The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography is an annual award given by National Society of Film Critics to honor the best cinematographer of the year.
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | In the Heat of the Night | Haskell Wexler |
| 1968 | Bullitt | William A. Fraker |
| 1969 | The Wild Bunch | Lucien Ballard |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Raging Bull | Michael Chapman |
| 1981 | Pennies from Heaven | Gordon Willis |
| 1982 | Diva | Philippe Rousselot |
| 1983 | Never Cry Wolf | Hiro Narita |
| 1984 | Comfort and Joy | Chris Menges |
| The Killing Fields | ||
| 1985 | Ran | Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda, and Asakazu Nakai |
| 1986 | Blue Velvet | Frederick Elmes |
| 1987 | Hope and Glory | Philippe Rousselot |
| 1988 | Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) | Henri Alekan |
| 1989 | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Michael Ballhaus |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Where the Heart Is | Peter Suschitzky |
| 1991 | Barton Fink | Roger Deakins |
| 1992 | Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua) | Zhao Fei |
| 1993 | Schindler's List | Janusz Kamiński |
| 1994 | Ed Wood | Stefan Czapsky |
| 1995 | Devil in a Blue Dress | Tak Fujimoto |
| 1996 | Breaking the Waves | Robby Müller |
| Dead Man | ||
| 1997 | Kundun | Roger Deakins |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | John Toll |
| 1999 | American Beauty | Conrad L. Hall |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Beau Travail | Agnès Godard |
| 2001 | In the Mood for Love (Fa yeung nin wa) | Christopher Doyle and Pin Bing Lee |
| 2002 | Far from Heaven | Edward Lachman |
| 2003 | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | Russell Boyd |
| 2004 | House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) | Xiaoding Zhao |
| 2005 | 2046 | Christopher Doyle, Lai Yiu Fai, and Kwan Pun Leung |
| 2006 | Children of Men | Emmanuel Lubezki |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Robert Elswit |
| 2008 | Slumdog Millionaire | Anthony Dod Mantle |
| 2009 | The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) | Christian Berger |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | True Grit | Roger Deakins |
| 2011 | The Tree of Life | Emmanuel Lubezki |
| 2012 | The Master | Mihai Mălaimare Jr. |
| 2013 | Inside Llewyn Davis | Bruno Delbonnel |
| 2014 | Mr. Turner | Dick Pope |
| 2015 | Carol | Edward Lachman |
| 2016 | Moonlight | James Laxton [1] |
| 2017 | Blade Runner 2049 | Roger Deakins [2] |
| 2018 | Roma | Alfonso Cuarón [3] |
| 2019 | Atlantics | Claire Mathon [4] |
| Portrait of a Lady on Fire |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Nomadland | Joshua James Richards [5] |
| 2021 | The Green Knight | Andrew Droz Palermo [6] |
| 2022 | EO | Michał Dymek [7] |
| 2023 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Rodrigo Prieto [8] |
| 2024 | Nickel Boys | Jomo Fray |