Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (; born June 27, 1959) is a Polish cinematographer and director. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with Steven Spielberg, being his regular cinematographer since 1993.
Kamiński had won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography twice, for Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). In 2019, the American Society of Cinematographers included both movies on the list of the best-photographed films of the 20th century.
Early life and education
Kamiński was born in Ziębice, son of Jadwiga Celner and Marian Kamiński. In 1981, he emigrated to the United States at the age of 21 after Prime Minister Jaruzelski imposed martial law.
He attended Columbia College in Chicago from 1982 to 1987, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, first as a gaffer, and eventually as second unit director of photography.
Spielberg first discovered Kamiński in 1991, after seeing the television film Wildflower. Spielberg then hired Kamiński to shoot Class of '61, a television film in which Spielberg served as producer.
Kamiński won twice the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in the 1990s, for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. He has been nominated five additional times throughout his career, with four of these movies being directed by Spielberg.
In 2010, he was awarded the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal by the AFI Conservatory.
Kamiński became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) in 1994, but resigned in 2006.
Director
Aside from cinematography, Kamiński has also worked in the field of directing, first with the horror film Lost Souls (2000), and the NBC series The Event (2011) and WE TV series The Divide (2014).
In 2018, Kamiński worried that professional cinematographers were digitally losing control of their own images. In 2010, Kamiński abandoned the Chris Curling female fighter pilot World War II project The Night Witch, and in 2012, Kamiński discussed directing a Los Angeles-based version of the drama "XXXXXX" but nothing became of it.
Personal life
Kamiński was married to actress Holly Hunter from 1995 until 2001.
In 2004, he married ABC reporter Rebecca Rankin; they divorced in 2010.
Filmography
Director
Short film
- Making a Scene (2013)
Feature film
- Lost Souls (2000)
- Hania (2007)
- American Dream (2021)
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Episode
|-
| 2011
| The Event
| "Face Off"
|-
| 2014
| The Divide
| "Never Forget"
|}
Cinematographer
<!--
Short film
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
|-
| 1989
| Drowning
| Juan Carlos Valdivia
|-
| 2004
| Jumbo Girl
| Daniel Curran
|-
| 2007
| Mission Zero
| Kathryn Bigelow
|-
| 2013
| Broken Night
| Guillermo Arriaga
|}
-->
Feature film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1986
| Lady America
| Nick Gaitatjis
|
|-
| 1989
| Grim Prairie Tales
| Wayne Coe
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1990
| The Rain Killer
| Ken Stein
|
|-
| The Terror Within II
| Andrew Stevens
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1991
| Cool as Ice
| David Kellogg
|
|-
| Killer Instinct
| David Tausik
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1992
| Pyrates
| Noah Stern
|
|-
| All the Love in the World
| Daniel Curran
|
|-
| Mad Dog Coll
| Greydon Clark<br>Ken Stein
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1993
| Trouble Bound
| Jeffrey Reiner
|
|-
| The Adventures of Huck Finn
| Stephen Sommers
|
|-
| Schindler's List
| Steven Spielberg
| 1st collaboration with Spielberg
|-
| 1994
| Little Giants
| Duwayne Dunham
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1995
| Tall Tale
| Jeremiah S. Chechik
|
|-
| How to Make an American Quilt
| Jocelyn Moorhouse
|
|-
| 1996
| Jerry Maguire
| Cameron Crowe
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1997
| The Lost World: Jurassic Park
|rowspan=9|Steven Spielberg
|
|-
| Amistad
|
|-
| 1998
| Saving Private Ryan
|
|-
| 2001
| A.I. Artificial Intelligence
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2002
| Minority Report
|
|-
| Catch Me If You Can
|
|-
| 2004
| The Terminal
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2005
| War of the Worlds
|
|-
| Munich
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2007
| The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
| Julian Schnabel
|
|-
| Hania
| Himself
|
|-
| 2008
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
| Steven Spielberg
|
|-
| 2009
| Funny People
| Judd Apatow
|
|-
| 2010
| How Do You Know
| James L. Brooks
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2011
| The Adventures of Tintin
|rowspan=3|Steven Spielberg
|
|-
| War Horse
|
|-
| 2012
| Lincoln
|
|-
| 2014
| The Judge
| David Dobkin
|
|-
| 2015
| Bridge of Spies
|rowspan=4|Steven Spielberg
|
|-
| 2016
| The BFG
|
|-
| 2017
| The Post
|
|-
| 2018
| Ready Player One
|
|-
| 2020
| The Call of the Wild
| Chris Sanders
|
|-
| 2021
| West Side Story
|rowspan=2|Steven Spielberg
|
|-
| 2022
| The Fabelmans
|
|-
| 2024
| IF
| John Krasinski
|
|-
| 2026
| Disclosure Day
| Steven Spielberg
|
|-
| TBA
| Petrichor
| Marco Perego
|
|}
TV movies
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
|-
| 1991
| Wildflower
| Diane Keaton
|-
| 1993
| Class of '61
| Gregory Hoblit
|-
| 2021
| Oslo
| Bartlett Sher
|}
TV series
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 2006
| Wonder Pets!
| Josh Selig
| Episode "Save the Crane"
|-
| 2014
| The Divide
| Tony Goldwyn
| Episode "The Ways Men Divide"
|-
| 2025
| The Savant
| Matthew Heineman
| 6 episodes
|}
Awards and nominations
See also
- Cinema of Poland
- List of Polish Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of Poles
References
External links
- Janusz Kamiński at culture.pl