Best Cinematography

1931:

1. Fritz Arno Wagner - M
2. Floyd Crosby - Tabu
3. Arthur Edeson -  Frankenstein
4. Edgar Brasil - Limite
5. Georges Perinal - A Nous La Liberte

1932:

1. Rudolph Maté - Vampyr
2. Jules Kruger - Wooden Crosses
   
3. Georges Périnal - The Blood of a Poet
   
4. Lee Garmes - Shanghai Express
5. Joseph Walker - American Madness
   

1933:

1. William Daniels - Queen Christina
2. Karl Vash & Fritz Arno Wagner - The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
3. Arthur Edeson - The Invisible Man
4. Eddie Linden, Vernon Walker & J.O. Taylor - King Kong
   
5. Armand Thirard - La Tête D’un Homme

1934:

1. Jules Kruger - Les Miserables
2. John J. Mescall - The Black Cat
3. Hideo Shigehara - A Story of Floating Weeds
4. Victor Milner - Cleopatra
5. Harold Wenstrom - The Lost Patrol

1935: 

1. John J. Mescall - Bride of Frankenstein
2. Gregg Toland - Mad Love
3. Hal Mohr - A Midsummer's Night's Dream
4. Joseph H. August - The Informer
5. Allen G. Siegler - The Black Room

1937:

1. Christian Matras - Grand Illusion
2. William C. Mellor - Make Way For Tomorrow
3. Joseph Walker & Elmer Dyer - Lost Horizon
4. Jules Kruger & Marc Fossard - Pepe Le Moko
5. James Wong Howe - The Prisoner of Zenda

1938:

1. Eduard Tisse - Alexander Nevsky
2. Eugen Schüfftan - Port of Shadows
3. Sol Polito - Angels With Dirty Faces 
4. Marcel Lucien - Les Disparus de Saint-Agil 
5. William Daniels - Marie Antoinette

1942:

1. Stanley Cortez - The Magnificent Ambersons
2. Arthur Edeson - Casablanca
3. James Wong Howe - Yankee Doodle Dandy
   
4. Armand Thirard - The Murderer Lives At Number 21
5. Arthur C. Miller - This Above All
   

1943:

1. Arthur C. Miller - The Song of Bernadette
2. Karl Andersson - Day of Wrath
3. Joseph Valentine - Shadow of a Doubt
4. Georges Perinal - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
5. Armand Thirard - La Main Du Diable

1944:

1. Joseph LaShelle - Laura
2. John F. Seitz -  Double Indemnity
3. Charles Lang Jr. - The Uninvited
4. Ronald Neame - This Happy Breed
5. Lucien Ballard - The Lodger

1945:

1. Robert Krasker - Brief Encounter
2. Leon Shamroy - Leave Her to Heaven
   
3. Roger Hubert - Children of Paradise
4. Ronald Neame - Blithe Spirit
5. Erwin Hillier - I Know Where I'm Going
   

1947:

1. Jack Cardiff - Black Narcissus 
2. Charles Lawton - Lady from Shanghai
3. Robert Krasker - Odd Man Out
4. Nicholas Musuruca - Out of the Past
5. Lee Garmes - Nightmare Alley

1948: 

1. Jack Cardiff - The Red Shoes
2. Carlo Montuori - Bicycle Thieves
3. Takeo Ito - Drunken Angel 
4. William Daniels - The Naked City
5. Guy Green - Oliver Twist

1949:

1. Robert Krasker - The Third Man
2. Milton R. Krasner - The Set-Up
3. Paul C. Vogel - Battleground
4. Asakazu Nakai - Stray Dog
5. Christopher Challis - The Small Back Room

1950:

1. Kazuo Miyagawa - Rashomon
2. Nicolas Hayer - Orpheus
3. Christian Matras - La Ronde
4. Mutz Greenbaum - Night and the City
5. John F. Seitz - Sunset Boulevard

1951:

1. Robert Burks - Strangers on a Train
2. Christopher Challis - The Tales of Hoffmann
   
3. Charles Lang Jr. - Ace in the Hole
4. Leonce-Henri Burel - Diary of a Country Priest
5. Edward Scaife & John Wilcox - Outcast of the Islands

1952:

1. Asakazu Nakai - Ikiru
2. Robert Juillard - Forbidden Games 
3. Floyd Crosby - High Noon
   
4. Winton C. Hoch - The Quiet Man
5. Karl Struss - Limelight

1954:

1. Asakazu Nakai - Seven Samurai
2. Kazuo Miyagawa - Sansho the Bailiff
3. Robert Burks - Rear Window
   
4. Kazuo Miyagawa - The Crucified Lovers
5. Jack Hildyard - Hobson's Choice

1955:

1. Stanley Cortez - The Night of the Hunter
2. Armand Thirard - Les Diaboliques
3. Russell Metty - All That Heaven Allows
   
4. Henning Bendtsen - Ordet
5. Jack Hildyard - Summertime
   

1957:

1. Jack Hildyard - The Bridge on the River Kwai
2. Asakazu Nakai - Throne of Blood
3. George Krause - Paths of Glory
4. Gunnar Fischer - The Seventh Seal
5. Gunnar Fischer - Wild Strawberries

1958:

1. Hiroyuki Kusuda - The Ballad of Narayama
2. Robert Burks - Vertigo
3. Russell Metty - Touch of Evil
4. Jerzy Wójcik - Ashes and Diamonds
5. Andrei Moskvin & Eduard Tisse - Ivan the Terrible Part 2

1960: 

1. Otto Heller - Peeping Tom
2. Giuseppe Rotunno - Rocco and His Brothers
3. Aldo Scavarda - L'Avventura
4. Freddie Francis - Sons and Lovers
   
5. John L. Russell - Psycho

1961:

1. Freddie Francis - The Innocents
2. Kazuo Miyagawa - Yojimbo
3. Sacha Vierny - Last Year At Marienbad
4. Yoshio Miyajima - The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
5. Sven Nykvist - Through a Glass Darkly

1963:

1. James Wong Howe - Hud
2. Giuseppe Rotunno - The Leopard 
3. Gianni Di Venanzo - 8 1/2
   
4. Davis Boulton - The Haunting
5. Asakazu Nakai & Takao Saito - High and Low

1964:

1. Hiroshi Segawa - Woman in the Dunes
2. Gilbert Taylor - Dr. Strangelove
3. Yoshio Miyajima  - Kwaidan
4. Jean Rabier - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
5. Tonino Delli Colli - A Fistful of Dollars
   

1965:

1. Freddie Young - Doctor Zhivago
2. Edmond Richard - Chimes at Midnight
3. Tonino Delli Colli - For a Few Dollars More
4. Asakazu Nakai & Takao Saito - Red Beard
   
5. Mieczyslaw Jahoda - The Sargasso Manuscript

1966:

1. Tonino Delli Colli - The Good The Bad and the Ugly
2. Hiroshi Murai - The Sword of Doom
3. Vadim Yusov - Andrei Rublev
4. Jaromír Šofr - Closely Watched Trains
5. James Wong Howe - Seconds 

1968:

