaborations include working with film directors like Ridley Scott, Rob Marshall, Tony Scott, Gore Verbinski and Tim Burton.
Wolski has also worked on several music videos with artists such as Elton John, Eminem, David Bowie, Sting, Aerosmith, and Neil Young.Movies on my Top 1000 list: 5
Eagle Eye, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Prometheus, The Martian, The Walk