---
name: "Stephen H. Burum"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/stephen-h-burum"
fi1m_id: "stephen-h-burum"
imdb_id: "nm0005664"
tmdb_id: 1258
wikidata_id: "Q918531"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "25 November 1939"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-04T20:54:53.234067+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."
---

# Stephen H. Burum

## Identity

Stephen H. Burum

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/stephen-h-burum
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** stephen-h-burum
- **IMDb ID:** nm0005664
- **TMDB ID:** 1258
- **Wikidata ID:** Q918531
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_H._Burum, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q918531, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005664/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1258

Cinematographer. Born 25 November 1939 in Visalia, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 25 November 1939, Visalia, California, USA
- **Active:** 1979–2000
- **Also known as:** Stephen Henry Burum
- **Frequently works with:** [Brian De Palma](https://film.one/person/brian-de-palma.md), [David Koepp](https://film.one/person/david-koepp.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 92 (1), 1980s 78 (3), 1990s 84 (2), 2000s 50 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 69 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Crime 3, Thriller 3, Adventure 2, Action 1, Comedy 1
- **Screen time:** 14 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,021m across 7 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_H._Burum, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q918531, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005664/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1258

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Mission: Impossible*](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible.md) (81), [*The Untouchables*](https://film.one/film/the-untouchables.md) (81)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Carlito's Way*](https://film.one/film/carlitos-way.md) (86)

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

## Biography

Stephen H. Burum, also credited as Stephen Henry Burum, is an American cinematographer. Born on 25 November 1939 in Visalia, California, he graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and began his career working on Disney television productions and army training films before shooting commercials, television and low-budget features.

He gained early feature experience as second-unit director of photography on Francis Ford Coppola's *Apocalypse Now* (1979). Burum's first major credit as director of photography was *The Escape Artist* (1982). He is best known for his long collaboration with Brian De Palma, for whom he shot eight films including *Body Double* (1984), *The Untouchables* (1987), *Casualties of War* (1989), *Raising Cain* (1992), *Carlito's Way* (1993), *Mission: Impossible* (1996), *Snake Eyes* (1998) and *Mission to Mars* (2000). Other notable credits include *The Outsiders* (1983), *Rumble Fish* (1983), *The War of the Roses* (1989) and *Hoffa* (1992).

Burum received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography for *Hoffa* and won an ASC Award for the same film; he also earned ASC nominations for *The Untouchables* and *The War of the Roses*. He was awarded the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and a Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. He returned to UCLA as Kodak Cinematographer in Residence in 2007 and retired from feature work after *Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen* (2004).

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

## On Fi1m (7)

- *Mission to Mars* (2000), Fi1m 50, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/mission-to-mars.md)
- *Mission: Impossible* (1996), Fi1m 81, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible.md)
- *Carlito's Way* (1993), Fi1m 86, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/carlitos-way.md)
- *The War of the Roses* (1989), Fi1m 75, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-war-of-the-roses.md)
- *The Untouchables* (1987), Fi1m 81, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-untouchables.md)
- *Rumble Fish* (1983), Fi1m 77, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/rumble-fish.md)
- *Apocalypse Now* (1979), Fi1m 92, Second Unit Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/apocalypse-now.md)

## Complete filmography (41)

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

- *Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen* (2004), Director of Photography
- *Life or Something Like It* (2002), Director of Photography
- *Mission to Mars* (2000), Director of Photography — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/mission-to-mars.md)
- *Mystery Men* (1999), Director of Photography
- *Snake Eyes* (1998), Director of Photography
- *Fathers' Day* (1997), Director of Photography
- *Mission: Impossible* (1996), Director of Photography — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible.md)
- *The Shadow* (1994), Director of Photography
- *Carlito's Way* (1993), Director of Photography — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/carlitos-way.md)
- *Hoffa* (1992), Director of Photography
- *Raising Cain* (1992), Director of Photography
- *Man Trouble* (1992), Director of Photography
- *He Said, She Said* (1991), Director of Photography
- *The War of the Roses* (1989), Director of Photography — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/the-war-of-the-roses.md)
- *Casualties of War* (1989), Director of Photography
- *Arthur 2: On the Rocks* (1988), Director of Photography
- *The Untouchables* (1987), Director of Photography — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/the-untouchables.md)
- *Nutcracker: The Motion Picture* (1986), Director of Photography
- *8 Million Ways to Die* (1986), Director of Photography
- *The Bride* (1985), Director of Photography
- *St. Elmo's Fire* (1985), Director of Photography
- *Body Double* (1984), Director of Photography
- *Uncommon Valor* (1983), Director of Photography
- *Rumble Fish* (1983), Director of Photography — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/rumble-fish.md)
- *Something Wicked This Way Comes* (1983), Director of Photography
- *The Outsiders* (1983), Director of Photography
- *The Entity* (1982), Director of Photography
- *The Escape Artist* (1982), Director of Photography
- *Death Valley* (1982), Director of Photography
- *The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story* (1980), Director of Photography
- *Pacific High* (1980), Director of Photography
- *The T.V. Show* (1979), Director of Photography
- *Apocalypse Now* (1979), Second Unit Director of Photography — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/apocalypse-now.md)
- *Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas* (1977), Director of Photography
- *The House That Cried Murder* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Scream Bloody Murder* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Ann-Margret: From Hollywood with Love* (1969), Director of Photography
- *The Perils of Priscilla* (1969), Director of Photography
- *Wild Gypsies* (1969), Director of Photography
- *The Game* (1965), Cinematography
- *The Host* (1960), Director of Photography

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1993: Best Cinematography (nominated), for *Hoffa*

*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/stephen-h-burum