Top 10 cinematographers in India.

10.Anmol Rathod.(Raktha Charitra).

9.Amit Roy.(Sarkar).

8.Santosh Sivan.(Ashoka The Great).

7.Rajiv menon.(Bombay,Guru)

6.Anand K.V.(Khakee).

5.Sundeep Chatterjee.(Chak De India).

4.Kiran Deohans.(Kabhi Kushi kabhi gham).

3.Anil Mehta.(Lagaan,Once upon a time in India).

2.Ravi K Chandran.(Dil chatha Hai).

1.Binodh Pardhon.(Rang De Basanthi).

1.Charles Rosher

1885-1974

Charles Rosher was a two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer who worked from the early days of silent films through the 1950s. Born in London, he was the first cinematographer to receive an Academy Award, along with 1929 co-winner Karl Struss. Rosher studied photography in his youth but earned a reputation early as a newsreel cameraman, before moving to the United States in 1909. He subsequently found work for David Horsley working in his production company in New Jersey. Because early film was largely restricted to using daylight, Horsley relocated his production company to Hollywood in 1911, taking Rosher with him, and opened the first movie studio there. This made Rosher the first full-time cameraman in Hollywood. In 1913 he went to Mexico to film newsreel footage of Pancho Villa’s rebellion. In 1918, he was one of the founders of the American Society of Cinematographers and served as the group’s first Vice-President. In the 1920s he was one of the most sought-after cinematographers in Hollywood, and a personal favorite of stars such as Mary Pickford. His work with Karl Struss on F.W. Murnau’s 1927 film Sunrise is viewed as a milestone in cinematography. In addition, Rosher also received two Eastman Medals (named for George Eastman), Photoplay magazine’s Gold Medal, and the only fellowship ever awarded by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers.

Above is an example of Rosher’s revolutionary work on Sunrise.

Notable films: Sunrise (1927), The Affairs of Cellini (1934), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), The Yearling (1946), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Show Boat (1951)

2.James Wong Howe

1899-1976

James Wong Howe had over 130 films to his credit, spanning from the silent era to color. During the 1930s and 1940s he was considered one of the most sought after cinematographers in Hollywood. He was nominated for ten Academy Awards for cinematography, winning twice. As well as being one of the first cinematographers to use deep focus photography, Howe pioneered techniques to augment eyes on B&W film, early dolly techniques, handheld camera techniques and shooting by unusual light sources, such as by candlelight on The Molly Maguires.

The clip is some crisp, beautiful black and white photography from Hud, for which Howe won an Oscar.

Notable films: The Thin Man (1934), Algiers (1938), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), The Rose Tattoo (1955), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), The Old Man and the Sea (1958), Hud (1963), Funny Lady (1975)

3.Conrad L. Hall

1926-2003

Beginning with films such as Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hall helped liberate approaches to filming by making, as Sight and Sound puts it, “making virtues of mistakes”. Blemishes such as the sun hitting the lens, dirt getting on the lens, or other seeming distractions which would have necessitated reshoots in the past, but Hall’s approach exemplified the new wave of American cinema and helped set a template for gritty, independent films. But Hall also proved he could handle more ‘pristine’ pictures, photographing films such American Beauty later in his career. He won his first Oscar in 1969 for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and then would have to wait 30 years for his next, for American Beauty. His third Oscar was awarded to him posthumously for Road to Perdition. As well as that, he was nominated a further seven times during his life.

Above is a funny scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, for which Hall won an Oscar.

Notable films: Cool Hand Luke (1967), In Cold Blood (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Day of the Locust (1975), American Beauty (1999), Road to Perdition (2002)

4.Christopher Doyle

Born 1952

Though born in Australia, Doyle made his mark by photographing Asian films, especially the work of Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai. His work with the director, particularly the films Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love and 2046, is lauded for their vivid splashes of colors and high saturation, and he is considered one of the most important architects of Asian New Wave cinema. He is also one of the few “superstar” cinematographers, whose reputation is often higher than the directors he works with.

Above is a clip from the film Hero, where Doyle’s attention to vivid colors was crucial to the story.

Notable films: Chungking Express (1994), In the Mood for Love (2000), The Quiet American (2002), Hero (2002), Infernal Affairs (2002), 2046 (2002), Paranoid Park (2007)

5.Gordon Willis

Born 1931

Nicknamed ‘The Prince of Darkness’ for his penchant for using rich blacks and dark interiors, most famously in The Godfather films for which he is best known, Gordon Willis is famed for his innovative cinematography which has garnered him two Oscar nominations and heaps of respect. His work on The Godfather films is legendary, and his innovations include pioneering the use of warm, fuzzy, amber glows to represent nostalgic scenes of the past in The Godfather Part II, and the unique recreation of 1920s photography for Woody Allen’s Zelig.

Above is a clip showing Gordon Willis (and others) discussing the cinematography of The Godfather.

Notable films: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), All the President’s Men (1976), Zelig (1977), Manhattan (1979), Zelig (1983), The Godfather Part III (1990)

6.Gregg Toland

1904-1948

Gregg Toland was not with us long, but it is a credit to his brilliance that he is so revered today. Toland was nominated five times for the Best Cinematography Oscar during a seven year golden period which lasted from 1936 to 1942, but it is his collaboration with Orson Welles on Citizen Kane that is most remembered. Though he didn’t create deep focus cinematography, he perfected it in Citizen Kane, allowing characters in the fore and background to be shot in focus at the same time. In fact, much of the film’s visual and cinematographic genius – low angles, high contrast, dark shadows – though often credited to Welles, was largely Toland’s doing. Welles later acknowledged that Toland was advising him on camera placement and lighting effects secretly so the young director would not be embarrassed in front of the highly experienced crew. So indebted was he to Toland’s work, that Welles insisted that their names appear together on the end credits. Later on, Toland worked on Disney’s Song of the South, which combined live action with animation.

Above is an example of deep focus in Citizen Kane.

Notable films: Wuthering Heights (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The Long Voyage Home (1940), Citizen Kane (1941), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Song of the South (1946)