Cinematography is a vital aspect of great filmmaking. Without a strong director of photography with a point of view, a film can be somewhat lacking even if every other aspect of the movie is firing on all cylinders. Film is a visual medium after all, and great cinematography has the power to transport audiences to a new world, to put audiences in the shoes of a character, or to even relay a theme using visual metaphor.
We ranked all the Best Cinematography Oscar winners from the 21st century so far, dating back to 2000’sCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonup toLol Cowley’s recent win forThe Brutalist. There’s a surprising amount of versatility on this list, and it’s interesting to see how the art of cinematography has evolved over the past two decades as digital photography has taken hold. None of these winners are “bad” per se, so I hesitate to say we start with the worst, but here are all 24 Best Cinematography Oscar winners of the 21st century ranked.
25’Memoirs of a Geisha' (2005)
What Should Have Won: ‘The New World’
Cinematographer Dion Beebe’s work here definitely isn’t bad;it’s just pretty forgettable—much like the film itself.Memoirs of a Geishawas directorRob Marshall’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning take onChicago, but the film kind of evaporated into thin air. Beebe’s use of light is most notable here, but yeah, beyond that,this one’s just kind offine.
Memoirs Of A Geisha
Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha.
24’Avatar' (2009)
What Should Have Won: ‘Inglourious Basterds’
Okay, yes,Avataris groundbreaking, but on a pure cinematography level,Mauro Fiore’s work hereis just okay. Really, this award feels like it was more for the technical achievement of the performance capture and all-CG scenes, which is fine, but if we’re talking the art of photography here, the images that Fiore andJames Cameronconjure areactually fairly basic. Again, though, the win here is understandable given how this film paved the way for shooting performance-capture actors and all-CG environments.
23’All Quiet on the Western Front' (2022)
What Should Have Won: ‘TÁR’
War films are often nominated but surprisingly rarely win in this category, as the two previous winners beforeAll Quiet on the Western Frontwere1917andSaving Private Ryan.James Friend’s work forEdward Berger’s film certainly owes a lot to both of those films, using similar tactics to approach the “war is hell” messaging of this film. That’s not to say that Friend’s cinematography isn’t award-worthy, asAll Quietisoften stunning in the horrors it’s showing, but it’s hard to imagine this film also existing without the film language created by those previous two winners.
All Quiet on the Western Front
22’Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000)
What Should Have Won: ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’
Peter Pau’s work inCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonis mostnotable for its fluidity, as directorAng Leecaptures his actors’ high-flying stunts. It’s cool and beautiful and neat, but in direct contrast toRoger Deakins’ groundbreaking work onO Brother, Where Art Thou?which experimented with the photochemical process to stunning results, itfalls way, way short.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
21’Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World' (2003)
What Should Have Won: ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World’
DirectorPeter Weir’sMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the Worldis a vastly underrated film, but it’s nice to know the movie came away with a win in this category. Shooting on the open water is notoriously difficult, but cinematographerRussell Boydmanages to bring this sea-set adventure to life in a way that puts the audience right on the ship.The foggy frame mimics the solitary nature of the crew’s position, and the ship battles are brought to life with vivacity and gusto.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.
20’Mank' (2021)
What Should Have Won: ‘Nomadland’
Nominated and winning for his first film,ErikMesserschmidt’s work inDavid Fincher’sMankis a fairly demanding debut. Not only is working with Fincher a major accomplishment in and of itself, but Messerschmidt had to often recreate various techniques used byOrson WellesinCitizen Kaneas a way to bridge the story of the writer behind the film with the film itself.Mankhas been criticized for its slow pace since its release, but in every frame,Messerschmidt is doing incredible workand utilizing Welles' work in a truly fascinating way.
1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane (1941).
19’Pan’s Labyrinth' (2006)
What Should Have Won: ‘Children of Men’
Guillermo del Toro’s masterful fairy talePan’s Labyrinthmarked a somewhat surprising choice for this award in 2006, but the filmmaker’s longtime cinematographerGuillermo Navarrodid excellent work.The use of color, in particular,is swell, as is the fluid motion of the camera that keeps the audience engaged. And yet, going up againstEmmanuel Lubezki’s phenomenal work inChildren of Men, itfeels like the Academy got this one wrong.
Pan’s Labyrinth
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
18’Hugo' (2011)
What Should Have Won: ‘The Tree of Life’
Hugowas a film of firsts for directorMartin Scorsese. It was not only his first film made specifically for younger audiences but also his first time working with the 3D format. The film historian that he is,Scorsese doesn’t simply use 3D as a gimmick here, and in working with cinematographerRobert Richardson, finds intriguing and exciting ways to use the 3D format to underline basic principles of filmmaking. This goes hand in hand with the film’s subject matter, which deals with the early days of cinema and how the art of the moving image was born, and one imagines only Scorsese could make a 3D film that was this intentional.
In 1931 Paris, an orphan living in the walls of a train station gets wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
17’Slumdog Millionaire' (2008)
What Should Have Won: ‘The Dark Knight’
CinematographerAnthony Dod Mantlemade a name for himself withthe Dogme 95 movement, bringing experimental filmmaking to life in exciting new ways. He continued pushing the boundaries of vérité with directorDanny Boyleon28 Days Later, but their collaboration onSlumdog Millionaireremains their most striking and impressive to date. This is a film thatfeels alive thanks to Mantle’s active, aggressive camera, and it serves the story and characters tremendously well.
Slumdog Millionaire
A Mumbai teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”
16’The Aviator' (2004)
What Should Have Won: ‘The Aviator’
The Aviatoris the kind of movie you get when one of the greatest film historians of all time also happens to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. In telling the story of Howard Hughes, directorMartin Scorseseand cinematographerRobert Richardsondecided to capture each era of Hughes’ life in the manner in which films were made during that particular period,recreating the look of early bipack color filmsas well asthree-strip Technicolor. This is nirvana for cinephile nerds and remains a stunning achievement to this day.
The Aviator
A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.
