The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography is an annual award given by National Society of Film Critics to honor the best cinematographer of the year.
English cinematographer Roger Deakins won this award a record four times. Haskell Wexler, Néstor Almendros, Gordon Willis, Philippe Rousselot, and Christopher Doyle each won the award twice.
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | In the Heat of the Night | Haskell Wexler |
| 1968 | Bullitt | William A. Fraker |
| 1969 | The Wild Bunch | Lucien Ballard |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Raging Bull | Michael Chapman |
| 1981 | Pennies from Heaven | Gordon Willis |
| 1982 | Diva | Philippe Rousselot |
| 1983 | Never Cry Wolf | Hiro Narita |
| 1984 | Comfort and Joy | Chris Menges |
| The Killing Fields | ||
| 1985 | Ran | Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda, and Asakazu Nakai |
| 1986 | Blue Velvet | Frederick Elmes |
| 1987 | Hope and Glory | Philippe Rousselot |
| 1988 | Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) | Henri Alekan |
| 1989 | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Michael Ballhaus |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Where the Heart Is | Peter Suschitzky |
| 1991 | Barton Fink | Roger Deakins |
| 1992 | Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua) | Zhao Fei |
| 1993 | Schindler's List | Janusz Kamiński |
| 1994 | Ed Wood | Stefan Czapsky |
| 1995 | Devil in a Blue Dress | Tak Fujimoto |
| 1996 | Breaking the Waves | Robby Müller |
| Dead Man | ||
| 1997 | Kundun | Roger Deakins |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | John Toll |
| 1999 | American Beauty | Conrad L. Hall |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Beau Travail | Agnès Godard |
| 2001 | In the Mood for Love (Fa yeung nin wa) | Christopher Doyle and Pin Bing Lee |
| 2002 | Far from Heaven | Edward Lachman |
| 2003 | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | Russell Boyd |
| 2004 | House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) | Xiaoding Zhao |
| 2005 | 2046 | Christopher Doyle, Lai Yiu Fai, and Kwan Pun Leung |
| 2006 | Children of Men | Emmanuel Lubezki |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Robert Elswit |
| 2008 | Slumdog Millionaire | Anthony Dod Mantle |
| 2009 | The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) | Christian Berger |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | True Grit | Roger Deakins |
| 2011 | The Tree of Life | Emmanuel Lubezki |
| 2012 | The Master | Mihai Mălaimare Jr. |
| 2013 | Inside Llewyn Davis | Bruno Delbonnel |
| 2014 | Mr. Turner | Dick Pope |
| 2015 | Carol | Edward Lachman |
| 2016 | Moonlight | James Laxton[1] |
| 2017 | Blade Runner 2049 | Roger Deakins[2] |
| 2018 | Roma | Alfonso Cuarón[3] |
| 2019 | Atlantics | Claire Mathon[4] |
| Portrait of a Lady on Fire |
| Year | Winner | Cinematographer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Nomadland | Joshua James Richards[5] |
| 2021 | The Green Knight | Andrew Droz Palermo[6] |
| 2022 | EO | Michał Dymek[7] |
| 2023 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Rodrigo Prieto[8] |
