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Academy Award for Best Cinematography - Nominees

The Academy Award for Best Cinematography, introduced at the awards debut in 1929, is presented annually for the best achievement in cinematography in a film from the previous year.

From 1940 to 1967—with the exception of 1958—two separate awards were given for color and black-and-white films.

Sorted Chronologically by Awards Year. Winners in BOLD. Acceptance speech linked in Notes (where available).

UPDATED: May 2026

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WINNERS LIST | SITE MAP

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AWARD RECORDS:
Most Awards: Leon Shamroy & Joseph Ruttenberg (4)
Most Nominations: Charles Lang & Leon Shamroy (18)
Most Nominations Without a Win: George Folsey (13)

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CATEGORY NAME HISTORY:
1929–1939: Cinematography
1940–1957: Cinematography: (Black & White) & (Color)
1958: Cinematography
1959–1967: Cinematography: (Black & White) & (Color)
1968–Present: Cinematography

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  • The Devil Dancer

    1

  • The Magic Flame

    2

  • Sadie Thompson

    3

  • Street Angel

    4

  • Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

    5

  • In Old Arizona

    6

  • 4 Devils

    7

  • The Divine Lady

    8

  • Our Dancing Daughters

    9

  • White Shadows in the South Seas

    10

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    11

  • The Love Parade

    12

  • Anna Christie

    13

  • Hell's Angels

    14

  • With Byrd at the South Pole

    15

  • Cimarron

    16

  • Morocco

    17

  • The Right to Love

    18

  • Svengali

    19

  • Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

    20

  • Arrowsmith

    21

  • Shanghai Express

    22

  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    23

  • A Farewell to Arms

    24

  • Reunion in Vienna

    25

  • The Sign of the Cross

    26

  • Cleopatra

    27

  • The Affairs of Cellini

    28

  • Operator 13

    29

  • Les Misérables

    30

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream

    31

  • Barbary Coast

    32

  • The Crusades

    33

  • Anthony Adverse

    34

  • The General Died at Dawn

    35

  • The Gorgeous Hussy

    36

  • Dead End

    37

  • The Good Earth

    38

  • Wings Over Honolulu

    39

  • You Can't Take It with You

    40

  • Jezebel

    41

  • Algiers

    42

  • Army Girl

    43

  • The Buccaneer

    44

  • The Great Waltz

    45

  • Mad About Music

    46

  • Merrily We Live

    47

  • Suez

    48

  • Vivacious Lady

    49

  • The Young in Heart

    50

  • Gone with the Wind

    51

  • Stagecoach

    52

  • Wuthering Heights

    53

  • The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

    54

  • Rebecca

    55

  • All This, and Heaven Too

    56

  • Foreign Correspondent

    57

  • The Letter

    58

  • The Long Voyage Home

    59

  • Abe Lincoln in Illinois

    60

  • Arise, My Love

    61

  • Bitter Sweet

    62

  • The Blue Bird

    63

  • Boom Town

    64

  • Down Argentine Way

    65

  • North West Mounted Police

    66

  • Northwest Passage

    67

  • Spring Parade

    68

  • The Thief of Bagdad

    69

  • Waterloo Bridge

    70

  • How Green Was My Valley

    71

  • Blossoms in the Dust

    72

  • Citizen Kane

    73

  • Here Comes Mr. Jordan

    74

  • Hold Back the Dawn

    75

  • Sergeant York

    76

  • Aloma of the South Seas

    77

  • Billy the Kid

    78

  • Blood and Sand

    79

  • The Chocolate Soldier

    80

  • Dive Bomber

    81

  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    82

  • Louisiana Purchase

    83

  • Sun Valley Serenade

    84

  • Sundown

    85

  • That Hamilton Woman

    86

  • Mrs. Miniver

    87

  • Kings Row

    88

  • The Magnificent Ambersons

    89

  • The Pied Piper

    90

  • The Pride of the Yankees

    91

  • The Talk of the Town

    92

  • Arabian Nights

    93

  • The Black Swan

    94

  • Captains of the Clouds

    95

  • Jungle Book

    96

  • Moontide

    97

  • Reap the Wild Wind

    98

  • Take a Letter, Darling

    99

  • Ten Gentlemen from West Point

    100