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Vittorio Storaro

 
Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro
  • Born: Jun 24, 1940 in Rome, Italy
  • Occupation: Cinematographer, Actor
  • Active: '70s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
  • Career Highlights: The Last Emperor, Last Tango in Paris, The Conformist
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1969)

Biography

After attending the Duca D'Aosta Technical Photographic Institute, the Italian Cinemagraphic Training Center, and Centro Sperimental di Cinematografia, Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro manned the cameras for his first film, L'Uccello dalle piume di cristallo, in 1969. He then went on to enjoy what has been a prolific and respected career, often working with the finest in the business. Among the many directors who have benefited from the know-how of Storaro and his faithful Italian camera crew have been Michael Apted (Agatha [1979]), Richard Donner (Ladyhawke [1983]), and especially Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris [1972], 1900 [1976], The Sheltering Sky [1990]). Storaro won an Oscar for his photography on Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987), and additional Oscars for his work on the films of two other frequent collaborators, Warren Beatty (Reds [1981]) and Francis Ford Coppola (Apocalypse Now [1979]). Coppola was, in fact, such an admirer of Storaro's work that he signed Storaro for Apocalypse Now before he'd even cast the film.

The cinematographer again collaborated with Bertolucci for 1994's Little Buddha. Two years later, Storaro worked on Beatty's Bulworth, and also lent his talent to Carlos Saura's Tango, for which he won a Jury Technical Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Vittorio Storaro
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Vittorio Storaro at Cannes in 2001

Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. (born 24 June 1940 in Rome) is a three-time Academy Award winning Italian cinematographer.

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Biography

The son of a film projectionist, Storaro began studying photography at the age of 11, and went on to formal cinematography studies at the national Italian film school, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, when he was 18. Working as a camera operator for many years, his first film as cinematographer was Giovinezza, Giovinezza (Youthful, Youthful) in 1968.

He has worked with many influential film directors, in particular Bernardo Bertolucci, with whom he has had a long collaboration, as well as Francis Ford Coppola and Warren Beatty.

His credits include 1900, The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, Apocalypse Now, One From the Heart, Reds, Bulworth, The Sheltering Sky, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Ladyhawke and Tango.

Storaro’s first mainstream American film was Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1979 for which he won his first Oscar (Academy Award). Coppola gave Storaro free rein on the film's visual look and it is regarded by many critics as one of the most visually spectacular films of all time. He has also received Oscars for Reds (1981) and The Last Emperor (1987). He received a fourth Oscar nomination with Dick Tracy (1990).

Storaro is widely regarded as a master cinematographer with a sophisticated philosophy largely inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's theory of colors, which focuses in part on the psychological effects different colors have and the way in which colors influence our perceptions of different situations. With his son, Fabrizio Storaro, he created the Univisium format system to unify all future theatrical and television movies into one respective aspect ratio of 2.00:1. In 2002, Storaro completed the first in a series of books that attempt to more substantively articulate his philosophy of cinematography.

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

Filmography

References

  • Masters of Light - Conversations with cinematographers (1984) Schaefer, S & Salvato, L., ISBN 0-520-05336-2
  • Vittorio Storaro: Writing with Light: Volume 1: The Light (2002) Storaro, V., ISBN 1-931788-03-0
  • Writer of Light: The Cinematography of Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC (2000) Zone, R., ISBN 0-935578-18-8

External links


 
 

 

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Cinematographer. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vittorio Storaro" Read more

 

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