1. Tonino Delli Colli - Once Upon A Time in the West
2. Geoffrey Unsworth - 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. Sven Nykvist - Hour of the Wolf
   
4. Sven Nykvist - Shame
   
5. Rokuro Nishigaki - Kill!

1970:

1. Vittorio Storaro - The Conformist
2. Freddie Young - Ryan's Daughter
3. Laszlo Kovacs - Five Easy Pieces
4. Fred J. Koenekamp - Patton
5. Henri Decae - Le Cercle Rouge

1971:

1. Vilmos Zsigmond - McCabe & Mrs. Miller
2. Robert Surtees - The Last Picture Show
3. David Watkin - The Devils
4. Owen Roizman - The French Connection 
5. Freddie Young - Nicholas and Alexandra

1973:

1. Luis Cuadrado - The Spirit of the Beehive
2. Anthony B. Richmond - Don't Look Now
3. Lazlo Kovacs - Paper Moon
4. Vilmos Zsigmond - Scarecrow
5. Vilmos Zsigmond - The Long Goodbye

1974:

1. Tak Fujimoto, Stevan Larner & Brian Probyn - Badlands
2. Gordon Willis - The Godfather Part II
3. John A. Alonzo - Chinatown
4. Gordon Willis - The Parallax View 
5. Vilmos Zsigmond - The Sugarland Express
   

1975:

1. John Alcott - Barry Lyndon
2. Russell Boyd - Picnic At Hanging Rock
3. Georgy Rerberg - The Mirror
4. Asakazu Nakai, Yuri Gantman & Fyodor Dobronravov - Dersu Uzala
5. Luigi Kuveiller - Deep Red
   

1978:

1. Nestor Almendros & Haskell Wexler - Days of Heaven
2. Dean Cundey - Halloween
3. Vilmos Zsigmond - The Deer Hunter
4. Philip H. Lathrop - The Driver
5. Sven Nykvist - Autumn Sonata

1979:

1. Vittorio Storaro - Apocalypse Now
2. Derek Vanlint - Alien
3. Alexander Knyazhinsky - Stalker
4. Gordon Willis - Manhattan
5. Geoffrey Unsworth & Ghislain Cloquet - Tess

1980:

1. Freddie Francis - The Elephant Man
2. Vilmos Zsigmond - Heaven's Gate
   
3. Michael Chapman - Raging Bull 
4. Takao Saito & Masaharu Ueda - Kagemusha
5. Tetsuo Takaha - A Distant Cry From Spring 

1981:

1. Gordon Willis - Pennies From Heaven
2. Donald Thorin - Thief
3. Russell Boyd - Gallipoli
4. Vilmos Zsigmond - Blow Out
5. Xaver Schwarzenberger - Lola

1983:

1. Caleb Deschanel  - The Right Stuff
2. Giuseppe Lanci - Nostalghia
3. Gordon Willis - Zelig
4. Ron Fricke -  Koyaanisqatsi
5. Igor Luther - Danton
   

1984: 

1. Robby Müller - Paris, Texas
2. Tonino Delli Colli - Once Upon a Time in America
   
3. Miroslav Ondříček - Amadeus 
4. Roger Deakins - 1984
   
5. Caleb Deschanel - The Natural

1985:

1. Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda & Asakazu Nakai - Ran
2. Aleksei Rodionov - Come And See
3. David Watkin - Out of Africa
   
4. John Seale - Witness
   
5. Barry Sonnenfeld - Blood Simple
   

1987:

1. Vittorio Storaro - The Last Emperor
2. Henri Alekan - Wings of Desire
3. Michael Seresin - Angel Heart
4. Haskell Wexler - Matewan
   
5. Allen Daviau - Empire of the Sun
   

1988:

1. Michael Ballhaus - The Last Temptation of Christ
2. Dean Cundey - Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
3. Peter Suschitzky - Dead Ringers
4. Vittorio Storaro - Tucker: The Man an His Dream
5. Andrew Lau - As Tears Go By
   

1991:

1. Zhao Fei - Raise the Red Lantern
2. Sławomir Idziak - The Double Life of Veronique
3. Roger Deakins - Barton Fink 
4. Robert Richardson - JFK
5. Chang Hui-kung & Li Long-yu - A Brighter Summer Day
   

1992:

1. Jack N. Green - Unforgiven
   
2. Michael Ballhaus - Bram Stoker's Dracula
3. Dante Spinotti - The Last of the Mohicans
   
4. Ronald Victor Garcia - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
5. Philipee Rousselot - A River Runs Through It
   

1993:

1. Janusz Kamiński - Schindler's List
   
2. Michael Ballhaus - The Age of Innocence 
3. Sławomir Idziak - Three Colours: Blue
   
4. Gu Changwei - Farewell My Concubine
   
5. Stuart Dryburgh - The Piano
   

1994:

1. Piotr Sobociński - Three Colours: Red
2. Roger Deakins - The Shawshank Redemption
3. Gu Changwei - In the Heat of the Sun
   
4. John Toll - Legends of the Fall
5. Christopher Doyle & Andrew Lau - Chungking Express
   

1996:

1. Roger Deakins - Fargo
2. Caleb Deschanel - Fly Away Home
   
3. Alex Thomson - Hamlet 
4. Robby Müller - Breaking the Waves
5. Dick Pope - Secrets & Lies
   

1997:

1. Robert Elswit - Boogie Nights
   
2. Christopher Doyle - Happy Together
3. Roger Deakins - Kundun
   
4. Dante Spinotti - L.A. Confidential
5. Paul Sarossy - The Sweet Hereafter
   

1999:

1. Freddie Francis - The Straight Story
2. Emmanuel Lubezki - Sleepy Hollow
3. Larry Smith - Eyes Wide Shut
4. Seamus Mcgarvey - The War Zone
   
5. John Seale - The Talented Mr. Ripley
   

2000:

1. Christopher Doyle & Mark Lee Ping-Bing - In the Mood for Love
2. Caleb Deschanel - The Patriot
3. Peter Pau - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
   
4. Roger Deakins - O Brother, Where Art Thou?
5. Lajos Koltai - Malena
   

2001:

1. Roger Deakins - The Man Who Wasn't There
2. Javier Aguirresarobe - The Others
   
3. Andrew Lesnie - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
4. Peter Deming - Mulholland Drive
5. Sławomir Idziak - Black Hawk Down

2002:

1. Conrad L. Hall - Road to Perdition
2. Christopher Doyle - Hero
3. César Charlone - City of God
4. Michael Ballhaus - Gangs of New York
5. Edward Lachman - Far From Heaven 

2003:

1. Russell Boyd - Master and Commander
2. Kim Hyung-koo - Memories of Murder
3. Chung-hoon Chung - Oldboy
   
4. Andrew Lesnie - Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
5. Eduardo Serra - Girl With A Pearl Earring
   

2005:

1. Benoît Delhomme - The Proposition
2. Emmanuel Lubezki - The New World
3. Roman Osin - Pride and Prejudice
   
4. Chung-hoon Chung - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
5. Roger Deakins - Jarhead
   

2008:

