Kaufman, Boris

KAUFMAN, BORIS (1906–1980), motion picture cameraman. Kaufman was born in Bialystok, Poland. He immigrated to France in 1927, where he became the cameraman on all of Jean Vigo's films, such as L'Atalante (1934), as well as those of other French directors. After serving in the French army, he went to New York in 1942. He worked for American war propaganda productions and became one of America's foremost cameramen. Renowned for his exquisite black-and-white photography, Kaufman won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1955 for Best Black/White Cinematography for On the Waterfront. Other films he worked on include Baby Doll (Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography, 1956), Twelve Angry Men (1957), The Fugitive Kind (1959), Splendor in the Grass (1961), Long Day's Journey into Night (1962), The Pawnbroker (1964), The World of Henry Orient (1964), The Group (1966), Bye Bye Braverman (1968), The Brotherhood (1969), and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970).

Kaufman was the brother of Soviet directors Dziga Vertov (1896–1954) and Mikhail Kaufman (1897–1980).