Roger Deakins: The Ten Best Cinematographers working today

It’s time for a new weekly series folks! Yes, starting today I want to try a new series on for size. Much like how I looked at the best winners in almost every Academy Award field, I want to now turn my attention towards individuals (specifically those active in the field), starting with cinematographers. Basically, this first one will look at the best Directors of Photography currently working in the business. There’s tons of amazing DP’s in the industry so this is clearly going to be a divisive list. Still, that’s part of the fun of it as well! Hopefully you all enjoy and this becomes a weekly or at least monthly series… Before I get to the list, I’m going to quickly explain what will be happening below. In short, I’ll be listing ten DP’s/cinematographers that I think are the best in the business right now. That excludes retired and deceased DP’s, in case you were wondering. Also, I clearly could go 20 or 30 strong, so there will be some big snubs here. I might do a follow up at some point, but that’s not for right now. Here I’ll briefly explain why they earned a spot and list their best outing to date. It’s that simple. Alright, here goes nothing ladies and gentlemen! Behold my list for the ten best cinematographers working today: 10. Jeff Cronenweth – A perfect match for filmmaker David Fincher, Cronenweth displays a great knack for translating Fincher’s view of the world to the screen. Often dark, sometimes antiseptic, but always carefully thought out, they’re a terrific team (just look at everything from Fight Club to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to Gone Girl to The Social Network). A two time Academy Award nominee, he’s still a rising star. They’re both going to win Oscars someday soon, mark my words. (Best work to date: Fight Club) 9. Ben Richardson – A name not many people are intimately familiar with, Richardson is a real up and comer. He’s not flashy, but he displays a versatility that is really underrated. From Beasts of the Southern Wild to The Fault in Our Stars, he can basically do it all. I expect big things from him in the years to come. (Best work to date: The Fault in Our Stars) 8. Matthew Libatique – Nominated for his brilliant work on Black Swan, Libatique is Darren Aronofsky’s go-to DP. The cinematographer has [...]