1. Hoyte van Hoytema - Let the Right One In
2. Martin Gschlacht - Revanche
3. Jan Troell & Mischa Gavrjusjov - Everlasting Moments
   
4. Wally Pfister - The Dark Knight 
5. Mo-gae Lee - The Good The Bad The Weird

2009:

1. Robert Richardson - Inglourious Basterds
2. Stéphane Fontaine - A Prophet
3. Kyung-pyo Hong - Mother
4. Chung Chung-hoon - Thirst
5. Bruno Delbonnel - Harry Potter and the Half Blood-Prince

2010:

1. Morten Søborg - Valhalla Rising
   
2. Martin Ruhe - The American
   
3. Roger Deakins - True Grit 
4. Mo-gae Lee - I Saw the Devil
   
5. Robert Richardson - Shutter Island
   

2011:

1. Newton Thomas Sigel - Drive
2. Emmanuel Lubezki - The Tree of Life
3. Hoyte van Hoytema - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
4. Adriano Goldman - Jane Eyre
   
5. Manuel Alberto Claro - Melancholia

2012:

1. Roger Deakins - Skyfall
2. Mihai Mălaimare Jr. - The Master
3. John Toll & Frank Griebe - Cloud Atlas 
4. Robert Yeoman - Moonrise Kingdom
   
5. Claudio Miranda - Life of Pi

2013:

1. Bruno Delbonnel - Inside Llewyn Davis
2. Larry Smith - Only God Forgives
3. Łukasz Żal & Ryszard Lenczewski - Ida
4. Darius Khondji - The Immigrant 
5. Emmanuel Lubezki - Gravity

2014:

1. Emmanuel Lubezki - Birdman
   
2. Dick Pope - Mr. Turner
3. Jingsong Dong - Black Coal, Thin Ice
   
4. Hoyte Van Hoytema - Interstellar
   
5. Hans Fromm - Phoenix 

2015:

1. John Seale - Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Roger Deakins - Sicario
3. David Gallego - Embrace of the Serpent
4. Mike Gioulakis - It Follows
5. Emmanuelle Lubezki - The Revenant
   

2016:

1. Rodrigo Prieto - Silence
2. Natasha Braier - The Neon Demon
3. Chung Chung-hoon - The Handmaiden
   
4. Linus Sandgren - La La Land
5. Bradford Young - Arrival

2017:

1. Roger Deakins - Blade Runner 2049
   
2. Michael Bauman & Paul Thomas Anderson - Phantom Thread
3. Hoyte van Hoytema - Dunkirk
4. Dan Laustsen - The Shape of Water
5. Jonathan Sela - Atomic Blonde
   

2018:

1. Bruno Delbonnel - The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 
2. Łukasz Żal - Cold War
3. Benjamin Loeb - Mandy
4. James Laxton - If Beale Street Could Talk
   
5. Kyung-pyo Hong - Burning

2019:

1. Jarin Blaschke - The Lighthouse
2. Roger Deakins - 1917
3. Claire Mathon - Portrait of a Lady on Fire
4. Kyung-pyo Hong - Parasite
5. Chung Mong-hong - A Sun
   

2020:

1. Andrey Naydenov - Dear Comrades! 
2. Joshua James Richards - Nomadland
3. Sturla Brandth Grøvlen - Another Round
4. Lachlan Milne - Minari 
5. Łukasz Żal - I'm Thinking Of Ending Things
   

2021:

1. Bruno Delbonnel - The Tragedy of Macbeth
2. Dan Laustsen - Nightmare Alley
3. Claire Mathon - Spencer
4. Chung Chung-hoon - Last Night in Soho
5. Janusz Kamiński - West Side Story

2022:

1. Kim Ji-yong - Decision To Leave
2. Darius Khondji - Bardo
3. Jarin Blaschke - The Northman
4. Janusz Kamiński - The Fabelmans
5. Chayse Irvin - Blonde

2023:

1. Robbie Ryan - Poor Things
2. Łukasz Żal - The Zone of Interest
3. Rasmus Videbæk - The Promised Land
4. Hoyte van Hoytema - Oppenheimer
5. Valentín Álvarez - Close Your Eyes

Lucien Ballard, 2 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1944: Laura (WINS)
Best Cinematography 1944: The Lodger (Nom)

Michael Ballhaus, 4 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1988: The Last Temptation of Christ (WINS)
Best Cinematography 1992: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1993: The Age of Innocence (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2002: Gangs of New York (Nom)

Jarin Blaschke,  2 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 2019: The Lighthouse (WINS)

Best Cinematography 2022: The Northman (Nom)

Russell Boyd, 2 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1975: Picnic At Hanging Rock (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1981: Gallipoli (Nom)
Best Cinematography 2003: Master and Commander (WINS)

 

Robert Burks, 3 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1951: Strangers on a Train (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1954: Rear Window (Nom) 

Best Cinematography 1958: Vertigo (Nom) 

Jack Cardiff, 2 noms 2 wins

 

Best Cinematography 1947: Black Narcissus (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1948: The Red Shoes (WINS) 

 

Christopher Challis, 2 noms

 

Best Cinematography 1949: The Small Back Room (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1951: The Tales of Hoffman (Nom)

 

Gu Changwei, 2 noms

 

Best Cinematography 1993: Farewell My Concubine (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1994: In the Heat of the Sun (Nom)

Chung-hoon Chung, 5 noms

 

Best Cinematography 2003: Oldboy (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2005: Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2009: Thirst (Nom)
Best Cinematography 2016: The Handmaiden (Nom)
Best Cinematography 2021: Last Night in Soho (Nom)

Tonino Delli Colli, 5 noms 2 wins

Best Cinematography 1964: A Fistful of Dollars (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1965: For a Few Dollars More (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1966: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1968: Once Upon a Time in The West (WINS) 

Best Cinematography 1984: Once Upon a Time in America (Nom)

Stanley Cortez, 2 noms 2 wins

 

Best Cinematography 1942: The Magnificent Ambersons (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1955: The Night of the Hunter (WINS)

Floyd Crosby, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1931: Tabu (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1952: High Noon (Nom)

 

Dean Cundey, 2 noms

 

Best Cinematography 1978: Halloween (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Nom)

 

William Daniels, 3 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1933: Queen Christina (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1938: Marie Antoinette (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1947: The Naked City (Nom) 

Roger Deakins, 13 noms 4 wins

 

Best Cinematography 1984: 1984 (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1991: Barton Fink (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1994: The Shawshank Redemption (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1996: Fargo (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1997: Kundun (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2000: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2001: The Man Who Wasn't There (WINS) 

Best Cinematography 2005: Jarhead (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2010: True Grit (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2012: Skyfall (WINS)

Best Cinematography 2015: Sicario (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2017: Blade Runner 2049 (WINS)

Best Cinematography 2019: 1917 (Nom)

 

Bruno Delbonnel, 4 noms 3 wins

Best Cinematography 2009: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2013: Inside Llewyn Davis (Wins)
Best Cinematography 2018: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (WINS)
Best Cinematography 2021: The Tragedy of Macbeth (WINS)

