Robert Bridge Richardson, (born August 27, 1955) is an American cinematographer.
Known for his work with Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino, he explores a variety of visual styles, both with film and digital cameras.
He is one of three living people who has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography three times, along with Vittorio Storaro and Emmanuel Lubezki.
Early life and education
Richardson was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Film/Animation/Video and received his MFA from AFI Conservatory. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The American Society of Cinematographers.
Career
Richardson's work began as a camera operator and 2nd unit photographer on such features as Alex Cox's Repo Man, Dorian Walker's Making the Grade and Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (all in 1984). At the same time he also served as cinematographer on TV documentaries and docudramas such as America, America for The Disney Channel, God's Peace for the BBC and PBS' The Front Line: El Salvador. His television work and documentary-style filmmaking led to his meeting Oliver Stone, who hired him to "shoot" Salvador (1986).
Oliver Stone's major motion picture debut was also Richardson's first film as director of photography. Salvador was also filmed in the same year as Stone's Platoon. Platoon would earn Richardson his first Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. In 1987, Richardson reteamed with Stone on Wall Street. In 1988, he filmed Eight Men Out for John Sayles. In 1989, he earned his second Best Cinematography Oscar nomination for Stone's Born on the Fourth of July.
In 1991, Richardson won the first of his Best Cinematography Academy Awards for his work on Stone's JFK; he also shot Stone's The Doors that same year. He worked with Sayles again in 1991 for City of Hope. In 1992, he worked as director of photography on Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men. He served as a 2nd unit photographer for Haskell Wexler on To the Moon, Alice, a "Showtime 30-Minute Movie" (for which he was also credited as a visual consultant). He began a long working relationship with Martin Scorsese in 1995, with Casino. Also in 1995, he was the cinematographer on Stone's Nixon. In 1997, Richardson photographed Errol Morris's documentary Fast, Cheap and Out of Control as well as filming the majority of Stone's U Turn and serving as director of photography for Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog.
Richardson worked on the 2013 zombie film World War Z, but asked for his name to be taken off the final product. The credited cinematographer is Ben Seresin.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|1986
| Salvador
|rowspan=2|Oliver Stone
| 1st collaboration with Stone
|-
| Platoon
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1987
| Dudes
| Penelope Spheeris
|
|-
| Wall Street
| Oliver Stone
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1988
| Eight Men Out
| John Sayles
|
|-
| Talk Radio
|rowspan=2|Oliver Stone
|
|-
| 1989
| Born on the Fourth of July
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1991
| City of Hope
| John Sayles
|
|-
| The Doors
|rowspan=2|Oliver Stone
|
|-
| JFK
|
|-
| 1992
| A Few Good Men
| Rob Reiner
|
|-
| 1993
| Heaven & Earth
|rowspan=2|Oliver Stone
|
|-
| 1994
| Natural Born Killers
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1995
|Casino
| Martin Scorsese
| 1st collaboration with Scorsese
|-
| Nixon
|rowspan=2|Oliver Stone
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1997
| U Turn
|
|-
| Wag the Dog
| Barry Levinson
| Also made a cameo as "Man in TV Studio" (Uncredited)
|-
| 1998
| The Horse Whisperer
| Robert Redford
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1999
| Snow Falling on Cedars
| Scott Hicks
|
|-
| Bringing Out the Dead
| Martin Scorsese
|
|-
| 2002
| The Four Feathers
| Shekhar Kapur
|
|-
| 2003
| Kill Bill: Volume 1
|rowspan=3|Quentin Tarantino
|rowspan=3|1st collaboration with Tarantino;<br>Shot Back-to-back
|-
|rowspan=3|2004
| Kill Bill: Volume 2
|-
| Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair<!-- Per source: -->
|-
| The Aviator
| Martin Scorsese
|
|-
| 2006
| The Good Shepherd
| Robert De Niro
|
|-
| 2009
| Inglourious Basterds
| Quentin Tarantino
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2010
| Shutter Island
| Martin Scorsese
|
|-
| Eat Pray Love
| Ryan Murphy
|
|-
| 2011
| Hugo
|Martin Scorsese
|
|-
| 2012
| Django Unchained
|Quentin Tarantino
|
|-
| 2013
| World War Z
| Marc Forster
| Uncredited
|-
| 2015
| The Hateful Eight
| Quentin Tarantino
|
|-
| 2016
| Live by Night
| Ben Affleck
|
|-
| 2017
| Breathe
| Andy Serkis
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2018
| Adrift
| Baltasar Kormákur
|
|-
| A Private War
| Matthew Heineman
|
|-
| 2019
| Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
| Quentin Tarantino
|
|-
| 2021
| Venom: Let There Be Carnage
| Andy Serkis
|
|-
| 2022
| Emancipation
| Antoine Fuqua
| 1st collaboration with Fuqua
|-
|rowspan=2|2023
| Air
| Ben Affleck
|
|-
| The Equalizer 3
| Antoine Fuqua
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2026
|
| Frankie Shaw
| Post-production
|-
|
| David O. Russell
| Post-production
|}
Documentary
Film
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Director
!Notes
|-
| 1984
| The Front Line
| Jeff B. Harmon<br>Christopher Wenner
| With Jacques Audrain
|-
| 1997
| Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
|rowspan=2|Errol Morris
|
|-
| 1999
| Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2008
| Shine a Light
| Martin Scorsese
| Concert film
|-
| Standard Operating Procedure
| Errol Morris
| With Robert Chappell
|-
| 2011
| George Harrison: Living in the Material World
| Martin Scorsese
| With Martin Kenzie
|-
| 2017
| The Return
| Erich Joiner
|
|-
| 2021
| JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass
| Oliver Stone
|
|-
| TBA
| In between Stars and Scars: Masters of Cinema
| Yi Zhou
| With Yi Zhou
|}
Television
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Director
!Notes
|-
| 1982
| Desperate Dreams
| Daniel J. Blackburn<br>Maria Centrella
| TV movie
|-
| 1985
| America Undercover
| Himself<br>Terry Dunn Meurer
| Episode "Losin' It: Sex and the American Teenager"
|-
| 1987
| Unsolved Mysteries
| John Cosgrove
| Segment Missing...Have You Seen This Person?
