ASC Nominees Include ‘1917,' ‘The Irishman' and ‘Joker'

The American Society of Cinematographers has announced its nominees in film for the 34th annual ASC Awards.

Roger Deakins received his 16th nomination from the ASC for his work on “1917.” Deakins previously won four ASC Awards for his work on “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” “Skyfall” and “Blade Runner 2049.” Robert Richardson received his 11th nomination for Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Phedon Papamichael (“Ford v. Ferrari”) and “The Irishman’s” Rodrigo Prieto both earned their third nomination from the society.

The ASC is a good indicator of the cinematographers who will likely compete for Best Cinematography at the Oscars. The below ASC nominees could very well be the Oscar lineup, but many are predicting “Parasite’s” Hong Gyeong-Pyo will replace “Ford v. Ferrari’”s Phedon Papamichael for that fifth and final slot. Others omitted from the ASC’s five chosen also include Claire Mathon (“Portrait of A Lady on Fire”) and Jarin Blaschke (“The Lighthouse”).

Deakins vs Prieto?

All five of these DPs deserve their respective noms. Top work by all of them. My favorites this year are Richardson and Prieto — both were at the top of their games in their respective films, but they are also such different works. Prieto went for stark and somber tones in his photography of “The Irishman” — almost every frame feels immaculately designed, and there is nary a shot that is wasted in the film. The compositions are purposely flat in color but very mournful in tone. Robert Richardson’s stylishly sunny work in “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,” on the other hand, a stylistic triumph, is also the work of a maestro of the camera. Some of the long takes and shots Richardson concocts in this film are breathtaking to behold.

I won’t go too much into Deakins, even though he is the supposed Oscar frontrunner this year, but I do find his work in “1917” commendably impressive. The problem I have with his film is that it’s all style and no substance — the film plays best as an entertaining virtual reality video game, rather than really pure “cinema.”

And the nominees are …

Roger Deakins, “1917”
Phedon Papamichael, “Ford v Ferrari”
Rodrigo Prieto, “The Irishman”
Robert Richardson, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Lawrence Sher, “Joker”