Caleb Deschanel, 4 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1983: The Right Stuff (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1984: The Natural (Nom) 

Best Cinematography 1996: Fly Away Home (Nom) 

Best Cinematography 2000: The Patriot (Nom)

 

Christopher Doyle, 4 noms

 

Best Cinematography 1994: Chungking Express (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1997: Happy Together (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2000: In the Mood For Love (WINS)

Best Cinematography 2002: Hero (Nom)  

Arthur Edeson, 3 noms

Best Cinematography 1931: Frankenstein (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1933: The Invisible Man (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1942: Casablanca (Nom)

 

Gunnar Fischer, 2 noms

 

Best Cinematography1957: Wild Strawberries (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1957: The Seventh Seal (Nom)

Freddie Francis, 4 noms 3 wins

Best Cinematography 1960: Sons and Lovers (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1961: The Innocents (WINS)
Best Cinematography 1980: The Elephant Man (WINS)
Best Cinematography 1999: The Straight Story (WINS)

 

Lee Garmes, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1932: Shanghai Express (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1947: Nightmare Alley (Nom)

 

Jack Hildyard, 3 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1954: Hobson's Choice (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1955: Summertime (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai (WINS) 

 

Kyung-pyo Hong, 3 noms

Best Cinematography 2009: Mother (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2018: Burning (Nom)
Best Cinematography 2019: Parasite (Nom)

 

James Wong Howe, 4 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1937: The Prisoner of Zenda (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1942: Yankee Doodle Dandy (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1963: Hud (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1966: Seconds (Nom) 

Hoyte van Hoytema, 5 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 2008: Let The Right One In (WINS)

Best Cinematography 2011: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2014: Interstellar (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2017: Dunkirk (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2023: Oppenheimer (Nom)

 

Sławomir Idziak, 3 noms

Best Cinematography 1991: The Double Life of Veronique (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1993: Three Colours: Blue (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2001: Black Hawk Down (Nom)

Janusz Kamiński, 3 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1993: Schindler's List (WINS)

Best Cinematography 2021: West Side Story (Nom)
Best Cinematography 2022: The Fabelmans (Nom)

Darius Khondji, 2 noms 

Best Cinematography 2013: The Immigrant (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2022: Bardo (Nom) 

 

Laszlo Kovacs, 2 noms

 

Best Cinematography 1970: Five Easy Pieces (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1973: Paper Moon (Nom)

Robert Krasker, 3 noms 2 wins

 

Best Cinematography 1945: Brief Encounter (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1947: Odd Man Out (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1949: The Third Man (WINS)

 

Jules Kruger, 3 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1932: Wooden Crosses (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1934: Les Miserables (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1937: Pepe Le Moko (Nom) 

 

Charles Lang Jr., 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1944: The Uninvited (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1951: Ace in the Hole (Nom)

Andrew Lau, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1988: As Tears Go By (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1994: Chungking Express (Nom)

 

Dan Lausten, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 2017: The Shape of Water (Nom)
Best Cinematography 2021: Nightmare Alley (Nom)

 

Mo-gae Lee, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 2008: The Good the Bad The Weird (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2010: I Saw the Devil (Nom)

Andrew Lesnie, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 2001: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2003: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Nom)

Emmanuel Lubezki, 6 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1999: Sleepy Hollow (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2005: The New World (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2011: The Tree of Life (Nom) 

Best Cinematography 2013: Gravity (Nom)
Best Cinematography 2014: Birdman (WINS)

Best Cinematography 2015: The Revenant (Nom)

Clare Mathon, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 2019: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2021: Spencer (Nom)

 

Christian Matras, 2 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1938: Grand Illusion (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1950: La Ronde (Nom)

Russell Metty, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1955: All That Heaven Allows (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1958: Touch of Evil (Nom)

 

John J. Mescall, 2 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1934: The Black Cat (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1935: Bride of Frankenstein (WINS)

 

Arthur C. Miller, 2 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1942: This Above All (Nom)
Best Cinemaotgraphy 1943: The Song of Bernadettte (WINS)

 

Kazuo Miyagawa, 4 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1950: Rashomon (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1954: Sansho the Bailiff (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1954: The Crucified Lovers (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1961: Yojimbo (Nom)

Yoshio Miyajima, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1961: The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1964: Kwaidan (Nom)

Robby Müller, 2 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1984: Paris, Texas (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1996: Breaking the Waves (Nom)

Asakazu Nakai, 8 noms 3 wins

Best Cinematography 1949: Stray Dog (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1952: Ikiru (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1954: Seven Samurai (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1957: Throne of Blood (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1963: High and Low (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1965: Red Beard (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1975: Dersu Uzala (Nom) 

Best Cinematography 1985: Ran (WINS)

Sven Nykvist, 4 noms

Best Cinematography 1961: Through a Glass Darkly (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1968: Hour of the Wolf (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1968: Shame (Nom) 

Best Cinematography 1978: Autumn Sonata (Nom)

Georges Perinal, 3 noms

Best Cinematography 1931: A Nous La Liberte (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1932: The Blood of a Poet (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1943: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Nom)

 

Dick Pope, 2 noms

 

Best Cinematography 1996: Secrets & Lies (Nom)

Best Cinematography: 2014: Mr. Turner (Nom)

Robert Richardson, 3 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1991: JFK (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2009: Inglorious Basterds (WINS)
Best Cinematography 2010: Shutter Island (Nom)

 

Giuseppe Rotunno, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1960: Rocco and His Brothers (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1963: The Leopard (Nom)

Takao Saito, 4 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1963: High and Low (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1965: Red Beard (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1980: Kagemusha (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1985: Ran (WINS)

 

John Seale, 3 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1985: Witness (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1999: The Talented Mr. Ripley (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2015: Mad Max: Fury Road (WINS)

John F. Seitz, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1944: Double Indemnity (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1950: Sunset Boulevard (Nom)

 

Larry Smith, 2 noms

 

Best Cinematography 1999: Eyes Wide Shut (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2013: Only God Forgives (Nom)

 

Dante Spinotti, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1992: The Last of the Mohicans (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1997: L.A. Confidential (Nom)

 

Vittorio Storaro, 4 noms 3 wins

Best Cinematography 1970: The Conformist (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1979: Apocalypse Now (WINS)
Best Cinematography 1987: The Last Emperor (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1988: Tucker: The Man and His Dream (Nom)

Eduard Tisse, 2 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1938: Alexander Nevsky (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1958: Ivan the Terrible Part 2 (Nom)

 

Armand Thirard, 4 noms

Best Cinematography 1933: La Tête D’un Homme (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1942: The Murderer Lives At Number 21 (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1943: La Main Du Diable (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1955: Les Diaboliques (Nom)

John Toll, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1994: Legends of the Fall (Nom)
Best Cinematography 2012: Cloud Atlas (Nom)

Masaharu Ueda, 2 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1980: Kagemusha (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1985: Ran (WINS) 

Geoffrey Unsworth, 2 noms

Best Cinematography 1968: 2001: A Spacy Odyssey (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1979: Tess (Nom)

 

