Vittorio Storaro

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Vittorio Storaro
VITTORIO STORARO.jpg
Storaro at Cannes in 2001
Born (1940-06-24) 24 June 1940 (age 84)
Rome, Italy
Education Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
Occupation Cinematographer
Years active1960–present
Organizations
Known for

Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. (born 24 June 1940), is an Italian cinematographer widely recognized as one of the best and most influential in cinema history, for his work on numerous classic films including The Conformist (1970), Apocalypse Now (1979), and The Last Emperor (1987). In the course of over fifty years, he has collaborated with directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Warren Beatty, Woody Allen, and Carlos Saura.

Contents

He has received three Academy Awards for Best Cinematography for the films Apocalypse Now, Reds (1981), and The Last Emperor, and is one of three living persons who has won the award three times, the others being Robert Richardson and Emmanuel Lubezki.

Early life

Storaro in Camerimage Festival 23 in 2015, talking about how color affects people physically and psychologically Vittorio Storaro Camerimage.jpg
Storaro in Camerimage Festival 23 in 2015, talking about how color affects people physically and psychologically

Storaro was born in Rome. The son of a film projectionist, Storaro began studying photography at the age of 11. He went on to formal cinematography studies at the national Italian film school, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, when he was 18. [1]

Career

Storaro is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential cinematographers of all time. [2] [3] [4] [5] He has worked with many important film directors, in particular Bernardo Bertolucci, with whom he has had a long collaboration. [6] His philosophy is largely inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's theory of colors, which focuses in part on the psychological effects that different colors have and the way in which colors influence our perceptions of different situations. [7]

He first worked with Bertolucci on The Conformist (1970). Set in fascist Italy, the film has been described as a "visual masterpiece". [8]

Also in 1970, he photographed The Bird with the Crystal Plumage , the directorial debut of Dario Argento and a landmark film in the giallo genre. [9]

The first American film that Storaro worked on was Apocalypse Now (1979). Director Francis Ford Coppola gave him free rein on the film's visual look. [10] Apocalypse Now earned Storaro his first Academy Award. [11]

He worked with Warren Beatty for the first time on Reds (1981), and ended up winning his second Academy Award. [12]

Storaro won a third Academy Award for The Last Emperor (1987), directed by Bertolucci. [12] Three years later he received a nomination, but did not win, for the Beatty film Dick Tracy . [13]

In 2002, Storaro completed the first in a series of books that articulate his philosophy of cinematography. [14]

He was the cinematographer for a BBC co-production with Italian broadcaster RAI of Verdi's Rigoletto over two nights on the weekend of 4 and 5 September 2010. [15]

Woody Allen's Café Society (2016) was the first film that Storaro shot digitally; he used the Sony F65 camera. [16]

In 2017, Storaro was honored with the George Eastman Award. [17] The same year he also attended the New York Film Festival at which he debated with Ed Lachman on cinematography and its transition to digital. [18]

His other film credits include 1900 , Last Tango in Paris , Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist , One from the Heart , Bulworth , The Sheltering Sky , Tucker: The Man and His Dream , Ladyhawke , Tango , and Goya en Burdeos .

With his son Fabrizio, he created the Univisium format system to unify all future theatrical and television movies into one respective aspect ratio of 2.00:1. [19] As of 2023, this unification has not happened, and the universal replacement of 4:3 televisions by large, wide-screen displays greatly reduces the need to modify scope-ratio films for home theater presentation.

Personal life

Storaro is known for stylish, fastidious, and flamboyant personal fashion. Francis Ford Coppola once noted, "Vittorio is the only man I ever knew that could fall off a ladder in a white suit, into the mud, and not get dirty." [20]

Filmography

Short film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1961EtruscologiaGiancarlo Romitelli
1963Un Delitto Luigi Bazzoni
1966L'urlo Camillo Bazzoni Also writer
Rapporto segreto
Il LabirintoSilvio MaestranziDocumentary short
SortilegioLuigi Bazzoni
Sirtaki
1982Arlecchino Giuliano Montaldo
1989Life without Zoe Francis Ford Coppola Segment of New York Stories
2005CiroStefano VenerusoSegment of All the Invisible Children

