If you are enamored by the look of Chinatown, it's because John A. Alonzo shot the film which earned him sole Oscar nomination. Of Mexican-American and Latino heritage, he went on to work on Lady Sings the Blues; Farewell, My Lovely; Tom Horn; the 1983 version of Scarface; and Internal Affairs. On a side note, he mentored John Toll who later won two Oscars for Best Cinematography.

Completely underrated during the 90's, the Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki was responsible for shooting three unbelievably good-looking pictures: Como agua para chocolate, A Walk in the Clouds, and Meet Joe Black. Eventually, he received recognition during the 21st century by being awarded three Oscars among eight nominations.

A British cinematographer, Chris Menges is a two-time Oscar winner, having handled some of the most stunning-looking period pictures such as The Killing Fields and The Mission for Roland Joffé. He also shot two more UK films: Local Hero and The Boxer.

If you loved Oliver Stone's films, then you loved the way Robert Richardson shot them. He's a three-time Oscar winner, having worked on Platoon, Salvador, Wall Street, JFK, and The Horse Whisperer. His creed has been: "It's far better to shoot a good picture than a good-looking picture." Indeed so.

You aren't familiar with the name, but you're exceedingly familiar with his work which won three Oscar nominations. Douglas Slocombe shot all of the three famous movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He was responsible for other beautiful pictures such as The Blue Max and The Great Gatsby.

If anybody is the best, it's Vittorio Storaro. One word: beautiful. A three-time Oscar winner, he's a longtime favorite of Bernardo Bertolucci, having done brilliant work. His must-see films are Il confirmista, Last Tango in Paris, Novecento, Agatha, Apocalyse Now, The Last Emperor, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, The Sheltering Sky, and Little Buddha.

Robert Surtees was a legendary cinematographer who earned three Oscars among thirteen nominations. Black-and-white or color, it didn't matter; he could capture the best of them as illustrated in Quo Vadis, The Bad and the Beautiful, Raintree County, Ben-Hur, the 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty, and The Last Picture Show.

A two-time Oscar winner whose work spanned four decades, Geoffrey Unsworth excelled the most in creating unforgettable period and sci-fi pictures such as The Purple Plain, A Night to Remember, The World of Suzie Wong, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Cromwell, Cabaret, Murder on the Orient Express, and A Bridge Too Far.

If you loved the opening scene of Chariots of Fire, it was shot by David Watkin. His sole Oscar win went for one of the most stunning-looking picture of all time: Out of Africa. A big advocate of the bounce light as a soft light source, he didn't get enough credit for his work on The Devils, Mahogany, and Yentl.

A longtime favorite of Woody Allen, Alan J. Pakula, and James Bridges, Gordon Willis didn't get the moniker "The Prince of Darkness" for nothing. He could highlight the degree of blackness as seen through The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III. Another masterpiece in his filmography is Comes a Horseman. Unfortunately, Gordon Willis never won an Oscar in his lifetime.