Top 10 Cinematographers of All Time

This week we're looking back at best DPs to ever let light touch film. From every era, from all over the world, from all walks of life, these are the best cinematographers of all time.

The Picks:

10 - The beginnings, Billy Bitzer
9 - The Golden Age, Gregg Toland
8 - Transition to color, Robert Burks
7 - Technicolor and Cinemascope, Freddie Young
6 - New Hollywood, Vittorio Storaro
5 - Europe, Sven Nykvist
4 - Around the world, Kazuo Miyagawa
3 - 80's and 90's, Janusz Kaminski
2 - Women, Maryse Alberti
1 - Today, Roger Deakins

Subscribe to CineFix for more movie-related content.

More Recent CineFix Videos:

7 Things You Didn't Know About the Princess Bride

Stephen King's It - What's the Difference?

The Speed Bus Jump - Art of the Scene

Top 10 Movie Props of All Time

[NickOwens]

What I love about Cinefix lists is that they're more like cinema history lessons than a list of opinions.

[snail]

these are some good cinnamon topographers

[TheCreepypro]

I'm not going to pretend I know anything about cinematography by saying anything as pretentious as how good this list is instead I'll just thank you for bringing to my attention 10 great cinematographers that I wasn't aware of till now

[idojacoby]

Emmanuel Lubezki is pushing many boundaries of cinematography, he deserves a place, every movie that he makes gives you an unmatched take on different types of cinematography

[themaven]

There is a reason all the modern cinematographers have a mention of Freddie Young in their synopses, the man practically invented wide screen epic filming.Until you have actual seen one of his movies in a full size theater with a full size screen and an actual 70mm print you cannot imagine the impact it had.It was what saved movies from TV in the sixties.

[MindGameStudios]

Roger Deakins is a man whose name deserves to be heralded the same way we do our most famous actors and directors. He is an indispensable gift and treasure to modern cinema.

[everythingisawesome]

Roger Deakins has been nominated 13 times for his cinematography, but the guy never won an Oscar. I hope he finally win one for Blade Runner 2049.

[dwkellyiii]

I may have missed a few, but here is every film shown in this video sorted by year for everyone that wants to study these films:

