Vittorio Storaro

Early life and education

Born in Rome, Storaro is the son of a film projectionist.

He began studying photography at the age of 11, and at the age of 18, he went on to formal cinematography studies at the national Italian film school, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.

Career

Storaro's 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.

He first worked with Bernardo Bertolucci on The Conformist (1970). He then worked on Dario Argento's first directorial feature The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), which is considered a landmark in the giallo genre.

With Francis Ford Coppola, Storaro made his American film debut with Apocalypse Now (1979), which earned him his first Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

Storaro went to win two more Academy Awards in the 1980s, one with Warren Beatty's Reds (1981) and one for Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987).

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

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.

Though working primarily with film cameras, Woody Allen's feature Café Society (2016) was Storaro's first project to be shot digitally.

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

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. 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."

Filmography

Main article: Vittorio Storaro filmography

Short film

Feature film

Documentary film

Television

Miniseries

TV movies

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

British Academy Film Awards

American Society of Cinematographers

European Film Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards

Cannes Film Festival

International Film Festival of India

British Society of Cinematographers

National Society of Film Critics

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

George Eastman Award

Goya Awards

References

; General

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References

1. Kay, Jeremy. (16 October 2003). "And the 11 most influential cinematographers of all time are...".
2. (4 June 2016). "Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro Warns of "Major Problem" in the Field". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
3. (15 September 2015). "The 10 Most Visually Stunning Movies Shot by Vittorio Storaro". Taste of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists.
4. Jones, Jonathan. (9 July 2003). "Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro reveals his inspiration". [[The Guardian]].
5. Pizzello, Stephen. (6 July 2018). "Storaro and Bertolucci Celebrated at Milan International Film Festival".
6. (27 May 2015). "Back in Time: Vittorio Storaro AIC, ASC / The Early Life of Mohammed". British Cinematographer.
7. (30 November 2017). "Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC personally details the richly hued artistic strategy he created to shoot Woody Allen's period drama.".
8. Berardinelli, James. (1994). "Review: The Conformist".
9. Gallant, Chris. (7 June 2018). "Where to begin with giallo". [[British Film Institute.
10. Pizzello, Stephen. (24 August 2017). "Flashback: Apocalypse Now".
11. (3 June 2015). "Mighty Tome: Vittorio Storaro AIC ASC / The Art of Cinematography". British Cinematographer.
12. (20 September 2016). "Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro: Master of Lights and Colors". italoamericano.org.
13. Bob Fisher. (2004). "Vittorio Storaro: Maestro of Light". [[International Cinematographers Guild]].
14. Jones, Jonathan. (9 July 2003). "Painting with light". [[The Guardian]].
15. Adetunji, Jo. (25 July 2010). "Verdi's Rigoletto given 'cinematic' makeover for BBC". [[The Guardian]].
16. Giardina, Carolyn. (15 July 2016). "Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro on Filming 'Cafe Society' Digitally: "You Can't Stop Progress"". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
17. (21 March 2017). "Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC Honored with George Eastman Award". [[American Society of Cinematographers]].
18. Chris O'Falt. (13 October 2017). "Digital Cinematography Smackdown: Vittorio Storaro and Ed Lachman Debate, With Love". [[IndieWire]].
19. Joe Foster. (24 October 2017). "The remarkable rise of the Univisium 2:1 aspect ratio". RedSharkNews.
20. Kees van Oostrum. (2 January 2018). "President's Desk: Men in White Suits - The American Society of Cinematographers".
21. "Vittorio Storaro".
22. Shekhar, Mimansa. (16 January 2021). "IFFI 2021: Everything to know about the film festival".