1901–1988 · Japan · Cinematographer
Asakazu Nakai
Kurosawa's camera for rain, mud and vast colour battlefields.
Seven Samurai, 1954Source: Wikipedia
CINEMATOGRAPHER · 1906–1985 · UNITED STATES
Robert Surtees
Studio craft across epic spectacle and modern drama.
- Born
- 1906
- Died
- 1985
- Country
- United States
- Field
- Cinematographer
KNOWN FOR
- 1959Ben-Hur
- 1967The Graduate
- 1971The Last Picture Show
- 1952The Bad and the Beautiful
WHY THEY MATTER
Won three Academy Awards from sixteen nominations, for King Solomon's Mines, The Bad and the Beautiful and Ben-Hur.
THE LIFE
Surtees was born in Covington, Kentucky, grew up in Ohio and first worked as a photographer and retoucher in a Cincinnati portrait studio. He trained as an assistant through the 1920s and worked at Universal, UFA, Warner Brothers and MGM, earning a reputation for versatility with directors including Howard Hawks, William Wyler and Mike Nichols. At MGM he won Academy Awards for King Solomon's Mines, The Bad and the Beautiful and Ben-Hur. He later shot The Graduate, The Last Picture Show and The Sting.
Also born in 1900–1929
1901–1996 · United States · Cinematographer
John Alton
Hard shadows and pools of light that defined film noir.
T-Men, 1947Source: Wikipedia
1901–1974 · United States · Cinematographer
Leon Shamroy
Bold Technicolor of the Fox studio era.
Leave Her to Heaven, 1945Source: Wikipedia
1902–1998 · United Kingdom · Cinematographer
Freddie Young
Sweeping, lush widescreen colour.
Lawrence of Arabia, 1962Source: Wikipedia
1902–2000 · Italy · Cinematographer
Otello Martelli
Neorealist grit that opened up into Fellini's nocturnal spectacle.
La Dolce Vita, 1960Source: Wikipedia
1904–1948 · United States · Cinematographer
Gregg Toland
Deep focus, with near and far planes sharp at once.
Citizen Kane, 1941Source: Wikipedia