Feature film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1962 Attack of the Normans Giuseppe Vari With Marco Scarpelli
1969Giovinezza giovinezza Franco Rossi
Delitto al circolo del tennis Franco Rossetti
1970 The Bird with the Crystal Plumage Dario Argento
The Conformist Bernardo Bertolucci
The Spider's Stratagem With Franco Di Giacomo
1971 The Fifth Cord Luigi Bazzoni
'Tis Pity She's a Whore Giuseppe Patroni Griffi
1972 Last Tango in Paris Bernardo Bertolucci
1973 Malicious Salvatore Samperi
Brothers Blue Luigi Bazzoni
Corpo d'amore Fabio Carpi
Revolt of the City Giuliano Montaldo
1974 Identikit Giuseppe Patroni Griffi
1975 Footprints on the Moon Luigi Bazzoni
Mario Fanelli
Orlando Furioso Luca Ronconi
1976 1900 Bernardo Bertolucci
Submission Salvatore Samperi
1979 Agatha Michael Apted
Apocalypse Now Francis Ford Coppola
Luna Bernardo Bertolucci
1981 Reds Warren Beatty
1982 One from the Heart Francis Ford CoppolaWith Ronald Víctor García
1985 Ladyhawke Richard Donner
1987 Ishtar Elaine May
The Last Emperor Bernardo Bertolucci
1988 Tucker: The Man and His Dream Francis Ford Coppola
1990 Dick Tracy Warren Beatty
The Sheltering Sky Bernardo Bertolucci
1992 Tosca Brian Large
1993 Little Buddha Bernardo Bertolucci
1996 Taxi Carlos Saura
1998 Bulworth Warren Beatty
Tango Carlos Saura
1999 Goya in Bordeaux
2000 Mirka Rachid Benhadj
Picking Up the Pieces Alfonso Arau
2004 Zapata: el sueño del héroe
Exorcist: The Beginning Renny Harlin
2005 Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist Paul Schrader
2008 The Trick in the Sheet Alfonso Arau
2009 I, Don Giovanni Carlos Saura
2010 The Trick in the Sheet Alfonso Arau
2012Parfums d'Alger Rachid Benhadj
2015 Muhammad: The Messenger of God Majid Majidi
2016 Café Society Woody Allen
2017 Wonder Wheel
2018A Rose in Winter Joshua Sinclair
2019 A Rainy Day in New York Woody Allen
2020 Rifkin's Festival
2021 The King of All the World Carlos Saura
2023 Coup de chance Woody Allen
TBABachCarlos Saura

Documentary film

YearTitleDirector
1994Roma Imago Urbis: Parte II - L'immortalità Luigi Bazzoni
Roma Imago Urbis: Parte I - Il mito
Roma Imago Urbis: Parte V - I volti
Roma Imago Urbis: Parte III - Gli acquedotti
Roma Imago Urbis: Parte VI - Le gesta
1995 Flamenco Carlos Saura
2010Flamenco Flamenco

Television

YearTitleDirector
1971 Eneide Franco Rossi

Miniseries

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1974Orlando furioso Luca Ronconi With Arturo Zavattini
1983 Wagner Tony Palmer
1986 Peter the Great Marvin J. Chomsky
Lawrence Schiller
2000 Frank Herbert's Dune John Harrison
2007 Caravaggio Angelo Longoni

TV movies

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1992Tosca: In the Settings and at the Times of Tosca Brian Large
Writing with Light: Vittorio Storaro David M. Thompson Documentary film
2000 La traviata Pierre Cavassilas
2010Rigoletto a Mantova

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

YearCategoryTitleResultRef.
1980 Best Cinematography Apocalypse NowWon [21]
1982 RedsWon
1988 The Last EmperorWon
1991 Dick TracyNominated

British Academy Film Awards

YearCategoryTitleResultRef.
1980 Best Cinematography Apocalypse NowNominated [22]
1983RedsNominated [23]
1989 The Last EmperorNominated [24]
1991 The Sheltering SkyWon [25]

American Society of Cinematographers

YearCategoryTitleResult
1988 Outstanding Cinematography The Last EmperorWon
1991Dick TracyNominated
2001 Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Limited Series DuneNominated
Lifetime Achievement AwardWon

European Film Awards

YearCategoryTitleResultRef.
2000Best CinematographyGoya en BurdeosWon [26]

Primetime Emmy Awards

YearCategoryTitleResult
1986 Best Cinematography for a Miniseries or Special Peter the GreatNominated
2001Frank Herbert's DuneWon

Cannes Film Festival

YearCategoryTitleResultRef.
1998 Technical Grand PrizeTango, no me dejes nuncaWon [27]

International Film Festival of India

YearCategoryResultRef.
2020 Lifetime Achievement AwardWon [28]

British Society of Cinematographers

YearCategoryTitleResult
1979 Best Cinematography Apocalypse NowNominated
1988The Last EmperorWon
1990Dick TracyNominated

National Society of Film Critics

YearCategoryTitleResult
1972 Best Cinematography The ConformistWon

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

YearCategoryTitleResult
1987 Best Cinematography The Sheltering SkyWon
1990 The Last EmperorWon

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

YearCategoryTitleResult
1981 Best Cinematography RedsWon
1988 The Last EmperorWon

George Eastman Award

YearCategoryResult
2017Lifetime Achievement AwardWon

Goya Awards

YearCategoryTitleResult
1996 Best Cinematography Flamenco (de Carlos Saura)Nominated
1999Tango, no me dejes nuncaNominated
2000Goya en BurdeosWon

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References

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