Performer

Janusz Kamiński

Cinematographer in the Nutevio catalogue.

Born: 27 June 1959
Age: 67
Active: 1991–present
Known for: Cinematographer

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Cinematographer · 30
Director · 2

The essay

Reading Janusz Kamiński

Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.

Why this filmmaker matters

Janusz Kamiński has 0 features photographed in the Nutevio catalogue. Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (born June 27, 1959) is a Polish cinematographer and cinematographer of film and television. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his films since 1993. He has been nominated for and won several awards, including one Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on his holocaust drama Schindler's List, and another one for the World War II epic Saving Private Ryan.

Signature style

The recognisable elements are visual style, rewatchability, originality. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same eye, re-tuned for different registers. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is staged.

Legacy

Kamiński set terms other filmmakers now work against: the structures, the pacing and the refusal to explain. Awards bodies have often been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.