|-
| 2021
| JFK: Destiny Betrayed
| Oliver Stone
| Miniseries
|}
Award and nominations
Academy Awards
{| class=wikitable
|-
! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:26em;"| Category
! scope="col" style="width:25em;"| Nominated work
! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Result
! Ref.
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1986
|rowspan=10| Best Cinematography
| Platoon
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1989
| Born on the Fourth of July
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1991
| JFK
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1999
| Snow Falling on Cedars
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2004
| The Aviator
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2009
| Inglourious Basterds
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| Hugo
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2012
| Django Unchained
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2015
| The Hateful Eight
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2019
| Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
|
|
|}
BAFTA Awards
{| class=wikitable
|-
! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:26em;"| Category
! scope="col" style="width:25em;"| Nominated work
! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Result
! Ref.
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1986
|rowspan=4| Best Cinematography
| Platoon
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2004
| The Aviator
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2009
| Inglourious Basterds
|
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| Hugo
|
|
|}
American Society of Cinematographers
{| class=wikitable
|-
! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:26em;"| Category
! scope="col" style="width:25em;"| Nominated work
! scope="col" style="width:5em;" | Result
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1989
|rowspan=11| Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
| Born on the Fourth of July
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1991
| JFK
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1992
| A Few Good Men
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1993
| Heaven & Earth
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1998
| The Horse Whisperer
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1999
| Snow Falling on Cedars
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2004
| The Aviator
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2006
| The Good Shepherd
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2009
| Inglourious Basterds
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| Hugo
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2019
| Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
|
|-
|}
Miscellaneous awards
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Title
! Notes
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1986
|rowspan=3| Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
| Salvador
|
|-
| Platoon
|
|-
| 1988
| Talk Radio
|
|-
| 1989
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
| Born on the Fourth of July
|
|-
| 1991
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
| JFK
|
|-
| 1998
|rowspan=2| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
| The Horse Whisperer
|
|-
|rowspan=5| 1999
|rowspan=4| Snow Falling on Cedars
|
|-
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=2| Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Bringing Out the Dead
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2003
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|rowspan=3| Kill Bill: Volume 1
|
|-
| Gold Derby Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Village Voice Film Poll for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=4| 2004
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|rowspan=4| The Aviator
|
|-
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Gold Derby Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=9| 2009
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|rowspan=9| Inglourious Basterds
|
|-
| Australian Cinematographers Society for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Gold Derby Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=9| 2010
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|rowspan=9| Shutter Island
|
|-
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Awards Circuit Community Awards for Best Achievement in Cinematography
|
|-
| Awards Circuit Community Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| International Online Cinema Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Utah Film Critics Association Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Online Film & Television Association for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=10| 2011
| Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
|rowspan=10| Hugo
|
|-
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=5| 2012
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|rowspan=5| Django Unchained
|
|-
| St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Gold Derby Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| CinEuphoria Awards for Best Cinematography - International Competition
|
|-
| Italian Online Movie Awards for Best Best Cinematography (Miglior fotografia)
|
|-
|rowspan=7| 2015
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|rowspan=7| The Hateful Eight
|
|-
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Austin Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Gold Derby Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|rowspan=21| 2019
| Boston Online Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
|rowspan=21| Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
|
|-
| Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Hollywood Critics Association Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| St. Louis Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Seattle Film Critics Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Online Association of Female Film Critics for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Phoenix Critics Circle for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Central Ohio Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Houston Film Critics Society Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Online Film Critics Society Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
| Gold Derby Awards for Best Cinematography
|
|-
|}