---
name: "Geoffrey Unsworth"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/geoffrey-unsworth"
fi1m_id: "geoffrey-unsworth"
imdb_id: "nm0005910"
tmdb_id: 243
wikidata_id: "Q489951"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "26 May 1914"
died: "28 October 1978"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 8
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-04T16:27:14.664710+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."
---

# Geoffrey Unsworth

## Identity

Geoffrey Unsworth

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/geoffrey-unsworth
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** geoffrey-unsworth
- **IMDb ID:** nm0005910
- **TMDB ID:** 243
- **Wikidata ID:** Q489951
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Unsworth, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q489951, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005910/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/243

Cinematographer. Born 26 May 1914 in Atherton, Lancashire, England, UK. Died 28 October 1978.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 26 May 1914, Atherton, Lancashire, England, UK
- **Died:** 28 October 1978
- **Active:** 1946–1980
- **Also known as:** Geoffrey G. Unsworth, Geoff Unsworth, Geoffrey Gilyard Unsworth
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 7 crew, 1 other
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won · 2 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 92 (1), 1950s 85 (1), 1960s 86 (2), 1970s 67 (3), 1980s 74 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 84 to 80 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Romance 3, Action 2, Adventure 2, History 2, Science Fiction 2
- **Screen time:** 16 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $362m across 6 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Unsworth, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q489951, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005910/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/243

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*2001: A Space Odyssey*](https://film.one/film/2001-a-space-odyssey.md) (92), [*Superman II*](https://film.one/film/superman-ii.md) (74)
- **Tubi:** [*Cabaret*](https://film.one/film/cabaret.md) (88)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*A Night to Remember*](https://film.one/film/a-night-to-remember.md) (85)
- **Pluto TV:** [*Becket*](https://film.one/film/becket.md) (79)

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

## Biography

Geoffrey Unsworth (also credited as Geoffrey G. Unsworth) was a British cinematographer. He entered the film industry in 1932 at Gaumont-British and joined Technicolor in 1937, working as a camera assistant and operator on numerous British colour films before becoming a director of photography in 1946.

Unsworth shot nearly 90 feature films over more than 40 years. His credits include *2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968), *Cabaret* (1972), *Murder on the Orient Express* (1974), *A Bridge Too Far* (1977) and *Superman* (1978). He received two Academy Awards for cinematography, for *Cabaret* and posthumously for *Tess* (1979), along with five BAFTA awards. He was appointed OBE in 1976.

Unsworth died of a heart attack on 28 October 1978 in Paris while filming *Tess*.

*Sources: britishcinematographer.co.uk, screenonline.org.uk, imdb.com, wikimili.com.*

## On Fi1m (8)

### Crew (7) — the average rests on these

- *Superman II* (1980), Fi1m 74, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/superman-ii.md)
- *Tess* (1979), Fi1m 74, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/tess.md)
- *Cabaret* (1972), Fi1m 88, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/cabaret.md)
- *2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968), Fi1m 92, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/2001-a-space-odyssey.md)
- *Becket* (1964), Fi1m 79, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/becket.md)
- *A Night to Remember* (1958), Fi1m 85, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/a-night-to-remember.md)
- *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Fi1m 92, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Exorcist II: The Heretic* (1977), Fi1m 38, Thanks — [page](https://film.one/film/exorcist-ii-the-heretic.md)

## Complete filmography (72)

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

- *Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut* (2006), Director of Photography
- *Superman II* (1980), Director of Photography — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/superman-ii.md)
- *Tess* (1979), Director of Photography — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/tess.md)
- *Superman* (1978), Director of Photography
- *The First Great Train Robbery* (1978), Director of Photography, In Memory Of
- *Exorcist II: The Heretic* (1977), Thanks — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/exorcist-ii-the-heretic.md)
- *A Bridge Too Far* (1977), Director of Photography
- *A Matter of Time* (1976), Director of Photography
- *Lucky Lady* (1975), Director of Photography
- *Royal Flash* (1975), Director of Photography
- *The Return of the Pink Panther* (1975), Director of Photography
- *Murder on the Orient Express* (1974), Director of Photography
- *The Abdication* (1974), Director of Photography
- *The Internecine Project* (1974), Director of Photography
- *Zardoz* (1974), Director of Photography
- *Don Quixote* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Voices* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Baxter!* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland* (1972), Director of Photography
- *Cabaret* (1972), Director of Photography — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/cabaret.md)
- *Unman, Wittering and Zigo* (1971), Director of Photography
- *Say Hello to Yesterday* (1971), Director of Photography
- *Goodbye Gemini* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Cromwell* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Three Sisters* (1970), Director of Photography
- *The Reckoning* (1970), Director of Photography
- *The Magic Christian* (1969), Director of Photography
- *The Assassination Bureau* (1969), Director of Photography
- *The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom* (1968), Director of Photography
- *2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968), Director of Photography — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/2001-a-space-odyssey.md)
- *Half a Sixpence* (1967), Director of Photography
- *Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad* (1967), Director of Photography
- *El Rey en Londres* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Othello* (1965), Camera Operator, Director of Photography
- *You Must Be Joking* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Pop Gear* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Genghis Khan* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Becket* (1964), Director of Photography — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/becket.md)
- *The Playboy of the Western World* (1962), Director of Photography
- *The 300 Spartans* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Don't Bother to Knock* (1961), Director of Photography
- *The World of Suzie Wong* (1960), Director of Photography
- *North West Frontier* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Whirlpool* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Bachelor of Hearts* (1958), Director of Photography
- *A Night to Remember* (1958), Director of Photography — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/a-night-to-remember.md)
- *Hell Drivers* (1957), Director of Photography
- *A Town Like Alice* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Eric Winstone's Stagecoach* (1955), Cinematography
- *Value for Money* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Passage Home* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Simba* (1955), Director of Photography
- *The Purple Plain* (1954), Director of Photography
- *The Seekers* (1954), Director of Photography
- *The Million Pound Note* (1954), Director of Photography
- *The Sword and the Rose* (1953), Director of Photography
- *The Planter's Wife* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Penny Princess* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Where No Vultures Fly* (1951), Director of Photography
- *The Clouded Yellow* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Double Confession* (1950), Director of Photography
- *The Spider and the Fly* (1949), Director of Photography
- *Scott of the Antarctic* (1948), Additional Director of Photography
- *Blanche Fury* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Jassy* (1947), Director of Photography
- *The Man Within* (1947), Director of Photography
- *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Camera Operator — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md)
- *The Laughing Lady* (1946), Director of Photography
- *Power on the Land: The Story of the Mechanisation of British Farming* (1943), Director of Photography
- *The People's Land* (1943), Director of Photography
- *World Garden* (1942), Cinematography

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 2 won, 2 nominated

- 1981: Best Cinematography (won), for *Tess*
- 1975: Best Cinematography (nominated), for *Murder on the Orient Express*
- 1973: Best Cinematography (won), for *Cabaret*
- 1965: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Becket*

### BAFTA Film Awards — 5 won

- 1982: Best Cinematography (won), for *Tess*
- 1978: Best Cinematography (won), for *A Bridge Too Far*
- 1973: Best Cinematography (won), for *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*
- 1969: Best Cinematography (won), for *2001: A Space Odyssey*
- 1965: Best Cinematography (won), for *Becket*

*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/geoffrey-unsworth