Academy Award for Best Cinematography
| Academy Award for Best Cinematography | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |
| First awarded | 1929 |
| Currently held by | Linus Sandgren La La Land (2016) |
| Website | oscars |
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 but three other films shot individually by either Rosher or Struss were also listed as part of the nomination. The second year, 1929, there were no nominations at all, although the Academy has a list of unofficial titles which 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 each was adopted in all profession-related categories. From 1939 to 1967 with the exception of 1957, there were also separate awards for color and for black-and-white cinematography. Since then, the only black-and-white film to win is Schindler's List (1993).
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 Four Devils (1928). The Right to Love (1930) is incomplete, and Sadie Thompson (1927) is incomplete and partially reconstructed with stills.
The first nominees shot primarily on digital video were The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire in 2009, with Slumdog Millionaire 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. Prior to that it had been the last Academy Award category to never nominate a woman.[3][4]
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 B. Lang, Jr. | 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 | Charles B. Lang, Jr. | Age 30 | 1932/1933 |
Lang's first nomination was at age 28. |
| Youngest nominee | ||||
| Most nominations without an award | Roger Deakins | 14 nominations | One of Deakins' nominations was shared with Chris Menges. |
Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first in colored row, followed by the other nominees.
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
Multiple awards and nominations
Notes
- ^ 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 A. 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).
- ^ 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.
See also
- BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography
- Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
- Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography
- American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases
References
- ^ http://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/oscar-nominations/
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.indiewire.com/article/8-female-cinematographers-you-should-know-about-20141104/
- ^ http://variety.com/2018/film/in-contention/oscars-first-female-cinematographer-mudbound-cinematographer-rachel-morrison-1202673355/
- ^ a b "The Official Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ "Academy Awards 2017: Complete list of Oscar winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. February 26, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences official site
- The Official Academy Awards Database, listing all past nominees and winners
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| Combined major awards | |