Italian cinematographer Dante Spinotti worked with such internationally respected directors from his native country as Lina Wertmuller, Liliana Cavani and Giacomo Battiato before making his American debut with Michael Mann's "Manhunter" (1986), an early introduction to the Thomas Harris character Hannibal Lecter. He reunited with Mann for "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992), allowing his camera to run alongside Daniel Day-Lewis' Hawkeye and accompany the trajectory of a bullet or the flight of a tomahawk, and again for the dynamite cops-and-robbers saga "Heat" (1995). Another frequent partner has been director Garry Marshall, the two teaming on "Beaches" (1988), "Frankie and Johnnie" (1991) and "The Other Sister" (1999). Spinotti was also director of photography on two Michael Apted films, "Blink" and "Nell" (both 1994).Spinotti's collaboration with Curtis Hanson yielded the critically acclaimed "L.A. Confidential" (1997). Rejecting the classic film noir approach, Hanson and Spinotti pored over the work of Swiss-born still photographer Robert Frank, intrigued by the contemporary look and feel of his pictures that were still true to their period. Inspired by Frank's photos, Spinotti took every opportunity to film exclusively with practical lights (i.e., fluorescents and street lamps), augmenting with bat strips ("I call bat strips my 'no-light lights'") when the practicals needed a boost. After teaming with Roland Joffe for "Goodbye Lover" (1999), a female detective story also set in the City of Angels, Spinotti made the best of the interiors and Midwestern locations for Mann's "The Insider" (also 1999) and earned his first Oscar nomination. He then joined Hanson for "Wonder Boys" (2000), proving that dark, dreary weather is not incompatible with comedy.
Profession(s):
director of photography
Sometimes Credited As:
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Best Cinematography "The Insider" 1999
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Best Cinematography "L.A. Confidential" 1997
2000 Reteamed with Hanson as director of photography on "Wonder Boys"
1999 Worked as director of photography on Roland Joffe's "Goodbye Lover", a detective story set in L.A.
1999 Earned first Oscar nomination for his work on Mann's "The Insider"
1997 Took inspiration from the still photography of Swiss-born Robert Frank to create the distinctive contemporary look of Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential"
1996 Began work on "The Mirror Has Two Faces", directed by Barbra Streisand; was replaced by Andrzej Bartkowiak
1995 Third collaboration with Mann, "Heat"
1994 Was director of photography for two Michael Apted films, "Blink" and "Nell"
1992 Reteamed with Mann on "The Last of the Mohicans"
1991 Second film with Marshall, "Frankie and Johnnie"
1990 His stunning visuals of Venice upstaged the actors in Paul Schrader's "The Comfort of Strangers"
1989 Helped Jerzy Skolomowski exquisitely etch "Torrents of Spring"
1988 Worked with Garry Marshall on "Beaches"
1986 First film in the USA, Michael Mann's "Manhunter"
1986 Collaborated with Bruce Beresford on "Crimes of the Heart"
1985 Served as director of photography on Lina Wertmuller's "Sotto Sotto"
1980 Early credits as director of photography, the Italian movies "Il Minestrone" and "Cenerentola"
