A giant of French cinema, the now-retired Bruno Nuytten has more than earned his position among the great living cinematographers, yet his career as a DP didn't even last two decades. Nuytten shot his first feature film, Tristan and Isolde, in 1972, and his final one, Manon of the Spring, in 1986. After that, he had a slight but successful stint as a director, including the Oscar-nominated Camille Claudel, starring his one-time partner Isabelle Adjani. Adjani appears in several of his films as DP, which ran the gamut of French cinema in the 1970s and '80s. Among the directors he worked for were Marguerite Duras, Andre Techine, Claude Miller, Andrzej Zulawski, Alain Resnais and Jean-Luc Godard.
Nuytten was known for his rich compositions and exquisite capturing of natural and diegetic lighting, affording each and every one of his titles a visual splendour that further enhances their stylishness. Nuytten's imagery was lauded in Europe during his career, and has endured to this day, with films such as India Song, Possession and both Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring boasting some of the most memorable visuals in the cinema of their era. Not only are these all beautifull-shot movies, they're also just very good movies through and through, so once you've watched the video above, be sure to check out any you haven't seen!
Films featured
Woman of the Ganges, 1974
India Song, 1975
French Provincial, 1975
Son Nom de Venise dans Calcutta Desert, 1976
Barocco, 1976
The Lorry, 1977
Zoo Zero, 1979
The Bronte Sisters, 1979
Possession, 1981
Garde a Vue, 1981
Life Is a Bed of Roses, 1983
So Long, Stooge, 1983
Fort Saganne, 1984
The Children, 1985
Jean de Florette, 1986
Manon of the Spring, 1986