Cinematographers are the often-overlooked artists working behind the scenes the make a director's vision a reality. While directors and actors deserve due credit when they make a good movie together, cinematographers deserve just as much recognition for the work they do.
Do you know the cinematographers behind your favorite films? If you're struck by the photographic style, use of light, or colors in a movie, you have the cinematography team to thank. This list highlights the work of some of the most talented cinematographers to ever work inside or outside Hollywood. Consider it a crash course for novices and film nerds alike.
10 Emmanuel Lubezki
Emmanuel Lubezski is a Mexican cinematographer who won the Oscar for Best Cinematography for three consecutive years between 2013 and 2015 for his work on Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity and Alejandro Iñárritu's films Birdman and The Revenant. Lubezki is known for his reliance on natural light and his ability to film complicated continuous shots.
Lubezki has worked with filmmakers as diverse as Tim Burton, Terence Malick, and the Coen Brothers. He is credited as the primary cinematographer for films ranging from The Birdcage to The Tree of Life.
9 Karl Freund
Karl Freund was an innovative German cinematographer who revolutionized his field. Freud is responsible for developing the unchained camera, which frees the camera from its static position on a tripod, making thousands of additional shots possible. Freund made motion shots possible with this invention.
Freund's name is attached to some of the most stylized films in early cinema, including Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Tod Browning's Dracula. Freund served as cinematographer for dozens and dozens of films during his career.
8 Ellen Kuras
Ellen Kuras is one of the few female cinematographers whose work reaches wider audiences. Kuras earned three awards for Excellence in Dramatic Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival. Needless to say, Kuras manages to make waves in a male-dominated field.
Ellen Kuras is known for dramas and documentaries. Her most famous credit is for Michel Gondry's hit film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Kuras is known for many other films, from big-budget features like Blow to Spike Lee indies like Bamboozled. Kuras is also an accomplished director.
7 Arthur Jafa
Arthur Jafa works on feature films and music videos, sidelining as an accomplished video artist in his spare time. Jafa's best-known collaborator is Spike Lee. He shot Lee's underrated comedy Crooklyn. Jafa also filmed Julie Dash's masterpiece Daughters of the Dust.
Jafa's work in music video spans from Solange to Jay-Z. His cinematographic skills are evident in documentaries like Seven Songs for Malcolm X and Shadows of Liberty.
6 Haskell Wexler
Haskell Wexler's heyday was the '60s and '70s. Wexler's name is attached to some of the most influential films from those decades, such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, In the Heat of the Night, American Graffiti, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and Days of Heaven.
Wexler is the king of manipulating light, and he led the way for cinematographers transitioning from black and white to color. Wexler is also known for his work on documentaries, which is where he got his start. Wexler often returned to documentaries throughout his career.
5 Babette Mangolte
Influenced by the French New Wave and experimental techniques, French cinematographer Babette Magnotle made a name for herself in a field overrun by men. Magnotle moved to NYC in 1970 to work with underground filmmakers like Jonas Mekas and Stan Brakhage.
Magnotle's most notable works as a cinematographer are her collaborations with female French filmmaker Chantal Akerman. Magnotle served as cinematographer for Akerman's groundbreaking 1975 feature Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Magnotle deserves a spot on this list because of her ability to translate abstract techniques into concrete cinematic narratives.
4 Robert Burks
Robert Burks is one of the most prolific cinematographers of all time. Burks mastered every genre, employing a profound versatility and technical knowledge to every film he worked on over his career. Burks was a frequent collaborator of Alfred Hitchcock, and he brought some of the director's most iconic masterpieces to life.
Burks credits with Hitchcock include Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and The Birds. Hitchcock's legacy wouldn't be what it is would Burks's contributions.
3 Rachel Morrison
Rachel Morrison is a recent cinematographer whose few contributions prove she's a creative talent to watch. Her first feature film is 2011's intense cult horror movie Sound of my Voice. She then moved on to impactful dramas like Fruitvale Station and Dope.
After Dee Ree's acclaimed 2017 period drama Mudbound, Morrison served as the cinematographer for Black Panther. From horror to comedy to action, there's no genre Morrison's camera work can't master.
2 Roger Deakins
English cinematographer is behind multiple big-budget features known for their artistic brilliance. From Skyfall to Blade Runner 2049 to 1917, Deakin's epic mastery of his art form is evidence. Deakins finally won an Oscar in 2017 for Blade Runner 2049 and then again in 2019 for 1917.
Deakins started in 1977, and his work traverses genres. Some of his other best features include The Shawshank Redemption, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and Sicario. His frequent collaborators include the Coen Brothers, Sam Mendes, and Denis Villeneuve.
1 Stanley Cortez
Stanley Cortez is another early Hollywood cinematography pioneer whose credits include over 70 films. Cortez really shined filming psychological thrillers. His work includes Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter and Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor.
The films Cortez worked on over his career -- like Night of the Hunter -- required technical expertise in terms of lighting, representing surrealistic scenery, and evoking intense moods. Cortez excelled at tackling these obstacles and creating stunning works of art.
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