(1895) Cordeliers Square at Lyons 
(1895) Employees Leaving the Lumiere Factory 
(1895) L’Arrivee d’un Train en Gare de la Ciott 
(1895) Watered Waterer, The 
(1896) Come Along Do
(1898) Adventures of William Tell 
(1898) Astronomer’s Dream, The
(1899) Mysterious Portrait, The
(1900) As Seen Through a Telescope
(1900) Mystic Swing, The
(1901) Magician’s Cavern, The 
(1902) A Trip to the Moon 
(1903) Great Train Robbery, The 
(1903) Life of an American Fireman
(1905) New York Subway 
(1909) Edgar Allen Poe
(1910) Ramona
(1911) Enoch Arden
(1912) With Our King and Queen Through India 
(1915) Birth of a Nation, The 
(1916) Intolerance
(1919) Miracle Man, The
(1920) Der Golem
(1921) Haunted Castle, The
(1921) Orphans of the Storm
(1922) Nosferatu
(1925) Ben-Hur
(1927) Metropolis
(1927) Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
(1928) Street Angel
(1932) A Farewell to Arms
(1932) Scarface
(1933) Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse
(1933) Footlight Parade
(1934) Affairs of Cellini, The
(1934) Thin Man, The
(1935) Becky Sharp
(1935) Gold Diggers of 1935
(1935) Les Miserables
(1936) Garden of Allah, The
(1939) Gone With the Wind
(1939) Midnight
(1939) Wizard of Oz, The
(1939) Wuthering Heights 
(1940) Abe Lincoln in Illinois
(1940) Angels over Broadway
(1940) Grapes of Wrath, The
(1940) Long Voyage Home, The
(1941) Citizen Kane 
(1942) Jungle Book
(1943) For Whom the Bell Tolls
(1946) Dust in the Sun
(1946) Paisan
(1947) Black Narcissus 
(1950) Rashomon 
(1951) African Queen, The
(1951) Strangers on a Train 
(1952) Miracle Lady of Our Lady Fatima, The
(1953) How to Marry a Millionaire
(1953) Sawdust and Tinsel
(1953) Ugetsu 
(1954) Dial M for Murder
(1954) Rear Window
(1954) Sansho the Baliff
(1955) Pather Panchali
(1955) To Catch a Thief
(1956) Aparajito
(1956) Man Who Knew Too Much, The
(1956) Street of Shame
(1957) Cranes Are Flying, The
(1957) Seventh Seal, The
(1958) Once Upon a Time in the West
(1958) Vertigo 
(1959) 400 Blows, The
(1959) Ben-Hur
(1959) Floating Weeds
(1959) North by Northwest
(1959) Solomon and Sheba
(1960) Breathless
(1960) La Dolce Vita
(1960) Virgin Spring, The
(1961) Breakfast at Tiffany’s 
(1961) Through a Glass Darkly
(1961) Yojimbo
(1962) How the West Was Won
(1962) Lawrence of Arabia 
(1963) Le Mepris
(1963) Silence, The
(1964) Bande a Part
(1964) Birds, The
(1964) Marnie
(1964) Soy Cuba
(1965) Doctor Zhivago
(1966) Andrei Rublev
(1966) Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, The
(1966) Persona
(1967) Cool Hand Luke
(1967) Doctor Doolittle
(1967) Le Samourai
(1967) You Only Live Twice
(1968) Thomas Crowne Affair, The
(1969) Battle of Britain
(1969) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
(1970) Conformist, The
(1970) Ryan’s Daughter 
(1971) McCabe and Mrs. Miller
(1972) Cries and Whispers
(1972) Godfather, The
(1972) Last Tango in Paris
(1972) Solaris
(1973) Exorcist, The
(1975) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
(1976) All the President’s Men
(1976) Rocky
(1977) Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1978) Autumn Sonata 
(1978) Days of Heaven
(1979) Apocalypse Now
(1979) Kramer vs Kramer
(1980) Heaven’s Gate
(1980) Kagemusha 
(1980) Shining, The
(1981) Reds
(1982) Blade Runner
(1982) Fanny and Alexander 
(1982) Tron
(1984) 1984
(1985) Ladyhawke
(1986) Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
(1986) Sacrifice, The
(1987) Last Emperor, The
(1990) Ju Don
(1991) Barton Fink
(1991) Delicatessen
(1991) JFK
(1991) Once Upon a Time in China
(1991) Point Break
(1991) Silence of the Lambs, The
(1992) Roja
(1993) Farewell My Concubine
(1993) Schindler’s List
(1994) Natural Born Killers
(1994) Shawshank Redemption, The
(1995) Dead Man Walking
(1995) Seven
(1996) Fargo
(1997) Amistad
(1997) Fifth Element, The
(1997) Gattaca
(1997) Kundun
(1997) Titanic
(1998) Armageddon
(1998) Dil Se…
(1998) Happiness
(1998) Pleasantville
(1998) Saving Private Ryan
(1998) Thin Red Line, The
(2000) Amores Perres
(2000) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
(2000) In the Mood for Love
(2000) O Brother, Where Art Thou? 
(2001) A Beautiful Mind
(2001) Artificial Intelligence 
(2001) Black Hawk Down
(2001) Blow
(2001) Man Who Wasn’t There, The
(2001) Tape
(2001) Y Tu Mama Tambien
(2002) Catch Me If You Can
(2002) Hero
(2002) Minority Report 
(2003) Last Samurai, The
(2003) Lost in Translation
(2003) Russian Ark
(2004) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
(2004) House of Flying Daggers
(2004) Kill Bill
(2005) Brokeback Mountain
(2005) Jarhead 
(2005) Munich
(2005) New World, The
(2005) Squid and the Whale, The
(2005) Syriana
(2005) War of the Worlds
(2006) Curse of the Golden Flower
(2007) Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The
(2007) No Country for Old Men
(2007) There Will Be Blood
(2008) Australia
(2008) Be Kind Rewind
(2008) Che
(2008) Forbidden Kingdom, The
(2008) Let the Right One In
(2008) Revolutionary Road
(2008) Slumdog Millionaire
(2008) Wrestler, The 
(2009) Avatar
(2009) Bodyguards and Assassins 
(2009) Terminator Salvation
(2010) Inception
(2010) Social Network, The
(2010) Tron: Legacy
(2011) Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The
(2011) Mission Impossible IV: Ghost Protocol 
(2011) Tree of Life, The
(2012) Act of Valor
(2012) Hunt, The
(2012) Life of Pi
(2012) Magic Mike
(2012) Moonrise Kingdom
(2012) Skyfall 
(2013) Fruitvale Station
(2013) Gravity
(2013) Prisoners 
(2014) Birdman
(2014) Gone Girl
(2015) Creed 
(2015) Freeheld
(2015) Revenant, The
(2015) Sicario 
(2015) Visit, The
(2016) Girl on the Train, The
(2016) Hidden Figures
(2016) Neon Demon, The
(2017) Dunkirk