Fritz Arno Wagner, 2 noms 1 win

Best Cinematography 1931: M (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1933: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Nom)

 

Joseph Walker, 3 noms

Best Cinematography 1932: American Madness (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1937: Lost Horizon (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1947: Lady From Shanghai (Nom)

 

Haskell Wexler, 2 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1978: Days of Heaven (WINS) 

Best Cinematography 1987: Matewan (Nom)

 

Gordon Willis, 5 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1974: The Godfather Part II (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1974: The Parallax View (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1979: Manhattan (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1981: Pennies From Heaven (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1983: Zelig (Nom)

Freddie Young, 3 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1965: Doctor Zhivago (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1970: Ryan's Daughter (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1971: Nicholas and Alexandra (Nom) 

Łukasz Żal, 4 noms

Best Cinematography 2013: Ida (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2018: Cold War (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2020: I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Nom)

Best Cinematography 2023: The Zone of Interest (Nom)

Vilmos Zsigmond, 7 noms 1 win

 

Best Cinematography 1971: McCabe & Mrs. Miller (WINS)

Best Cinematography 1973: The Long Goodbye (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1973: Scarecrow (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1974: The Sugarland Express (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1978: The Deer Hunter (Nom)

Best Cinematography 1980: Heaven's Gate (Nom)
Best Cinematography 1981: Blow Out (Nom)

Best Actor Backlog Volume 3 Results

5. Kiefer Sutherland in Phone Booth - Sutherland is easily the best part of his film through is wonderfully devious turn based almost entirely on his voice.

Best Scene: Phony backstory.

4. Alastair Sim in An Inspector Calls - Sim delivers the proper vicious incisiveness that so quietly penetrates every scene as this perhaps supernatural crusader.

Best Scene: Argument of prospects.

3. Clint Eastwood in The Beguiled - Eastwood uses his classic presence in the point of subversion in his portrayal of a man manipulating for his own advantage, and his vicious rage when that manipulation backfires upon him.

Best Scene: Waking up to something missing

2. Vincent Price in Theater of Blood - Price delivers his greatest turn getting to play such a wonderfully over the top fiend/actor, while actually earnestly minding emotional depths within the betrayal of the fiend. If there is any performance that ever could define his lasting impression on cinema, it is this one, but it also stands as simply one of his best acted and most entertaining turns.

Best Scene: Lear's despair. .

1. Uttam Kumar in Nayak -  Kumar gives a charismatic, vulnerable and moving portrayal of an actor coming to terms with both who he is and what he has given away to achieve stardom.

 

Best Scene: Saying goodbye to the "reporter" as himself.

Alternate Best Actor 1973: Vincent Price in Theater of Blood

Vincent Price did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Edward Lionheart in Theater of Blood.

Theater of Blood is an entertaining bloody romp about a hammy yet "deceased" Shakespearean actor seeking revenge against his critics through means devised by the Bard himself. 

It seems that I was waiting to review this performance in my earlier mentions of Price, as this is the Price performance that the world was waiting for, Price without filter, Price without reservations of good decency, Price without the limits of the Hayes code. Price let loose upon the world without classic restrictions and the leave to go for the fully villainous turn. The added bonus is that he gets to do this while also playing a Shakespearean actor so we don't just get Price as a villain, we get him to be a villain with the best monologues from the history of drama at his disposal. However, there is one more facet that in a way makes this performance seemingly review-proof, in that Price is supposed to be playing a hammy over the top actor, therefore he is given carte blanche in the role, and to criticize him for being "over the top" would mean he is doing exactly what he should be doing. Of course, I only say "seemingly" as given the go-ahead to go "over the top" is no guarantee of hamtastic gloriousness, the actor must deliver the proverbial goods. But hey, this seems like the character that Price might've been waiting through his whole sinister cinematic career to play, so one would hope he would not waste the opportunity. 

And he does not. Price's performance really is everything you'd want in a Vincent Price performance however all factored into a single Vincent Price vehicle. Price enters into this film as a kind of "ghost" to the proceedings as critics start to get bumped off and no one is sure who exactly is doing it. The odd thing in each one though is they all align with a kind of Shakespearean death. This as the first murder is done by Price in police garb to a critic on the Ides of March and leads the men to a group of hobos all with very sharp objects. Price looks on with an uncaring glare until the stabbed man approaches him and Price gives a brief lament before revealing himself. Price is exceptionally wonderful in then the duplicity of his two sides one of his delivery of Mark Antony's speech, in blunt contrast to the critic statement that Price's Edward is dead, to Price's retort, spoken with as much savoring as possible, informing the critic that he is alive and the critic is the one who is dead. Price instantly establishes Edward both as a devilish fiend but also a devilish fiend who takes the Bard most seriously. Of course, this is just but a warmup for Price's performance that takes this idea much further than this. 

We learn that Edward Lionheart was an actor who could not seemingly get a positive notice from a single critic, hated much by all. Again even this I think would seemingly make him review proof, however, Price actually does give far more nuanced than one would expect. Take the scene with the second critic he meets where they have a bit of a discussion before Lionheart gets on with his intention. Price begins with kind of this almost diplomatic if not friendly welcome in opening the discussion. When speaking towards the critics hating him so much, Price's delivery is a bit calm at first and actually expresses genuine hurt in mentioning the brutal reviews he receives. There's a vulnerability that Price reveals, however, this is before he naturally segues towards a darker tone. Price keeps the calm though making him all the more unnerving as he suggests the critics' method of death to be upcoming soon. Price portrays in this though a genuine sense of hatred in Lionheart as goes about it, as much as he shows joy in the kill, what I love is that Price suggests how it is that Lionheart was genuinely pained by what was said about him. 

Each murder that Price goes about with is a highlight, in part due to the creativity of the murderous methods, but also Price getting to play around with a different idea each time around, while still carrying the Shakespearean theme. When he goes about performing a doctor for the murder, Price brings a callous precision as though he really was performing surgery. This makes for some rather dark comedy as he orders a scalpel, a saw, a lipstick for tracing, and a basin, all while performing such a brutal murder, with this incredible professional ease. Price is hilarious, in the darkest way possible, as he so matters of fact in each step right down to just the way he looks down during his slow decapitation of the critic. When next performing the Merchant of Venice, with such ham as Shylock with a high pitched voice, Price is pretty bad in his final speech, as intentionally so as shown by his switch in the final line that goes from poorly performing Shylock to the devious Lionheart spoken with a true biting conviction by Price denoting that he will have his "pound of flesh". In this instance literally cutting out the critic's heart, which ends with Price's quiet dutifulness, which once again is rather hilarious if so darkly, as he measures to ensure that it amounts to a pound nor more no less. One of my favorites though being a later murder though as Price gets to be a hippy hairdresser where he fashions another oddball turn, that is delightful as he speaks his slang, while with that evil grin that is so distinctly Price, before swapping to a ferocious monologue again as he curses the next critic to hell...via electric barber chair. 

