---
name: "Boris Kaufman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/boris-kaufman"
fi1m_id: "boris-kaufman"
imdb_id: "nm0442100"
tmdb_id: 5261
wikidata_id: "Q278759"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "24 August 1906"
died: "24 June 1980"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 88
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-26T12:24:40.114032+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Boris Kaufman

## Identity

Boris Kaufman

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/boris-kaufman
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** boris-kaufman
- **IMDb ID:** nm0442100
- **TMDB ID:** 5261
- **Wikidata ID:** Q278759
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Kaufman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q278759, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0442100/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5261

Cinematographer. Born 24 August 1906 in Bialystok, Russian Empire [now Poland]. Died 24 June 1980.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 24 August 1906, Bialystok, Russian Empire [now Poland]
- **Died:** 24 June 1980
- **Active:** 1933–1961
- **Also known as:** Boris Abelevich Kaufman, Kaufman, Kauffmann, Бори́с Ка́уфман, Бори́с А́белевич Ка́уфман
- **Frequently works with:** [Elia Kazan](https://film.one/person/elia-kazan.md), [Jean Dasté](https://film.one/person/jean-daste.md), [Jean Vigo](https://film.one/person/jean-vigo.md), [Lee J. Cobb](https://film.one/person/lee-j-cobb.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 85 (2), 1950s 90 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 90 to 86 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Comedy 2, Romance 2, Crime 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $14m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Kaufman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q278759, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0442100/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5261

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*12 Angry Men*](https://film.one/film/12-angry-men.md) (91)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*On the Waterfront*](https://film.one/film/on-the-waterfront.md) (89)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Boris Kaufman (1906–1980) was a Russian-born American cinematographer. He was the younger brother of Soviet filmmakers Dziga Vertov and Mikhail Kaufman. After studying at the University of Paris, he began working in cinematography in France, collaborating with directors including Jean Vigo on films such as *À propos de Nice* (1930), *Taris* (1931), *Zero for Conduct* (1933) and *L'Atalante* (1934).

Following service in the French Army during the Second World War, Kaufman moved to Canada and then the United States in 1942. He worked on documentaries and short films before his first American feature, *On the Waterfront* (1954) directed by Elia Kazan, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Black and White). He received a further Oscar nomination for Kazan's *Baby Doll* (1956).

Kaufman shot Sidney Lumet's debut feature *12 Angry Men* (1957) and collaborated with Lumet on several later films, including *The Fugitive Kind* (1960), *Long Day's Journey Into Night* (1962) and *The Pawnbroker* (1965). Other credits include *Splendor in the Grass* (1961). He retired in 1970 and died in New York City.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *12 Angry Men* (1957), Fi1m 91, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/12-angry-men.md)
- *On the Waterfront* (1954), Fi1m 89, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/on-the-waterfront.md)
- *L'Atalante* (1934), Fi1m 90, Aerial Camera, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/latalante.md)
- *Zero for Conduct* (1933), Fi1m 80, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/zero-for-conduct.md)

## Complete filmography (46)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *All Vertovs* (2002), as (archive footage)
- *Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Uptight* (1968), Director of Photography
- *The Brotherhood* (1968), Director of Photography
- *Bye Bye Braverman* (1968), Director of Photography
- *The Group* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Film* (1965), Director of Photography
- *The Pawnbroker* (1965), Director of Photography
- *The World of Henry Orient* (1964), Director of Photography
- *All the Way Home* (1963), Director of Photography
- *Gone Are the Days!* (1963), Director of Photography
- *Long Day's Journey Into Night* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Splendor in the Grass* (1961), Director of Photography
- *The Fugitive Kind* (1960), Director of Photography
- *That Kind of Woman* (1959), Director of Photography
- *12 Angry Men* (1957), Director of Photography — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/12-angry-men.md)
- *Baby Doll* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Crowded Paradise* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Patterns* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Singing in the Dark* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Garden of Eden* (1954), Cinematography
- *On the Waterfront* (1954), Director of Photography — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/on-the-waterfront.md)
- *Leonardo da Vinci* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Musiquiz* (1952), Director of Photography
- *The Gentleman in Room 6* (1951), Cinematography
- *24 Hours of Progress* (1950), Cinematography
- *Roller Derby Girl* (1949), Director of Photography
- *Hymn of the Nations* (1944), Director of Photography
- *Schubert's Serenade* (1940), Director of Photography
- *The Fatted Calf* (1939), Director of Photography
- *De man zonder hart* (1937), Director of Photography
- *L'Homme sans cœur* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Quand minuit sonnera* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Klokslag twaalf* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Young Girl in the Garden* (1936), Director of Photography
- *The Fountain of Arethusa* (1936), Director of Photography
- *Zouzou* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Le Père Lampion* (1934), Director of Photography
- *L'Atalante* (1934), Director of Photography, Aerial Camera — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/latalante.md)
- *Le Chemin du bonheur* (1934), Cinematography
- *Zero for Conduct* (1933), Director of Photography — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/zero-for-conduct.md)
- *Taris* (1931), Director of Photography
- *The Cradles* (1931), Director of Photography
- *À propos de Nice* (1930), Editor, Director of Photography, Director, Camera Operator
- *The March of the Machines* (1927), Director of Photography
- *Les Halles centrales* (1927), Director, Camera Operator, Director of Photography

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 1957: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (nominated), for *Baby Doll*
- 1955: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (won), for *On the Waterfront*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/boris-kaufman