[Elerad]

Deakins' work on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford should be required viewing for all aspiring cinematographers. In particular, the train robbery scene is a masterclass in lighting and mood.

[nehaljhirmaria]

Just watched 1917 and Deakins is again getting an Oscar!

[doubleoscar]

Can you just make like a Top Ten Roger Deakins Shots of All Time or something. I honestly could just sit and watch his work all day

[addictedtosurgar]

IVE BEEN WANTING AND WAITING FOR THIS! I could discuss cinematography all day. This channel is a godsend. Cinefix top 10 all day every day

[mattiazisa]

Roger Deakins, Vittorio Storaro and Emmanuel Lubetzky's talent is in an another planet, they are incredible in every movie they do.

[jimi]

As long as Deakins got number one I am good with this list. He is seriously an expert in his field.

[LiebensteinMovies]

It's always hard with these lists, because the chance to miss something really important is really big.
"Das Boot" with Jost Vacano. He invented a special stabilizing system together with Arri to record in the small space of a recreated interieur of a WWII submarine. With that German movie "Das Boot" and it's six Oscar nominees, Hollywood got aware of small Munich company Arri. This at least was the international start for Arri and Arri's way into nearly all Hollywood movies today. Without Vacano the camera world would be totally different today. Possibly you could make an own video only about this real special story.

Volcano got an award "Society of Camera Operators Historical Shot for Jost Vacano for the scene of running through the boat 2011". This stabilization system he invented is used up to day.

Or watch again "Basic Instinct" and think about lighting, color, shadows. Simply the rain scene in the car is absolutely stunning. By the way Jan de Bont makes also a submarine movie "Hunt for red October", where nothing is recorded under water, and another visually great movie with "Minority report".

And Dean Semmler and his way from "Mad Max 2", "Dances with wolves", "Waterworld" and of course "Apocalypto".

[TheGoldSwordSquad]

The cinematography can always trick me into thinking a mediocre movie is actually an amazing movie.

[AakashBhadoriaHAL]

What I love about this channel is that it's about so much more than a count down. I don't even care if my favourite is the number one because anyone who gets mentioned in these videos is someone who's contributed to cinema and whose work we ought to explore.

[crmebodge]

And yet not a single shot from the "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" which is probably Deakins' greatest work.

[tb]

Great list. But even though you mentioned him briefly, I think Jack Cardiff should've been one of the top ten. He was so influential in color cinematography & if you've ever seen a Powell & Pressburger film with a live audience, his shots literally take people's breath away.

Also, Days of Heaven is the most beautiful movie in the 70's, IMHO.

[sclogse]

Well, this is pretty darn overwhelming. I'll be back to see this a whole bunch of times. From those dazzling color Hitchcocks I realize I need to buy more Blu-Ray from that period. I know, I bought Dr. No in HD a long time ago, and I was blown away. Film stock. Gorgeous. I bow to the genius of the people who created the 1960's film stocks. Absolute perfection.