It is worth again noting though that Price's performance is both Price as the Price that he is kind of known for as public consciousness, and the best form of that, but there is more to it than that. This as we get a flashback when Lionheart was denied a critics choice award once again, Price delivers his mocking monologue to their poor taste with that boisterousness, but also there is a true sadness in Price's performance. This is to the point you do feel kind of sorry for Lionheart as he appears to commit suicide as a man who seems ashamed of his own existence leading him to recite Hamlet's "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquy. Price delivers this largely of course, but there is real passion in it as he speaks it as a suicidal note of this defeated man. Of course, there is so much to love just in getting Price to play into the villainy, none greater in Shakespeare than Richard III again and he tears into the "Winter's Discontent" with the great aplomb you'd hope for. Price simply is just wildly entertaining here by having so much fun with every speech and variation of the murderer that we are given here. Price delighting in every moment as he drowns the next critic as Richard, or actually even his very phony french accent he does as he engages in a duel with his arc rival Devlin (Ian Hendry). The latter scene itself embodies the tone wonderfully in the duel that is fully theatrical and just a whole lot of fun. Price provides the punctuation to every moment in his zestful speech and eyes that are just blaring with vengeful and fiendish glee. 

 

Still, though the disgusting passion he brings as he speaks his motivation against critics is more than just being the broad villain, even as Price is so enjoyable as the broad villain. The merging of these two sides comes in the climax as he intends to kill Devlin through a King Lear-inspired blinding. Price gloriously speaks as the greatest actor, at least an actor who believes himself to be the greatest, as he speaks his execution of Devlin as though he would an awards speech. Sadly for Lionheart, he suffers tragedy as his daughter (Diana Rigg), who has been helping him every step of the way as his accomplice, dies leading him to mourn as Lear himself would while a fire rages around him in a burning theater. Price is amazing in the scene as he captures just the right tone of ham with genuine emotion as he tenderly holds his daughter's corpse as he stands above what will be his funeral pyre. Price speaks overly dramatically, yet in his face is the genuine emotion of a father having lost his daughter. Price is strangely is honestly kind of moving, just as he is a most proper over-the-top actor taking in his grand exit for all its worth. Unlike the smug Devlin, who honestly Lionheart is far more likable as protagonist than despite Lionheart's murdering, who dismisses Lionheart's final performance, I will not. This is Price at his best. He is a glorious ham here, but there is some depths both in the way he enacts Shakespeare, but also in this actor who was betrayed for his devotion to his craft. More than anything though just a wildly entertaining turn that is everything you want from Price as a delectable devious cinematic killer that is so much fun to watch.

Alternate Best Actor 1971: Clint Eastwood in The Beguiled

Clint Eastwood did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Corporal John McBurney in The Beguiled. 

The Beguiled is a brilliant film about a wounded Union soldier being taken in by an all-girls school of southern women during the civil war. 

This film is a marked departure for both director Don Siegel and frequent collaborator Clint Eastwood, known for hard-edged thrillers like their other film later in 1971 Dirty Harry. Where Dirty Harry played into Clint Eastwood's known strengths, quite effectively at that, The Beguiled considers his then established presence, however, doesn't abide by it. What Eastwood here actually is more than anything this representation of masculinity in a most potent form, which is befitting to the time where Eastwood was pretty much seen as a primary badass style hero from the late '60s on. There is a marked difference however in the way we are first introduced to Corporal McBurney, a wounded Union soldier seeking help from a southern schoolgirl. Eastwood portrays the weakness of the wounded man pleading for help with desperate urgency, not some ease of a man dismissing a wound. He rather is controlled by it as he comes across the girl. Within this moment though we will see the Eastwood presence, however itself, not quite the expectation. This is to keep the girl quiet while a southern patrol lurks, McBurney kisses her, his first action of many that will define the man. Eastwood himself evokes his more traditional leading man charm at the moment, however, this itself is subverted as the target here is a prepubescent girl. 

McBurney is taken in by the school where he catches the eye of all including the headmistress Ms. Martha Farnsworth (Geraldine Page), her virginal assistant Edwina (Elizabeth Hartman), lustful student Carol(Jo Ann Harris), and even the little girl he initially kissed Amy. Eastwood's performance fits into a kind of fascinating place as what exactly McBurney is doing in many ways is more enigmatic than the rest of the character. We learn about the women, many times through literal internal monologue, but this is not present for McBurney. Rather McBurney's nature is told to us by himself which is often contradicted by flashbacks that are truer to his nature. In turn, what Eastwood presents is initially seemingly the ideal Eastwood to each of these women. Eastwood is terrific in crafting really what is McBurney's manipulations per woman at the school. This as to Ms. Farnsworth he gives her a smile and an affable manner after initial suspicions. He presents himself as a good man, whereas Eastwood with a quiet passion speaks of trying to help wounded confederates and the shame of their destroyed farmlands, this is undercut by flashbacks with McBurney as he kills all southern soldiers and burning the lands without hesitation. With Carol, he goes straight with a smile of pure lust as he doesn't dissuade her obvious urges, strongly against Edwina where Eastwood delivers the aggression in the lust, while also speaking false statements of a more sincere relationship.

Eastwood each in a way plays each seduction slightly different yet all of them are also kind of the same. This as he accentuates different sides of himself, speaks as the nobleman with Farnsworth, the lover with Carol, and the husband with Carol. Eastwood articulately this through slight adjustment in delivery of each, however, the similarity of all is this sense of manipulation in his performance. This being in all of them the quiet sense of joy in all three. Eastwood shows that McBurney knows what he's doing and has no shame in any of them. Honestly the most authentic he is with Amy, where Eastwood, despite the first scene with her, smiles towards her a slightly more paternal grace that doesn't feel completely false if still, the man is manipulating. Eastwood is fascinating here because in this performance we have much ambiguity, though not the way we're used to with Eastwood. This as Eastwood never lets us know if really there is any actual goodness in McBurney, rather what may seem more genuine and what may seem is not. Where he does deliver a lack of ambiguity is that McBurney is active in his manipulations, and we see here Eastwood turn on the charm, particularly in the first dinner table scene. Eastwood presents with a smile and bright ease his inviting manner to each of the women at the table, and while we never know what McBurney truly feels about any of them, he does let us know in this clear presentation, that McBurney knows what he is doing to each of them. 

 

Eastwood shows this sort of smooth control however with this unnerving duplicitous nature here. The one person he does not convince is the slave of the school Hallie (Mae Mercer). A great character removed from the remake, despite being a terrific character and showing truth to the period. Of course when a filmmaker removes a character because it means the main women in this story won't be "role models" that filmmaker must have read the wrong story, as no one in the entire story should be looked at as a role model, except to maybe some extent Hallie, the character removed. Now apologies for the digression, but there is a point to all of this. This as Hallie is the one character who makes known her suspicions of McBurney and speaks directly to him, and speaks her mind towards his despicable behavior. Eastwood reactions with Mercer are great as their undercurrent isn't lust for one another rather there is this fantastic combination of intense suspicion but also this kind of understanding that both have a greater awareness of the situation than anyone else in the school. These scenes are incredibly dynamic within both performances and they stand out against what we see between McBurney and the rest of the school. 

