Academy Award for Best Cinematography explained
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture.
History
In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) was not tied to a specific film; all of the work by the nominated cinematographers during the qualifying period was listed after their names. The problem with this system became obvious the first year, since Karl Struss and Charles Rosher were nominated for their work together on Sunrise. Still, three other films shot individually by either Rosher or Struss were also listed as part of the nomination. In the second year, 1929, there were no nominations at all, although the Academy has a list of unofficial titles that were under consideration by the Board of Judges. In the third year, 1930, films, not cinematographers, were nominated, and the final award did not show the cinematographer's name.
Finally, for the 1931 awards, the modern system in which individuals are nominated for a single film was adopted in all profession-related categories. From 1939 to 1967 with the exception of 1957, there were also separate awards for color and black-and-white cinematography. After Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), the most recent black-and-white films to win since then are Schindler's List (1993), Roma (2018) and Mank (2020).
Floyd Crosby won the award for Tabu in 1931, which was the last silent film to win in this category. Hal Mohr won the only write-in Academy Award ever, in 1935 for A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mohr was also the first person to win for both black-and-white and color cinematography.
No winners are lost, although some of the earliest nominees (and of the unofficial nominees of 1928–29) are lost, including The Devil Dancer (1927), The Magic Flame (1927), and 4 Devils (1928). The Right to Love (1930) is incomplete, and Sadie Thompson (1927) is incomplete and partially reconstructed with stills.
David Lean holds the record for the director with the most films that won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography at the Oscars with five wins out of six nominations for Great Expectations, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, and Ryan's Daughter.
The first nominees shot primarily on digital video were The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire in 2009, with Slumdog Millionaire being the first winner.[1] The following year, Avatar was the first nominee and winner to be shot entirely on digital video.[2]
In 2018, Rachel Morrison became the first woman to receive a nomination.[3] Prior to that, it had been the last non-acting Academy Award category to never nominate a woman.[4] [5]
In 2019, Alfonso Cuarón became the first winner of this category to have also served as director on the film, for Roma.[6] This followed a public dispute between Cuarón and the Academy over the Academy's plan to shorten the Oscars broadcast by relegating four awards, including cinematography, to the commercial breaks in the show. Cuarón objected by saying, "In the history of cinema, masterpieces have existed without sound, without color, without a story, without actors and without music. No single film has ever existed without cinematography ..."[7]
Superlatives
| Category | Name | Superlative | Year | Notes |
|---|
| Most awards | Leon Shamroy | 4 awards | 1942 | Awards resulted from 18 nominations. |
| Joseph Ruttenberg | 1958 | Awards resulted from 10 nominations. |
| Most nominations | Leon Shamroy | 18 nominations | 1965 | Nominations resulted in 4 awards. |
| Charles Lang | 1972 | Nominations resulted in 1 award. |
| Most consecutive awards | Emmanuel Lubezki | 3 consecutive awards | 2013, 2014, 2015 | Awards resulted from 8 nominations. |
| Oldest winner | Conrad L. Hall | Age 76 | 2002 | Hall died just two months before the awards ceremony. Hall is also the oldest non-posthumous winner, at age 73, in 1999. |
| Oldest nominee | Asakazu Nakai | Age 84 | 1985 | Nakai shared the nomination with two others. |
| Youngest winner | Floyd Crosby | Age 31 | 1930/1931 | |
| Youngest nominee | Edward Cronjager | Age 27 | 1930/1931 | |
| Most nominations without an award | George Folsey | 13 nominations | 1963 | |
| First female nominee | Rachel Morrison[8] | | 2017 | |
| Nominee/winner who also directed the film | Alfonso Cuarón | Cuarón served as director and director of photography for Roma | 2018 | | |
Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first in colored row, followed by the other nominees.
