Robert Elswit
Robert Elswit | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Christopher Elswit April 22, 1950[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California (BFA) American Film Institute (MFA) |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Relatives | Rik Elswit (brother) |
Robert Christopher Elswit, ASC (born April 22, 1950) is an American cinematographer.
He is best known for his collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson from 1996 to 2014, winning the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for There Will Be Blood (2007).[2]
Elswit has also collaborated with directors and screenwriters Tony and Dan Gilroy on all of the six films that either brother directed.
Early life and education
[edit]Elswit was born in Los Angeles.[3] His brother is musician Rik Elswit.
He is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and worked there as a teaching assistant.
Elswit has cited filmmaker John Cassavetes as a major influence.[4]
Career
[edit]His early work on was the 1982 television adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story All Summer in a Day. He worked as a visual effects camera operator at John Dykstra's Apogee Productions Inc. and Industrial Light & Magic, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Empire Strikes Back, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Return of the Jedi,[5][6] before shooting made-for-television films and shows.
He shot his black and white, Oscar nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck. He first shot the film in color, and then converted the film into black and white in post production. According to Elswit, the technique preserved the subtlety of the colors (as complex shades of blacks and greys) and made the overall look much richer in the final film.[7] His work on the film earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, but lost to Dion Beebe for Memoirs of a Geisha. Elswit later won the award for There Will Be Blood in 2008.[8]
Elswit is a self-described traditionalist in shooting technique,[9] and has been a fierce defender of shooting on film, and whenever possible avoids using digital cameras. Images shot digitally, he said, have "no texture, no grain",[10] though he started shooting digitally with Nightcrawler.[9]
Personal life
[edit]Elswit is the godfather to the actor Jake Gyllenhaal, he worked with Jake's father Stephen Gyllenhaal early in his career.[11]
Filmography
[edit]Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | CBS Library | Seth Pinsker Sam Weiss |
Episode: "The Incredible Book Escape" |
| 1985 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Michael Toshiyuki Uno | Episode: "The War Between the Classes" |
| 1989 | Dream Street | Mark Rosner | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1992 | Human Target | Max Tash | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1997 | Prince Street | Roger Spottiswoode | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2016 | The Night Of | Steven Zaillian | Episode: "The Beach" |
| 2024 | Ripley | Miniseries[12] |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | All Summer in a Day | Ed Kaplan | |
| 1983 | Tiger Town | Alan Shapiro | |
| 1984 | A Single Light | Karl Epstein | |
| 1986 | The Children of Times Square | Curtis Hanson | |
| 1987 | A Different Affair | Noel Nosseck | |
| Long Gone | Martin Davidson | ||
| Into the Homeland | Lesli Linka Glatter | ||
| 1989 | Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White | Lawrence Schiller | |
| 1990 | A Killing in a Small Town | Stephen Gyllenhaal | |
| Steel Magnolias | Thomas Schlamme | ||
| Opposites Attract | Noel Nosseck | ||
| 1991 | Prison Stories: Women on the Inside | Donna Deitch Joan Micklin Silver |
Segments "Esperanza" and "Parole Board" |
| The Summer My Father Grew Up | Michael Tuchner | ||
| Paris Trout | Stephen Gyllenhaal | ||
| Vidiots | Howard Storm | ||
| 1992 | A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story | Martin Davidson | |
| 2026 | Untitled Punisher television special † | Reinaldo Marcus Green | TV special |
| † | Denotes titles that have not yet been released |
Feature film
[edit]Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Cadillac Dreams | Matia Karrell | [5] | |
| 1998 | Richard Lester! | Stacy Cochran | Documentary short | |
| 2010 | Lost Masterpieces of Pornography | David Mamet | Video short | |
| 2019 | Snowbrawl | David Leitch |
Awards and nominations
[edit]Major awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Academy Awards | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated[13] |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Won[14] | ||
| 2005 | American Society of Cinematographers | Outstanding Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Won | ||
| 2007 | BAFTA Awards | Best Cinematography | There Will Be Blood | Nominated |
| 2007 | British Society of Cinematographers | Best Cinematography | There Will Be Blood | Nominated |
| 2005 | Camerimage | Golden Frog Award | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 1984 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | CBS Schoolbreak Special ("The War Between The Classes") |
Won |
| 1997 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Cinematography | Hard Eight | Nominated |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck | Won | ||
| 2024 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie |
Ripley ("V Lucio") | Won |
| 2005 | Satellite Awards | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Salt | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Inherent Vice | Nominated |
Critics awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | There Will Be Blood | Won |
| 2005 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Won |
| 2005 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Inherent Vice | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Houston Film Critics Society | Best Cinematography | Inherent Vice | Nominated |
| 2005 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Won |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | 2nd place | ||
| 2002 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Cinematography | Punch-Drunk Love | 3rd place |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck | 2nd place | ||
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Won | ||
| 2005 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | 2nd place |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Won | ||
| 2007 | New York Film Critics Online | Best Cinematography | There Will Be Blood | Won |
| 2005 | Online Film Critics Society | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Utah Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Nightcrawler | Won |
| 2007 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Cinematography | There Will Be Blood | 2nd place |
| 2014 | Nightcrawler | Won | ||
| 2005 | St. Louis Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Nightcrawler | Nominated |
Other awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | CableACE Award | Best Cinematography | Long Gone | Nominated |
| 2007 | International Online Cinema Awards | There Will Be Blood | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ Robert Elswit - Biography. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 7th, 2010.
- ^ Eugene Hernandez, "Decade: Paul Thomas Anderson on 'There Will Be Blood'," indieWIRE (December 24, 2009) Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ^ Frost, Jacqueline B. (March 17, 2021). Conversations with Contemporary Cinematographers: The Eye Behind the Lens. Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK: Taylor & Francis. p. 35. ISBN 9781000359855.
- ^ "A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck". StudioDaily. January 2006.
- ^ a b "ROBERT ELSWIT". www.cinematographers.nl. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- ^ "A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck - Studio Daily". Studio Daily. January 1, 2006. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- ^ "A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck," StudioDaily (January 1, 2006) Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ Robert Elswit - Awards. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 7th, 2010.
- ^ a b "Robert Elswit, ASC — The Traditionalist". The American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
- ^ "A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck," StudioDaily (January 1, 2006) Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ "Conversations with Jake Gyllenhaal". YouTube. March 10, 2014.
- ^ Dillon, Mark (September 2022). "The Traditionalist". American Cinematographer. 103 (9). Hollywood, Los Angeles: American Society of Cinematographers: 53. ISSN 0002-7928.
- ^ "The 78th Academy Awards | 2006". www.oscars.org. December 4, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
- ^ "The 80th Academy Awards | 2008". www.oscars.org. October 7, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
External links
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