It is then in a way waiting for the sword to fall, or here the man to fall, where McBurney's choice for a late night rendezvous leads him to be injured by Edwina followed by his leg being permanently amputated by Farnsworth. Eastwood is amazing in his first scene awakening as the viciousness of his performance but also the genuine reaction of horror in the moment is fantastic. We get Eastwood at his intense best here but reworked towards something more vulnerable and desperate than usual. He's truly in pain as he tears at the woman, however even in his voice there is a terror within himself as he spews his hatred towards them. Eastwood is unlike you've seen him before, and really most of the time afterwards, in the following scenes as he tries to take over the school by stealing their few weapons and threatening all the women. Eastwood is great because he neither plays it as badass Eastwood nor does he play it as an overt villain. He rather presents it as this raw desperation and intensity. He presents McBurney as not really knowing what to do exactly other than to threaten. There is a sense of fear even in his verbal attacks, and random acts of violence, such as killing Amy's pet turtle. The switch from blithely killing the animal to apologizing to Amy, Eastwood shows a man really just going by the moment in a desperate state that turns into a most dangerous state. Eastwood wields the danger not with a precise aim, rather that of a blunt instrument in just such a messy way at all the women. This naturally in a way finding calm when Edwina forgives him and expresses her love for him. Eastwood's performance isn't that of creating some instant reform in McBurney, rather playing it as the man finding some kind of calm in her offer which he turn states in the next dinner with the school. Unfortunately this the same dinner where the rest of the women conspired to murder him via poison mushrooms. Eastwood is once again great by showing such a different side of his presence in first his initial gentleness then his complete gripping fear at the moment of realization when it is too late. Eastwood here never plays the hero, he plays just a man, and is tremendous here by playing just a man with many flaws. Where the remakes ending is rather hollow, this one is deeply unsettling and heartbreaking in a fascinating way. This as there are no heroes in this version, just about everyone is flawed, and the tragedy comes from everyone giving into these flaws rather than overcoming them. What we see in the end is the minor potential in both McBurney and Edwina, in Hartman and Eastwood little tender moment before the end, and that potential is destroyed. In turn the ending is truly haunting, not because a good man was killed, he was not killed, but because hate and distrust just ended in a betrayal and loss for really everyone. The film itself being a portrait of the complex state of humanity without easy choices or answers. Eastwood's work is an essential facet of this portrait, this as the man who allows himself to be everything to everyone, while he himself is a weak foolish sinner, defined by his indulgences and his flaws. Eastwood hides none of it, granting a greater impact in revealing in his work so much more to this man of the past than a cool glare or a sly smile.

Alternate Best Actor 1966: Uttam Kumar in Nayak

Uttam Kumar did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Arindam Mukherjee in Nayak. 

Nayak is a great film about a movie star reflecting upon his path to his success while on a long train ride. The film works both as a great character study of this man and also as an often biting commentary on Bollywood by Satyajit Ray. It frankly is one of the very best films where a filmmaker comments on the film. This as it manages to delve quite deeply into its central examination while also having the right levity that avoids the questionable navel-gazing of similar endeavors.  

Uttam Kumar in the central role must play many different shades of this character, though the one we meet most frequently is the man on the train. Where Arindam has become fully established as a star and now just has to deal with essentially being the most famous person wherever he may be. On the surface, the other passengers on the train see him as Kumar delivers the sort of star presence you'd want and expect from such a figure. There is the innate larger-than-life kind of shyness oddly enough within his performance that is fitting for someone who has a level of discomfort in his fame. Kumar's performance exudes the sort of needed tempered charisma in his performance in showing the man looking away often, or looking down within his sunglasses, to not be the center of attention even if his nature seems to force himself to be. Kumar is captivating in the right unassuming way. This with the sort of reluctance to be the star, yet the evidence of his stardom is there even as he tries to hide it in his own way. 

We see the sheer charisma in Kumar's portrayal of  Arindam on the train but so well wielded here. This as Kumar has this natural quality in every moment of interaction as everyone is impressed by him, while also having their own sort of perspective and means about it. Of course, when asked for an autograph or complicated, Kumar finds this effortless and really quite a perfect combination of the manner in reaction. There is that bit of shyness about it, but also the natural graciousness. He has that innate likability of a star that is easy to see his power in the public consciousness even if there is that degree of reluctance about him. One of the best moments of his performance though is the woman who approaches to get his autograph, Aditi Sengupta (Sharmila Tagore). The graciousness we see leave as she indicates that she is from a magazine, and Kumar's delivery of Arindam questioning if she is a reporter, is perfection. Kumar articulates this quiet frustration of a man whose words have likely been twisted in the past and almost sees press workers as hounds feeding off him. It is only after she reveals her magazine is not film-related that we see this manner ease back a little, though there is a guardedness that Kumar brings in his overly formal way at the beginning of her interview. 

Kumar is amazing though as he begins to articulate his life more so including his state as the "hero" to the public and how fickle his situation is. Kumar delights though in speaking his truth with an affable bluntness within the man willing to speak towards his difficult situation while seeming to shake off the deeper questioning at first. We see him as the man on the train and Kumar is wonderful. I think he makes the right choice in being so personable that is both who he is, yet also this fashioned facade necessary to be the star. He isn't false, yet he's also not wholly genuine. Kumar realizes this really just through his eyes in a way this as there is this knowing quality of the man, knowing his position, to the point he must examine his surroundings in a kind of peculiar way while trying to be genuine still as a man. Although this man is filled with anxieties. 

The anxieties are realized throughout though most obviously at first in a brilliant dream sequence where Arindam walks around in joys in the literal riches of the paper currency filling his mind before it begins to actually devour him. Kumar's performance so powerfully shows the superficial joy that quickly switches to existential horror as he is pulled down while an old friend of his looks on without lending any help. After this, and in his next conversation with Aditi, Kumar reveals a more honest man in so many ways. There isn't the obvious attempt at charm, rather the fixation upon his mind even if he tries to laugh it off. This begins his revelations of the past, as he reveals the point he took on his first role in a film as "the hero". Kumar is excellent in crafting such a younger man not in age, but in nature. There isn't the "weight" of success, but rather the weight of ambition that Kumar so embodies. The charisma is reduced and we just see the young man filled with conflict even in this decision though as he is advised against the career as merely a "film actor". 

The film recounts as he goes through his history as an actor and rises to prominence through a series of reflections. Including his early days as a supporting actor to the established star, a stodgy wooden actor with an ego. Kumar is great in this singular scene in doing a few things at once. What we see though is a definite sense of personal conviction as Arindam considers his lines and the actual purpose of his character. There is the concentration and ambition in his work, just as there isn't quite the achievement yet. He shows articulately though the young actor fashioning his technique and not really all that amused by the older actor flaunting his clumsy so-called talents in front of him, though Arindam is in the position that still requires him to defer to the man, at first. The conflict of his earlier times though subsides when on set with the needed confidence of an up and comer. Kumar portrays the confidence needed to become the star he desires to be, even if the sense of the inexperienced youth is still there. This as he responds to the old man with nervousness even as approaches his role with that conviction. 

