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If there’s one cinematographer working in film today who might come close to mainstream recognition, it’s gotta be Emmanuel Lubezki. Last month, “Chivo” won his third consecutive Oscar for Best Cinematography for shooting The Revenant (he previously won for Birdman and Gravity). Before that, Lubezki was known among hardcore movie fans for being one of the most under-rewarded cinematographers working today. For years, he’s been one of the most acclaimed cinematographers in the business, doing the kind of eye-popping work that demands adulation. Once you have a look at his filmography, it’s no surprise he’s been so acclaimed: Sleepy Hollow, The New World, Children of Men, The Tree of Life. Any one of those movies would have been enough on its own to vault Lubezki to the top of his profession.
And yet even with a filmography full of visually arresting cinema, there are still a handful of movies on his IMDb page that take you by surprise. I learned this while writing about The Birdcage last week. I’d have never expected that a cinematographer as tied to the films of Terrence Malick and Alfonso Cuaron as Lubezki is to have been behind the camera for a farce like The Birdcage, even one that looks that impeccable. And so it was with that pleasant surprise that I dove back into the Emmanuel Lubezki filmography and found quite a few real surprises.
'Reality Bites' (1994)
The subject matter of Reality Bites — post-collegiate slackers work shit jobs and chase unrealistic aspirations — can sometimes fool you into thinking that the film itself shares its characters’ low-fi philosophy, which is probably why it’s such a surprise to learn that Lubezki was director of photography for Ben Stiller’s film. But the truth is that the film is beautifully shot, making good use of location shooting in Houston and capturing Winona Ryder’s Gen-X goddess status better than any film ever would.
'The Birdcage' (1996)
As noted previously on Decider, “It’s rare to see top-notch cinematographers working in comedy; you don’t usually think about visual style in those movies. But in The Birdcage everything from the sunset pastel color patterns to the attempted formalities of the dinner scene feel remarkably composed.”
'The Cat in the Hat' (2003)
It’s tougher to defend this one, Mike Myers’ universally reviled and discarded children’s-book adaptation. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert took pains to defend the production design of the film while slamming Myers and his massively irritating title character, so you can at least say that Lubezki’s camera made sure the best parts of the film were on display. Still, this is probably the kind of movie that an in-demand Lubezki in 2016 shoos aside.
'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events' (2004)
As Lubezki moved further into the 2000s, the budgets of his projects got bigger, as did the scope. The visual effects and sets and costumes tend to overwhelm everything in A Series of Unfortunate Events, but there is no doubt that Lubezki was able to capture some really beautiful images, especially his repeated framing of the children as huddled amid threatening surroundings.
[Where to stream Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events]
'Burn After Reading' (2009)
It’s more than a bit of a surprise that Lubezki’s lone partnership with the Coen brothers would be on one of their least overtly cinematic films. Still, even in low-key circumstances, Lubezki is able to do things like frame Brad Pitt’s attempt at a clandestine blackmail phone call look appropriately absurd via framing. (Frances on the phone across the room!)
