Dante Spinotti

Dante Spinotti, A.S.C., A.I.C. (born 22 August 1943) is an Italian cinematographer and a member of the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is known for his collaborations with directors Michael Mann, Michael Apted, Deon Taylor, and Brett Ratner, and is frequently credited with helping to pioneer the use of high-definition digital video in cinematography. He is a BAFTA Award recipient and two-time Academy Award nominee (for L.A. Confidential and The Insider).
Biography
Spinotti was born in Tolmezzo, near the Austrian border. He began experimenting with still photography at the age of 11 with a camera given to him by his uncle, a cinematographer and director specializing in documentaries and newsreels. He worked as a camera operator on documentaries for much of his early career.
Among the more notable films he has worked on are The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, and L.A. Confidential. Spinotti also was the cinematographer for Brett Ratner's films, such as Red Dragon (2002), After the Sunset (2004), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).
Spinotti was the cinematographer on both adaptations of the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris: Michael Mann's 1986 adaptation (titled Manhunter), and Brett Ratner's 2002 adaptation. He won the Golden Camera 300 award at the Manaki Brothers Film Festival in North Macedonia for lifetime achievement.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|1981
|Il minestrone
|Sergio Citti
|
|-
|La disubbidienza
|Aldo Lado
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1983
|Cinderella '80
|Roberto Malenotti
|
|-
|Dream of a Summer Night
|Gabriele Salvatores
|
|-
|Hearts and Armour
|Giacomo Battiato
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1984
|Basileus Quartet
|Fabio Carpi
|
|-
|Così parlò Bellavista
|Luciano De Crescenzo
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1985
|The Berlin Affair
|Liliana Cavani
|
|-
|The Dark Side of Love
|Salvatore Samperi
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1986
|Crimes of the Heart
|Bruce Beresford
|
|-
|Manhunter
|Michael Mann
|
|-
|1987
|From the Hip
|Bob Clark
|
|-
|rowspan=4|1988
|Beaches
|Garry Marshall
|
|-
|The Legend of the Holy Drinker
|Ermanno Olmi
|
|-
|Fair Game
|Mario Orfini
|
|-
|Illegally Yours
|Peter Bogdanovich
|
|-
|1989
|Torrents of Spring
|Jerzy Skolimowski
|With Witold Sobociński
|-
|rowspan=2|1990
|The Comfort of Strangers
|Paul Schrader
|
|-
|A Violent Life
|Giacomo Battiato
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1991
|Frankie and Johnny
|Garry Marshall
|
|-
|Hudson Hawk
|Michael Lehmann
|
|-
|True Colors
|Herbert Ross
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1992
|The Last of the Mohicans
|Michael Mann
|
|-
|The End Is Known
|Cristina Comencini
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1993
|The Secret of the Old Woods
|Ermanno Olmi
|
|-
|Blink
|rowspan=2|Michael Apted
|
|-
|1994
|Nell
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1995
|Heat
|Michael Mann
|
|-
|The Quick and the Dead
|Sam Raimi
|
|-
|1996
|The Mirror Has Two Faces
|Barbra Streisand
|With Andrzej Bartkowiak
|-
|1997
|L.A. Confidential
|Curtis Hanson
|
|-
|1998
|Goodbye Lover
|Roland Joffé
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1999
|The Insider
|Michael Mann
|
|-
|The Other Sister
|Garry Marshall
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2000
|The Family Man
|Brett Ratner
|
|-
|Wonder Boys
|Curtis Hanson
|
|-
|2001
|Bandits
|Barry Levinson
|
|-
|rowspan=3|2002
|''Mercedes 'Lucky Star|Michael Mann
|Short film
|-
|Pinocchio
|Roberto Benigni
|
|-
|Red Dragon
|rowspan=2|Brett Ratner
|
|-
|2004
|After the Sunset
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2006
|The Contract
|Bruce Beresford
|
|-
|X-Men: The Last Stand
|Brett Ratner
|
|-
|2007
|Slipstream
|Anthony Hopkins
|
|-
|rowspan=3|2008
|Deception
|Marcel Langenegger
| Also actor (as Herr Kleiner/Mr. Moretti)
|-
|Flash of Genius
|Marc Abraham
|
|-
|Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman
|Eric Bricker
|Documentary;With Aiken Weiss
|-
|2009
|Public Enemies
|Michael Mann
|
|-
|2010
|The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
|Michael Apted
|
|-
|2011
|Tower Heist
|Brett Ratner
|
|-
|2013
|ReWined
|Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani
|
|-
|2014
|Hercules
|Brett Ratner
|
|-
|2015
|I Saw the Light
|Marc Abraham
|
|-
|2017
|Freak Show
|Trudie Styler
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2018
|Traffik
|Deon Taylor
|
|-
|Ant-Man and the Wasp
|Peyton Reed
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2019
|Black and Blue
|Deon Taylor
|
|-
|Now Is Everywhere
|Valenrina De AmicisRiccardo Spinotti
|Also producer
|-
|rowspan=2| 2020
|Fatale
|Deon Taylor
|
|-
|Elyse
|Stella Hopkins
|
|-
|2021
|Where Are You
|Valentina De AmicisRiccardo Spinotti
|Also producer
|-
|2024
|style="background:#ffc;"|Alto Knights
|Barry Levinson
|Post-production
|}
TelevisionMiniseriesTV moviesTV seriesAwards and nominationsAcademy AwardsBAFTA AwardsAmerican Society of CinematographersLos Angeles Film Critics AssociationSatellite AwardsChicago Film Critics AssociationNational Society of Film Critics'''
References
External links
Quality screengrabs of Dante Spinotti's fine cinematography on Manhunter (1986)
Profile at New York Times
Profile at American Cinematographer
Interview for International Cinematographers Guild
Interview for LightTools
1943 births
Living people
Best Cinematography BAFTA Award winners
David di Donatello winners
Ciak d'oro winners
Italian cinematographers
Italian expatriates in the United States
People from Tolmezzo