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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Top Ten Cinematography Masterpieces?

Planet Earth

Planet Earth

Gibby said:
The series airs in the USA, on Discovery HD and Discovery, from 3/25 to 4/22. I want to check out the footage from their helicopter-mounted Cineflex gimbal Sony HDC-950 cameras. Most of the rest of the footage was shot with Sony HDW-750 cameras, although some remote footage was shot with Z1s and other cameras.

I think when I watch the series, I'll have two tracks running in my mind: 1) how well done and aesthetically pleasing their production is 2) improvements in the production if RED One cameras could have been used in 4k and 2k.

BBC definitely sets a high standard in nature and adventure travel production. I've always enjoyed their programs...
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Planet Earth is a great programme to reliably compare formats.

Approximate % figures
95% of aerials 29.97p on HDCAM
75% of ground on Varicam, 25% film (notably snow leopard at 125fps)
90% of underwater HDW750s.

Note the softness of other formats compared to the aerials and consider the aerials could be better using 10bit 1920x1080 recording.


RED has both potential and pitfalls for Natural History work but that's another thread:)


Mike Brennan
 
I thought 'Amelie' was simply stunning. Beautiful looks and amazing lighting, it was so good I could not sleep after watching that.

Lot of great mentions here, however I disagree with 'The New World'. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I did not believe one single second of it and thought the movie was pretty preeetty bad. Whether that was only due to cinematography I am not sure of, but it probably has something to do with it (it can't be the story or the leading actor, right?). If I recall correctly there was a scene where they were setting up these huge wooden fences for example. I could simply feel that that was set up somewhere in our present time. Braveheart on the other hand, takes me back into time.
 
Having just read an article by Jack Fisk, the production designer of "There Will Be Blood" and "The New World"... he talks about the inherent problem of a period movie where characters build a new settlement or, in that case, oil rigs and mining colony -- that all that fresh lumber makes things look, well, new, since they were new to those characters.

So often art directors cheat with some selective aging and roughing up of the lumber to take down the sense of "newness" but the reality was probably these new constructions did look rather out-of-place and brand-new -- almost like movie sets -- when originally set-up by the inhabitants.

Anyway, I had no problem with the authenticity of the art direction in "The New World" -- Jack Fisk is a great production designer.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
Having just read an article by Jack Fisk, the production designer of "There Will Be Blood" and "The New World"... he talks about the inherent problem of a period movie where characters build a new settlement or, in that case, oil rigs and mining colony -- that all that fresh lumber makes things look, well, new, since they were new to those characters.

So often art directors cheat with some selective aging and roughing up of the lumber to take down the sense of "newness" but the reality was probably these new constructions did look rather out-of-place and brand-new -- almost like movie sets -- when originally set-up by the inhabitants.

Anyway, I had no problem with the authenticity of the art direction in "The New World" -- Jack Fisk is a great production designer.
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- I love how they solved this in Deadwood - When they used fresh lumber for the building of the town with contrasting shots of boots stepping in deep mud pathways -
 
A few goodies for cinematrography,
The Conformist
The Trial & Third man
Days of Heaven
Amacord
Dr Strangelove
Space Odessey
Orlando
The Piano
Last Tango
Empire of the Sun
Amelie
Alein #1
& Blade Runner
Lawrence of Arabia
Hero
Bullet
The Good the Bad
Dont Look Now
Easy Rider
Oh Brother
Paris Texas
Deer Hunter...............................
 
Some good ones...

Some good ones...

In No particular order - these films stimulate my taste buds with light, composition and color.

Fly Away Home
Heat(Fav)
Last of The Mohicans
Black Stallion
Never Cry Wolf
Barry Lyndon
The Piano
Paranoid Park
Snow Falling on Cedars
Dead Man
Empire of the Sun
Twin Falls Idaho
...

We love Oh Brother, but it's look is so post dependent.
 
Alphaville (Couldn't have been any tackier. 10/10)

Inland Empire.
Very cool cinematography concept + execution. Took my brain a bit of time to cotton onto what was really going on but once I figured it out, totally and utterly off the hook.

O'brother where art thou.

No Country for Old Men.

Johnny Got His Gun. Its not the best lighting, or camera work. What it does so damn well is tell the story and suck you in and push you around.

Russian Ark.

David Mullen ASC said:
Anyway, I had no problem with the authenticity of the art direction in "The New World" -- Jack Fisk is a great production designer.
Click to expand...

He is indeed Ace.
 
For non narrative I would go with 'The Private Life of Plants' a David Attenbrough documentary.

Otherwise it's good to see Stalker getting a mention as it is one of my favorite films.

Others I think a fantastic achievements in photography/cinematography are;

Star Wars IV (A New Hope)
The Wizard of Oz
Raging Bull
Close Encounters of The Third Kind
Lawrence of Arabia
Jason and the Argonauts
Orsen Welles
 
Fight Club - Fincher, Cronenweth (Jeff)
Seven - Fincher, Khondji
O Brother, where art thou? - Coen, Deakins
Children of Men - Cuarón, Lubezki
Sleepy Hollow - Burton, Lubezki
The Green Mile - Darabont, Tattersall
Shawshank Redemption - Darabont, Deakins
City of God - Mereilles, Charlone
Alien 4 - Jeunet, Khondji
Amelie - Jeunet - Delbonnel
 
Blade Runner should be Number 1!

Although this type of thread is clearly subjective. I very rarely see a movie and feel the cinematography did not aid the story, very rare.

My favourites are my favourites because visually there is something that attracts me to the image itself. I personally don't give a hoot about underexposure or overexposure.

Any Leone movie
Any Spielberg film
Any R.Scott film
Any J.Cameron film
Any Kubrick film

The Man Who Wasn't There
Dirty Harrry
Stargate
Ed Wood
Abyss
Duel
 
Looking at my DVD collection, Oldboy and Michael Mann's Heat are the ones that catch my eye.

Of course Koyaanisqatsi and Baraka are great, but these are pure visual experiments, another class If you ask me.
 
Tough list to make

Apacalypse Now
The Godfather
Schindler's List
The Thin Red Line
Barry Lyndon
Titanic
Lawrence of Arabia
Blade Runner
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
American Beauty
 
1: Bladerunner
2: Se7en
3: Batman Begins
4: Man On Fire
5: There Will Be Blood
6: Delicatessen
7: Saving Private Ryan
8: Pans Labrynth
9: Gladiator
10: Team America World Police
11: A2M 2
 
Gibby said:
My very uncomplicated view of the concept of "best" cinematography is simply this:

Giving all due respect to high-standard production values in footage, I believe that there is no universal "best" cinematography - but only a "best" cinematography choice to most effectively tell the story of each individual production.

Beyond that definition, I believe all else is merely subjective comparison...
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tired of so much BS, humm mr. gibby?.. :wink: well said, Sir.. well said..
 
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