# Boris Kaufman

Boris Abelevich Kaufman, A.S.C. (Russian: Бори́с А́белевич Ка́уфман; August 24, 1906 – June 24, 1980) was a Russian-born American cinematographer and the younger brother of Soviet filmmakers Dziga Vertov and Mikhail Kaufman.

## Life and career

Kaufman was born into a family of Jewish intellectuals in Białystok when Congress Poland was part of the Russian Empire. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Poland regained its independence, and Boris moved there with his parents. Mikhail and Denis, better known as Dziga Vertov, stayed in the Soviet Union and became important filmmakers, producing avant-garde and agitprop films. The brothers later stayed in touch primarily by letters; Vertov visited Boris Kaufman in Paris twice, in 1929 and 1931.
After graduating from the University of Paris, Kaufman turned to cinematography, collaborating with Jean Vigo and Dimitri Kirsanoff. During World War II, he served in the French Army against the Nazis; when France fell, Kaufman escaped to Canada. After working briefly with John Grierson for the National Film Board of Canada, he moved to the United States in 1942.
Kaufman supported himself by filming short subjects and documentaries until director Elia Kazan chose him as director of photography for On the Waterfront (1954), Kaufman's first American feature film, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Black and White) and a 1955 Golden Globe Award. For Kazan's Baby Doll (1956), he received a second Oscar nomination. Kaufman was director of photography for Sidney Lumet's first film, 12 Angry Men (1957), and The Pawnbroker (1964). Retiring in 1970, he died in New York City on June 24, 1980, 3 months after his brother Mikhail.

## Selected filmography

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1929 | À propos de Nice | Jean Vigo | Short film |
| 1931 | Jean Taris, Swimming Champion | Jean Vigo | Short film |
| 1933 | Zero for Conduct | Jean Vigo | |
| 1933 | The Agony of the Eagles | Jean Mamy | |
| 1934 | L'Atalante | Jean Vigo | |
| 1934 | The Path to Happiness | Jean Mamy | |
| 1934 | Zouzou | Marc Allégret | |
| 1936 | You Can't Fool Antoinette | Paul Madeux | |
| 1936 | When Midnight Strikes | Léo Joannon | |
| 1937 | Cinderella | Pierre Caron | |
| 1938 | Fort Dolorès | René Le Hénaff | |
| 1939 | The Fatted Calf | Serge de Poligny | with Philippe Agostini |
| 1940 | Serenade | Jean Boyer | with Claude Renoir |
| 1944 | Hymn of the Nations | Alexander Hammid | Short film |
| 1945 | A Better Tomorrow | Alexander Hammid | Short film |
| 1947 | Journey Into Medicine | Willard Van Dyke | Documentary film |
| 1949 | Roller Derby Girl | Justin Herman | Short film |
| 1951 | The Gentleman in Room Six | Alexander Hammid | Short film |
| 1952 | Leonardo da Vinci | Luciano Emmer | Documentary film |
| 1954 | On the Waterfront | Elia Kazan | Winner - Academy Award |
| 1954 | Garden of Eden | Max Nosseck | |
| 1956 | Singing in the Dark | Max Nosseck | |
| 1956 | Patterns | Fielder Cook | |
| 1956 | Crowded Paradise | Fred Pressburger | |
| 1956 | Baby Doll | Elia Kazan | Nomination - Academy Award |
| 1957 | 12 Angry Men | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1959 | That Kind of Woman | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1960 | The Fugitive Kind | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1961 | Splendor in the Grass | Elia Kazan | |
| 1962 | Long Day's Journey Into Night | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1963 | All the Way Home | Alex Segal | |
| 1964 | The World of Henry Orient | George Roy Hill | |
| 1964 | The Pawnbroker | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1965 | Film | Alan Schneider | |
| 1966 | The Group | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1968 | Bye Bye Braverman | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1968 | The Brotherhood | Martin Ritt | |
| 1968 | Uptight | Jules Dassin | |
| 1970 | Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon | Otto Preminger | |