Kumar is exceptional in the following chronological scene of Arindam pondering the situation of the older actor attempting to "sabotage" his performance while he begins to drink for the first time. Kumar brings this assurance of self in his delivery of the man's technique and understanding of film acting. It is with a sincere passion he speaks every word of his frustration with the old man, and confidence in his own belief in understanding film acting. This is against though still the whole display where Kumar's movements are filled with the unease of a man unsure of his success even as he is on the precipice of it. We return to this relationship as the older actor looks for help from the now successful Arindam, and again remarkable is the ease with which Kumar shows the star in this conversation. This is as he's fully in control listening to the old man's woes now. The ambition fulfilled, and now certain ease as he dismisses the old man entirely in front of his face. 

What we see then is in his journey a man in so many ways the man compromising for his ambition, this also in his days with his friend from the dream, an activist, he once supported however in favor of his career ignored. Kumar doesn't depict a bad man in Arindam's changes rather contrasts the passion of unsure youth against that compromise that creates an older man filled with anxiety, but success. Kumar is moving in crafting with such intimate detail, even in a couple of scenes the sense of personal defeat in a way, and that now different conflict that grows. That anxiety of the man perhaps sacrificing himself in a way. Kumar brilliantly internalizes the struggle, less as this active ignorance and more so the ease of bottling up it to maintain his image. Of course, a strange, and far more duplicitous mirror reveals itself when an actress comes seeking his help only to act her way in a rather maniacal ruse to manipulate him. Kumar's reaction embodying the strangeness of the situation, but also this painful infliction as he sees the hollowness of the act, an act he arguably has engaged with, though perhaps less purposefully. Now this journey though isn't about an easy solution to better himself, nor is it about a man accepting his downfall. It is rather a powerful idea of a man just honestly coming to terms with his decisions for both and better and worse. In turn this is why I love Kumar's performance of Arindam's reflections, which are not about big changes, but the subtle shifts within the conversation with Aditi. He eases his manner, becomes more open, but also more tender in a way. Kumar eases away any facade and just shows the man of it all. He speaks his reflections with understanding to his mistakes but also the ways in which he achieved success. Kumar finds such a nuanced grace in crafting this quiet yet potent arc, of not this major change, but rather a man coming to terms with himself both his anxieties and really his accomplishments. His final moment with Aditi is just one of a simple humanity, and warmth. Kumar expresses just earnestly a sense of connection and there is such genuine power in this against his other previous interactions with others that were all influenced by his stardom in some way. The greatness of this performance and film, is the elegance both Kumar and Ray bring in this careful examination that never is one note. Rather there is a true power in Kumar's portrayal of Ray's brilliantly written part, of every facet of this man. This both the big and the small moments. The quiet and the dramatic. Kumar simply embodies every moment of Arindam's journey. This is to the point we seem to understand him as a star, as an actor, and both as a sellout, and as an honest man. 

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2003: Kiefer Sutherland in Phone Booth

Kiefer Sutherland did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying The Caller in Phone Booth.

Phone Booth is an effective thriller, though as with any Joel Schumacher film to describe it as purely good is always difficult, about a man Stu (Colin Farrell) who is forced to stay in a phone booth as he is tormented by an unseen sniper. 

Although there are other characters in this film the essential drama is carried by two performance, one being the near one man show offered by Colin Farrell as the man seeing his life of lies unraveling around him while also being terrified, and the voice of a sniper. Originally played by Ron Eldard, whose other work suggests to me why he was replaced by Kiefer Sutherland. Sutherland is an actor who I am getting to in this endeavor of mine for the first time, and he might one of the most random actors ever in terms of what he is going to bring to a role. On the outset of this film though we know that Sutherland will be bringing something special, that being his deep cutting voice. This for all essential purposes is a vocal performance, and I won't treat that as any kind of limitation in this instance, because it isn't for Sutherland. He plays the unseen sniper who begins to antagonize Farrell's Stu, a man we see as a somewhat amoral huckster who is contemplating cheating on his wife and in general seems to have a selfish attitude towards life. Sutherland comes as the threat of the film, and that is instantly obvious from just the innate intensity of his work, as he begins by speaking of Stu's mistake by turning down a pizza he sent him. Sutherland's voice work is remarkable in that he opens without obvious intensity, in that he's not yelling or anything, however the particular tone of his voice instantly puts one on edge. 

Sutherland's voice is of the true voyeur, in that one tweak away and he'd be the voice on an adult phone sex line. It is the brilliance of his performance really that the almost alluring quality in his voice in itself also is the threat of it. This as the caller speaks towards Stu with a familiarity, even honestly a kind of seductive quality that makes his initial slip-ins of his knowledge of Stu's personal life, including his wife and potential mistress, all the more unnerving as his intention is clearly not just to make Stu scared, but to also oddly entice him into following his orders. Although the caller's motivations are stated sorta later on, a point I will get to, and state what is perhaps the worst aspect of the film, I think one can more so garner this from Sutherland's performance than what his character states bluntly later on. This as Sutherland portrays this sense of self-satisfaction from every word he speaks to Stu and names all of Stu's secrets. Sutherland portrays the caller as someone who obviously gets his kicks from the activity of this particular torture. This as Sutherland is nearly orgasmic in the voice, and wholly in turn creates this disturbing psychopathic tendency of the caller. The caller who Sutherland crafts as very much a predator playing with his prey, this particular as he reveals that he has a sniper rifle. Revealed so potently by Sutherland "Doesn't that just torque your jaws", and speaks it with this wonderful delight as it sparks such fear into Stu.  

Now Phone Booth is not a film I consider great, and not exactly good in the most precise turn, as if you scratch it all it crumbles, however it is often compelling, and the reason why are the two central performances. While Farrell I think shows both signs of his later greater work, and some of the limitations of his earlier work, Sutherland however is simply on point throughout. When the film works is when Sutherland is speaking, and he takes the concept of the man stuck into the phone booth with a killer on the phone to its promise. Sutherland's sinister playfulness captures the right tone for every beat to create menace, while also being an entertaining villain. When the caller claims to be Vietnam vet Sutherland brings the expected darkness as he speaks towards the trauma, before bluntly laughing it off as an obvious falsehood based upon his age. Sutherland accentuates every point of the drama that is there to great effect, and I'd say Sutherland was entirely primed to make a great film based on this premise, as he has the technique down all in just his voice. Now there is briefly one live action portion of the Sutherland at the end of the film, which I hate the most. This where Stu has seemingly escaped the ordeal though sedated and visited by the caller. The caller who reveals himself to be a morality serial killer, a trope that I hate so much when played straight by the filmmakers which will obviously be the case for Schumacher. Anyway aside from that plot point, which I don't like, Sutherland doesn't play into that which I appreciate, playing the caller as purely a fiend. This right down for his brief live action scene of just is there really there just for glance, a well performed glance of sinister intent, however that isn't the point of this performance. The point of this work is a weapon in vocal form, a mental weapon, and there Sutherland is a brilliant tormentor, and this is great performance, that makes the most of a premise, that the film itself can't quite live up to wholly.