Gabriel Figueroa

Person

Gabriel Figueroa

Camera April 24, 1907

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (April 24, 1907 – April 27, 1997) was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood. His mother died after giving birth to him.…

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Known for

Popular titles

Kelly's Heroes

Kelly's Heroes

7.4 1970 Movie
The Exterminating Angel

The Exterminating Angel

7.9 1962 Movie
Two Mules for Sister Sara

Two Mules for Sister Sara

7.0 1970 Movie
The Young and the Damned

The Young and the Damned

8.1 1950 Movie
Simon of the Desert

Simon of the Desert

7.7 1965 Movie
Macario

Macario

8.7 1960 Movie
The Night of the Iguana

The Night of the Iguana

7.2 1964 Movie
Él

Él

7.7 1953 Movie
Nazarín

Nazarín

7.6 1959 Movie
El profe

El profe

8.0 1971 Movie
Under the Volcano

Under the Volcano

6.5 1984 Movie
El bolero de Raquel

El bolero de Raquel

7.4 1957 Movie

Biography

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Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (April 24, 1907 – April 27, 1997) was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood. His mother died after giving birth to him. His father, unable to cope with the loss of his wife, left Gabriel and his brother Roberto to be cared for by their aunts. He studied painting at the Academia de San Carlos, and at the age of 16 he became interested in photography thanks to José Guadalupe Velasco. He later befriended other photographers, such as Gilberto Martínez Solares and Raúl Martínez Solares, and these three would then move on to cinematography. Figueroa made his entry in the movie industry in 1932 as a photographer of stills for the film Revolución of Miguel Contreras Torres. He was later one of the 20 cinematographers hired for the Howard Hawks film Viva Villa!. After a few jobs he obtained a scholarship to study in the United States where the established director of photography Gregg Toland taught Figueroa. Back in Mexico, his first film was Fernando de Fuentes's Allá en el Rancho Grande (1936) which would become one of the most popular films in Mexico and Latin America, and gave him his first award at the Venice Film Festival. He filmed 235 movies over 50 years, including Los Olvidados by Luis Buñuel, The Night of the Iguana by John Huston, The Fugitive by John Ford, and Río Escondido by Emilio Fernández. One of his main collaborators was Fernández, with whom he shot twenty films, some of which won prizes at the Venice Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Berlin Film Festival. After collaborating with Fernández and Buñuel on their films with such actors as Dolores del Río, Pedro Armendáriz, María Félix, Jorge Negrete, Columba Domínguez, and Silvia Pinal, Figueroa has come to be regarded one of the most influential cinematographers active in México.

Filmography

Movies and shows, newest first

  1. 1986
    The Hex 2: Messengers of Hell

    Movie Director of Photography

  2. 1984
    Notes from Under the Volcano

    Movie Self

  3. 1984
    Observations Under the Volcano

    Movie Self

  4. 1984
    Under the Volcano

    Movie Director of Photography

  5. 1984
    The Heart of the Night

    Movie Director of Photography

  6. 1983
    Mundo mágico

    Movie Director of Photography

  7. 1983
    El héroe desconocido

    Movie Director of Photography

  8. 1983
    Mexico 2000

    Movie Director of Photography

  9. 1981
    D.F./Distrito Federal

    Movie Director of Photography

  10. 1980
    The Border

    Movie Director of Photography

  11. 1980
    At a Lame Pace

    Movie Director of Photography

  12. 1979
    México de mis amores

    Movie

  13. 1979
    Te quiero

    Movie Director of Photography

  14. 1978
    The House of the Pelican

    Movie Director of Photography

  15. 1978
    Los hijos de Sanchez

    Movie Cinematography

  16. 1978
    Cananea

    Movie Director of Photography

More credits
  1. 1978
    The Children of Sanchez

    Movie Director of Photography

  2. 1978
    Divine Words

    Movie Director of Photography

  3. 1977
    Balún Canán

    Movie Director of Photography

  4. 1977
    Maten al León

    Movie Director of Photography

  5. 1976
    Life Changes

    Movie Director of Photography

  6. 1976
    Coronation

    Movie Director of Photography

  7. 1975
    The Cry of the Turtle

    Movie Director of Photography

  8. 1974
    The Dogs of God

    Movie Director of Photography

  9. 1974
    Omen

    Movie Director of Photography

  10. 1974
    Once Upon a Scoundrel

    Movie Director of Photography

  11. 1974
    The Master of Ballantrae

    Movie Director of Photography

  12. 1973
    El amor tiene cara de mujer

    Movie Director of Photography

  13. 1973
    The Monastery of the Vultures

    Movie Director of Photography

  14. 1973
    Interval

    Movie Director of Photography

  15. 1972
    The She Wolf's Orgy

    Movie Director of Photography

  16. 1972
    The Children of Satan

    Movie Director of Photography

  17. 1972
    María

    Movie Director of Photography

  18. 1971
    El cielo y tú

    Movie Director of Photography

  19. 1971
    El profe

    Movie Director of Photography

  20. 1971
    La Generala

    Movie Director of Photography

  21. 1970
    Kelly's Heroes

    Movie Director of Photography

  22. 1970
    The Phantom Gunslinger

    Movie Director of Photography

  23. 1970
    Narda or The Summer

    Movie Director of Photography

  24. 1970
    Two Mules for Sister Sara

    Movie Director of Photography