Dryden film series begins TONIGHT to honor the Academy Award-winning cinematographer responsible for such films as Apocalypse Now (1979), Last Tango in Paris (1972), Dick Tracy (1990), The Last Emperor (1987), Ladyhawke(1985), and The Sheltering Sky (1990)
The George Eastman Museum will honor Academy Award–winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro with the George Eastman Award on Saturday, March 25. Tickets are on sale now, and available online at eastman.org/storaro. The award recognizes Storaro’s distinguished contribution to the art of film. In accepting the honor, he joins the company of film legends such as Charles Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Cecil B. DeMille, Michael Douglas, Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish, Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Martin Scorsese, James Stewart, Meryl Streep, and most recently, Michael Keaton. The George Eastman Award was established in 1955 as the first retrospective film award to honor artistic work of enduring value.
“Good cinematographers effectively translate the writer’s ideas, the actors’ performances, and the director’s visions to moving images. A great cinematographer deepens all of these elements and creates a transcendent visual experience for the viewer,” said Bruce Barnes, Ron and Donna Fielding Director, George Eastman Museum.
Event Details
George Eastman Award Ceremony & Screening of Dick Tracy
Saturday, March 25, 8 p.m.
The George Eastman Museum will present Vittorio Storaro with its highest honor in motion pictures, followed by an intimate conversation with Storaro and a screening of a rare 35mm print of Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty, 1990). In the film’s impossibly saturated colors and shadows, Storaro created a motion picture that more perfectly than any other captures the graphic artistry of the comic books that have served as source material for so many movies over the past forty years.
Tickets: $45, preferred seating; $35, reserved seating available at eastman.org/storaro
Beginning tonight at 7:30 p.m., the Dryden Theatre will kick off a curated film series dedicated to the George Eastman Award winner, with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970). The series, Painting with Light: A Tribute to Vittorio Storaro, will continue with the following films from his illustrious career:
Thursday, March 16: Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Saturday, March 18: Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Friday, March 24: Apocalypse Now Redux (1979/2001) *Special event pricing
Saturday, March 25: Dick Tracy (1990) *Special event pricing
Sunday, March 26: Muhammad: The Messenger of God (2015) *Free screening
Wednesday, March 29: One from the Heart (1981)
Thursday, March 30: Muhammad: The Messenger of God (2015)
Friday, March 31: The Last Emperor (1987)
Thursday, April 6: Goya in Bordeaux (1999)
Saturday, April 8: Apocalypse Now Redux (1979/2001)
Saturday, April 15: Ladyhawke (1985)
Saturday, April 29: The Sheltering Sky (1990)
Sunday, April 30: Little Buddha (1993)
For more information, visit eastman.org/dryden.
During his five-decade career, Storaro has collaborated with many celebrated film directors—Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Warren Beatty, Carlos Saura, and Woody Allen, among others—to create some of the most visually stunning motion pictures of all time. In 2003, the International Cinematographer’s Guild named Storaro one of the eleven most influential cinematographers in the history of filmmaking, and today he is the only living person on that list. He has won three Academy Awards—for Apocalypse Now, Reds, and The Last Emperor.
“We are honored to present the George Eastman Award to Vittorio Storaro—a true painter with light,” said Barnes. “He is perhaps the only master cinematographer who excels at his art and craft while consciously, constantly, and vocally reflecting upon it. We are thrilled that he will be joining us in Rochester to accept the award this March.”
Related Special Events
Vittorio Storaro Introduces Apocalypse Now Redux (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979/ 2001)
Friday, March 24, 7 p.m.
Vittorio Storaro will introduce Apocalypse Now Redux (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979/2001), widely considered his greatest masterpiece, now re-edited to include nearly fifty minutes of footage not seen on the film’s initial release. This film remains one of cinema’s definitive statements on the madness of war.
Tickets: $25 general, $10 veterans and active-duty military (with ID). General seating.
Vittorio Storaro Introduces Muhammad: The Messenger of God (Majid Majidi, Iran 2015)
Sunday, March 26, 2 p.m.
Vittorio Storaro will introduce the East Coast premiere of Muhammad: The Messenger of God (Majid Majidi, 2015), an extravagant historical spectacle chronicling the first thirteen years of a certain Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah, who soon became known as Prophet Muhammad.
Tickets: FREE admission (no reserved seats; first come, first served). Doors open at 1:15 p.m.
About the George Eastman Award
The George Eastman Museum has championed the history, preservation, creativity, and passion of photography and film since opening its doors in 1949. The George Eastman Award for distinguished contribution to the art of film—by actors, directors, and cinematographers—was established by the museum in 1955 to recognize that same commitment in individuals. The George Eastman Award was the first film award given by a US cultural institution to honor artistic work of enduring value. The first two presentations of the award in 1955 and 1957, known as the Festival of Film Artists, recognized the legends of the silent film era.
About Vittorio Storaro
Born in Rome in 1940, Storaro was educated in cinematography at the Italian Film Institute (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia), where he graduated in 1960. He began his career as a cinematographer on Giovinezza Giovinezza (Italy, 1968), directed by Franco Rossi, and since then has worked on more than seventy projects, winning more than forty awards. Storaro is best known for his repeated work with three great directors: Bernardo Bertolucci (The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky, Little Buddha), Francis Ford Coppola (Apocalypse Now, One From the Heart, Tucker: The Man and His Dream), and Warren Beatty (Reds, Dick Tracy, Bulworth). He was recently the cinematographer for Woody Allen’s Café Society and is currently working on post-production for another Allen feature.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program and, through its two joint master’s degree programs with the University of Rochester, makes critical contributions to the fields of film preservation and of photographic preservation and collection management. For more information, visit eastman.org.
