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CINEMATOGRAPHER · BORN 1943 · ITALY

Dante Spinotti

Cool, controlled urban night and glossy period noir.

Born
1943
Country
Italy
Field
Cinematographer

KNOWN FOR

  1. 1995Heat
  2. 1992The Last of the Mohicans
  3. 1997L.A. Confidential
  4. 1999The Insider

WHY THEY MATTER

Academy Award nominations for L.A. Confidential and The Insider; BAFTA for The Last of the Mohicans; ASC Lifetime Achievement Award (2012).

THE LIFE

Spinotti was born in Tolmezzo, in Friuli near the Austrian border, and began experimenting with still photography at eleven using a camera inherited from his uncle. He left school early to work in the film industry in Kenya. He is known for his collaborations with Michael Mann, from Manhunter to The Last of the Mohicans and The Insider, and with Brett Ratner. He received Academy Award nominations for L.A. Confidential and The Insider.

Source: Wikipedia

Also born in 1930–1959

Vilmos Zsigmond

1930–2016 · United States · Cinematographer

Vilmos Zsigmond

Pre-flashed, muted colour and atmospheric haze.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977Source: Wikipedia

1931–2014 · United States · Cinematographer

Gordon Willis

Top light and deep underexposure that earned him the name the Prince of Darkness.

The Godfather, 1972Source: Wikipedia

1934–2001 · United States · Cinematographer

John A. Alonzo

Naturalistic, cinema verite-inspired photography of the New Hollywood.

Chinatown, 1974Source: Wikipedia