ROTUNNO, GIUSEPPE

(1923-)

Cinematographer. Rotunno began in the industry as a still photographer at the age of 17. His career was interrupted in 1942 when he was conscripted and sent to Greece as a film reporter but then captured and interned by the Germans when Italy signed the armistice in 1943. After returning to Italy in 1945 he served an apprenticeship as assistant toG.R.Aldoon a number of films, which includedVittorio De Sica'sUmberto D(1952), before graduating to director of photography onDino Risi'sPane, amore e. . . (Scandal in Sorrento, 1955).

In the following years he worked with many of the major Italian directors, among themValerio Zurlini,Mario Monicelli,Lina Wertmiiller, andVittorio De Sica.He was cinematographer forLuchino ViscontionLe notti bianche(White Nights, 1957),Rocco e i suoi fratelli(Rocco and His Brothers, 1960),Il gattopardo(The Leopard, 1963), andLo straniero(The Stranger, 1967) and forFederico Fellinion a host of films that includedSatyricon(Fellini Satyricon, 1969),Roma(Fellini's Roma, 1972),Amarcord(1973),Casanova(Fellini's Casanova, 1976),Prova d'orchestra(Orchestra Rehearsal, 1978), andE la nave va(And the Ship Sails On, 1983). Much respected on both sides of the Atlantic—in 1959 he had already photographed Stanley Kramer'sOn the Beach(1959)—he was also called to work with Mike Nichols onCarnal Knowledge(1971) and with Bob Fosse onAll That Jazz(1979), a contribution that earned him the Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography.

In the late 1990s, with over 70 films to his credit, Rotunno retired from the industry in order to continue teaching at theCentro Sperimentale di Cinematografiain Rome. Having already garnered a string of prizes during his career, among them threeDavid di Donatelloand sevenNastri d'argento, in 1999 Rotunno was also recognized with the Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award and the International Award from the American Society of Cinematographers. Further highlighting his contribution to world cinema, in 2006 he was awarded a special 50th-anniversary David di Donatello.