VOTD: The Cinematography of “Chivo”

Emmanuel Lubezki, a.k.a. Chivo, is perhaps one of the most lauded cinematographers of our time. Having worked with master directors such as Terence Malick, Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro G. Innaurutu, Tim Burton, and the Coen Brothers to name a few, Chivo has seen his fair share of variety throughout his career. Although we remember Chivo’s more recent back-to-back wins for Cinematography at the Academy Awards (and anticipate a possible third), it’s crazy to think that he has been working consistently woking for over 20 years. I often forget that this his first of eight Oscar nominations over the span of his career.

To put this in perspective, he’s been nominated for Oscars in Cinematography four out of the last five years. Let that sink in for a moment. Chivo has been universally lauded as the best cinematographer of our generation. Although there are certainly great cinematographers out there, I can’t really think of anyone besides the always amazing Rodger Deakins who might be able to hold the distinction of “greatest living cinematographer”.

To make the case for this, Vimeo user Borealisk has compiled some of Chivo’s best work, all wrapped up in one video. Check it out below:

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/99452979″ width=”800″ height=”540″]

And just for good measure, here’s another video on the style of Chivo which was made by Variety:

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ahhpw4bNU8″][su_youtube url=”http://youtu.be/vw5vcUPyL90″][/su_youtube]

While one can gather a great deal of connections throughout all of his work, one element seems to prevail above all others: movement. Although Chivo is a master of many things, his camera movement is something that seems to stick out at me the most after watching this video. The absolute fluidity of his camera movement is something that you might call a trademark. Interestingly, a connection that seems to link most of the films that he’s made (at least in recent years) is that he seems to work with directors that employ long, fluid takes.

Chivo is certainly the master of this, but his diversity of innovation in cinematography is something that is as divisive as his standing among other all-time great cinematographers. What are your thoughts on the work of Chivo? Do you think that his work in The Revenant is worthy of a third straight Oscar, especially when someone like Rodger Deakins has never won? Let us know what you think below!