1920s
1930s
1940s
| Year | Film | Nominees |
|---|
1940
(13th) |
| Black-and-White |
| Rebecca | George Barnes |
| Abe Lincoln in Illinois | James Wong Howe |
| All This, and Heaven Too | Ernest Haller |
| Arise, My Love | Charles Lang |
| Boom Town | Harold Rosson |
| Foreign Correspondent | Rudolph Maté |
| The Letter | Tony Gaudio |
| The Long Voyage Home | Gregg Toland |
| Spring Parade | Joseph Valentine |
| Waterloo Bridge | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Color |
| The Thief of Bagdad | Georges Périnal |
| Bitter Sweet | Oliver T. Marsh and Allen M. Davey |
| The Blue Bird | Arthur C. Miller and Ray Rennahan |
| Down Argentine Way | Leon Shamroy and Ray Rennahan |
| North West Mounted Police | Victor Milner and W. Howard Greene |
| Northwest Passage | Sidney Wagner and William V. Skall |
1941
(14th) |
| Black-and-White |
| How Green Was My Valley | Arthur C. Miller |
| The Chocolate Soldier | Karl Freund |
| Citizen Kane | Gregg Toland |
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Joseph Walker |
| Hold Back the Dawn | Leo Tover |
| Sergeant York | Sol Polito |
| Sun Valley Serenade | Edward Cronjager |
| Sundown | Charles Lang |
| That Hamilton Woman | Rudolph Maté |
| Color |
| Blood and Sand | Ernest Palmer and Ray Rennahan |
| Aloma of the South Seas | Wilfred M. Cline, Karl Struss and William E. Snyder |
| Billy the Kid | William V. Skall and Leonard Smith |
| Blossoms in the Dust | Karl Freund and W. Howard Greene |
| Dive Bomber | Bert Glennon |
| Louisiana Purchase | Harry Hallenberger and Ray Rennahan |
1942
(15th) |
| Black-and-White |
| Mrs. Miniver | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Kings Row | James Wong Howe |
| The Magnificent Ambersons | Stanley Cortez |
| Moontide | Charles G. Clarke |
| The Pied Piper | Edward Cronjager |
| The Pride of the Yankees | Rudolph Maté |
| Take a Letter, Darling | John J. Mescall |
| The Talk of the Town | Ted Tetzlaff |
| Ten Gentlemen from West Point | Leon Shamroy |
| This Above All | Arthur C. Miller |
| Color |
| The Black Swan | Leon Shamroy |
| Arabian Nights | Milton Krasner, William V. Skall and W. Howard Greene |
| Captains of the Clouds | Sol Polito |
| Jungle Book | W. Howard Greene |
| Reap the Wild Wind | Victor Milner and William V. Skall |
| To the Shores of Tripoli | Edward Cronjager and William V. Skall |
1943
(16th) |
| Black-and-White |
| The Song of Bernadette | Arthur C. Miller |
| Air Force | James Wong Howe, Elmer Dyer and Charles A. Marshall |
| Casablanca | Arthur Edeson |
| Corvette K-225 | Tony Gaudio |
| Five Graves to Cairo | John F. Seitz |
| The Human Comedy | Harry Stradling |
| Madame Curie | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| The North Star | James Wong Howe |
| Sahara | Rudolph Maté |
| So Proudly We Hail! | Charles Lang |
| Color |
| Phantom of the Opera | Hal Mohr and W. Howard Greene |
| For Whom the Bell Tolls | Ray Rennahan |
| Heaven Can Wait | Edward Cronjager |
| Hello, Frisco, Hello | Charles G. Clarke and Allen M. Davey |
| Lassie Come Home | Leonard Smith |
| Thousands Cheer | George Folsey |
1944
(17th) |
| Black-and-White |
| Laura | Joseph LaShelle |
| Double Indemnity | John F. Seitz |
| Dragon Seed | Sidney Wagner |
| Gaslight | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Going My Way | Lionel Lindon |
| Lifeboat | Glen MacWilliams |
| Since You Went Away | Stanley Cortez and Lee Garmes |
| Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo | Robert Surtees and Harold Rosson |
| The Uninvited | Charles Lang |
| The White Cliffs of Dover | George Folsey |
| Color |
| Wilson | Leon Shamroy |
| Cover Girl | Rudolph Maté and Allen M. Davey |
| Home in Indiana | Edward Cronjager |
| Kismet | Charles Rosher |
| Lady in the Dark | Ray Rennahan |
| Meet Me in St. Louis | George Folsey |
1945
(18th) |
| Black-and-White |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | Harry Stradling |
| The Keys of the Kingdom | Arthur C. Miller |
| The Lost Weekend | John F. Seitz |
| Mildred Pierce | Ernest Haller |
| Spellbound | George Barnes |
| Color |
| Leave Her to Heaven | Leon Shamroy |
| Anchors Aweigh | Robert H. Planck and Charles P. Boyle |
