Interview: Rodrigo Prieto on working with great auteurs and "The Irishman"

Rodrigo Prieto has long been one of the most versatile cinematographers in the world. He first came to international fame with the gritty Oscar nominated Mexican drama Amores Perros (2000) though filmmakers in Hollywood, we learned in our interview, had noticed his skill even earlier than that. Since then he's worked all over the world and in an impressive array of genres and styles.

We gave you a teaser of our long sit down with this great visual stylist a couple of months ago (we had to grill him about Brokeback Mountain first) but we were meeting to discuss The Irishman. Martin Scorsese's latest Best Picture nominee had yet to open when we spoke but it was a critical darling immediately and Prieto secured his third Oscar nomination for his contributions to the mournful epic. We spoke to him about his visual choices, what he loves about his job, and working with auteurs like Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee. How do they differ on set and which of Prieto's films had they seen to convince them to begin their long collaborations?

[This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity]

NATHANIEL: Your first several movies were in Mexico. It was Amores Perros (2000), wasn’t it, when Hollywood came calling? Could you feel your career exploding? 

RODRIGO PRIETO: It was actually a little bit before. My fourth movie All of Them Witches got international recognition. That's what got me my agents. I did another movie called  Un embrujo (1998)  that Carlos Carrera directed that got an award in San Sebastian  for cinematography. It put me on the “10 to watch list” in Variety. That's the one that made me think, you know, people might have started hearing my name a little bit...

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A long take is a held breath.

by Cláudio Alves

Long takes are a constant subject of fascination for filmmakers and film lovers alike. The technical challenge inherent to them makes many directors salivate at the prospect of showing off their craft. At least, that's what, as an audience member, it sometimes feels like. Though, to characterize the long take as a mere tool of formalistic showmanship would be wrong. Depending on the case, this mechanism can be transformative, capable of bending the audience's perception of time, their attachment to what they're watching and sentimental engagement.

In 1917, Sam Mendes uses the long take as a key to sensorial immersion and ever-tightening tension. Each cut is a blink, a breath, a repositioning of the eye and recalibration of the senses. It's something that's a convention and brings comfort to the viewer. When you take it away, one feels as if the action never stops, like there's no time to breathe or to disengage with the narrative. A long take is a held breath and it can be a gloriously suffocating thing to experience…

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Is Black-and-White the Path to Gold?

by Cláudio Alves

Lately, it seems every time a film shot in black-and-white is even tangentially associated with Oscar buzz, it becomes an immediate contender for the Best Cinematography trophy. Even if many were skeptical (not Nathaniel, who predicted it), The Lighthouse proved this once again when it conquered a nomination for the work of DP Jarin Blaschke. In this case, at least, the nomination is amply justifiable with The Lighthouse looking like a series of haunted daguerreotypes, full of shiny fluids and battered bodies, ominous tempests and the enticing flame of the titular lighthouse.

Still, that's not always the case. Here are all the black-and-white Best Cinematography nominees of the 21st century…

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FYC: Claire Mathon for Best Cinematography

by Cláudio Alves

Two years ago, Rachel Morrison made history when she became the first woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography at the Oscars. By no means does that imply Mudbound's wondrous DP is a pioneer. There are many awards-worthy female DPs working in cinema, past and present, and the Academy's sketchy record should be understood as nothing more than the industry's  internalized sexism and biases. Where were the nominations for Maryse Alberti, Agnès Godard, and Ellen Kuras, among others?

This year, critics have been united in their praise of a particular DP whose double dose of photographic genius could make History, just as Morrison did in 2018. However, Claire Mathon is fighting against even more of the Academy's treacherous biases, including their disinterest in African cinema, LGBTQ stories, and non-English speaking narratives…

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ASC Nominees and "Spotlight" Cinematographers

The Cinematographer's guild has spoken and they basically went with mainstream Best Picture frontrunners as is their habit. The five theatrical nominees are...

• Roger Deakins for 1917
• Phaedon Papamichael for Ford V Ferrari
• Rodrigo Prieto for The Irishman
• Robert Richardson for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Lawrence Sher for Joker 

All but Sher are familiar to the Oscar race having been nominated before, particular Deakins (14 nominations / 1 win) and Richards (9 nominations / 3 wins).

Their "spotlight" nominees -- a fairly new category -- are always more interesting since they tend to be far removed from the Oscar race...

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