| National Velvet | Leonard Smith |
| A Song to Remember | Tony Gaudio and Allen M. Davey |
| The Spanish Main | George Barnes |
1946
(19th) |
| Black-and-White |
| Anna and the King of Siam | Arthur C. Miller |
| The Green Years | George Folsey |
| Color |
| The Yearling | Charles Rosher, Leonard Smith and Arthur Arling |
| The Jolson Story | Joseph Walker |
1947
(20th) |
| Black-and-White |
| Great Expectations | Guy Green |
| Green Dolphin Street | George Folsey |
| The Ghost and Mrs. Muir | Charles Lang |
| Color |
| Black Narcissus | Jack Cardiff |
| Life with Father | J. Peverell Marley and William V. Skall |
| Mother Wore Tights | Harry Jackson |
1948
(21st) |
| Black-and-White |
| The Naked City | William Daniels |
| A Foreign Affair | Charles Lang |
| I Remember Mama | Nicholas Musuraca |
| Johnny Belinda | Ted McCord |
| Portrait of Jennie | Joseph August (posthumously) |
| Color |
| Joan of Arc | Joseph Valentine, William V. Skall and Winton C. Hoch |
| Green Grass of Wyoming | Charles G. Clarke |
| The Loves of Carmen | William E. Snyder |
| The Three Musketeers | Robert H. Planck |
1949
(22nd) |
| Black-and-White |
| Battleground | Paul C. Vogel |
| Champion | Franz Planer |
| Come to the Stable | Joseph LaShelle |
| The Heiress | Leo Tover |
| Prince of Foxes | Leon Shamroy |
| Color |
| She Wore a Yellow Ribbon | Winton C. Hoch |
| The Barkleys of Broadway | Harry Stradling |
| Jolson Sings Again | William E. Snyder |
| Little Women | Robert H. Planck and Charles Schoenbaum |
| Sand | Charles G. Clarke | |
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Multiple awards and nominations
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Oscar nominations. 24 January 2009.
- Web site: Oscar Breakdown: Best Cinematography . 2014-04-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140425053422/http://filmschoolrejects.com/features/oscar-breakdown-best-cinematography.php . 2014-04-25 .
- https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2018 2018|Oscars.org
- News: 8 Female Cinematographers You Should Know About. Bernstein. Paula. 2014-11-04. IndieWire. 2018-01-25. en-US.
- News: Oscars: 'Mudbound's' Rachel Morrison Makes History as First Female Cinematographer Nominee. Tapley. Kristopher. 2018-01-23. Variety. 2018-01-25. en-US.
- Web site: Director Alfonso Cuaron Wins Best Cinematography Oscar for 'Roma . O'Falt . Chris . Feb 24, 2019 . IndieWire . Feb 25, 2019.
- News: How Alfonso Cuarón's 'Roma' Oscars spark a dialogue about the faces we see on-screen . Carolina A. . Miranda . Los Angeles Times . February 25, 2019.
- Web site: Oscars: 'Mudbound' Cinematographer Is First Female Nominated – Variety. Tapley. Kristopher. 2017-09-12. Variety.com. 2018-01-23.
- The 2nd Academy Awards is unique in being the only occasion where there were no official nominees. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or de facto nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges.
- Having not been officially nominated, Hal Mohr was a write-in candidate and became the only write-in to ever win an Academy Award.
- A preliminary list of submissions from the studios included the following titles, which were not official nominees: First Love (Joseph Valentine), The Great Victor Herbert (Victor Milner), Gunga Din (Joseph H. August), Intermezzo (Gregg Toland), Juarez (Tony Gaudio), Lady of the Tropics (Norbert Brodine), Only Angels Have Wings (Joseph Walker) and The Rains Came (Arthur C. Miller).
- Web site: The Official Academy Awards Database . . . January 9, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090227145302/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ . February 27, 2009 . dead .
- A preliminary list of submissions from the studios included the following titles, which were not official nominees: Drums Along the Mohawk (Ray Rennahan and Bert Glennon), The Four Feathers (Georges Périnal and Osmond Borradaile), The Mikado (William V. Skall) and The Wizard of Oz (Harold Rosson).
- In 1957, black-and-white and color films competed in a combined Best Cinematography category.
- News: Academy Awards 2017: Complete list of Oscar winners and nominees . . February 26, 2017 . . January 8, 2018 .
