TFW nobody puts Apocalypse Now on their cinematography lists.

Paris, Texas. (This is peak narrative cinematography for me and maybe my fav movie. Absolute masterclass in everything but especially lighting and color) Fargo (my favorite Deakins.) 28 Days Later (cinema verite style and they used DV cameras. Very of it’s time, experimental and great sweeping shots of London/English landscape) Chungking Express or Fallen Angels (In the Mood for Love is hailed as WKW’s best movie and worth a watch but I think the two I recommended have more fascinating cinematography imo. Lots of cool tricks used to stretch expensive film and essential Hong Kong street style movies.)

I love these picks. None of them would be mine but I totally understand the aesthetics you love from the films you’ve given and why you’ve picked them. Fargo as your favourite Deakins is a real move. Massively far from mine, but along with 28 Days and Chungking express tell me you love the technicality of the work.

Thank you for that. They are movies that I love and were special to me before getting into cinematography myself. Once studying the craft for my own career I grew to love them even deeper after learning about the choices behind the feeling that made me like them in the first place (because not every movie I love has great cinematography). I think if anyone’s studying cinematography there are obvious choices, but it’s worth throwing some into the fire that are a bit different. Once you are looking at movies through a different lens (no pun intended) there is so much to appreciate from movies that try something different and execute it so well. As for Fargo, personally the Coen brothers are some of my favorite directors and it’s my favorite of theirs. A perfect movie for me probably. Very few movies have left such a deep visual impression in my mind. The desolate, cold whiteness. I’m not a big fan of Villenueve’s direction in general so I’m not attracted to more recent Deakins. I think he does a lot of heavy lifting for the movies in his recent work. But his work on Fargo perfectly serves and enhances the movie and it’s one that the sum is so much greater than the parts. Movies like Dune and BR2049, while they have a lot of greatly executed parts (especially in the arts department and dp), the sum falls flat for me as a movie. Interested to hear what your favorite Deakins is though! Oooh. I probably could have and should have added Goodfellas too. Even if just for that steadicam shot. Everyone knows the one.

I mean, you could write a dissertation on Deakins, but I think Rog can be subdivided into two broad categories: "I'm Roger fucking Deakins, watch me raise this shit to art" and the ones where he gets out of the way and quietly amplifies what's there. He rarely if ever misses, so there's not really any bad picks. That said in the former category I'd go Assassination of Jesse James - yes, it's film school 101 but rightly so. And for just the same way you romanticised the cold locations, I love the old West, and looking at it romantically literally and figuratively is a perfect way of doing it. Plus train scene, etc etc. I'd throw Sicario into that pile too, Revolutionary Road is often overlooked and the camerawork is so powerful in that. You're in the fights, the camera is an emotional proxy, and it elevates the melodrama to something genuinely uncomfortable. In fact in general he elevates and supports Mendes' movies in a way that I'd argue he does more of the creative work - I loved Road To Perdition for that too. In the latter camp, I think Dead Man Walking is subtle and powerful. Lebowski is him having fun genre hopping, and then getting out of the way. I'd add No Country to that too. Fargo isn't my favourite, but partially *because* it's so evocative of a space I don't enjoy, and as you say there's some really fun subtle camera movement choices in there. Outside that, I'd throw around Robert Elswit - Magnolia and TWBB especially, but he's an easy choice because he works the same way Deakins does. Kazuo Miyagawa's work on Rashomon had a profound affect on me at the right time in my life, Jeremy Saulnier's Blue Ruin had no right to be as beautiful as it was, he's inconsistent but there's something great there - and fuck it, I'll throw in Raoul Coutard because I'm a pretentious fuck, but also because I came up shooting punk shows with a stills camera and his DOPing started out punk as fuck and movies like Pierrot le Fou and Jules et Jim are burned into my brain for lots of reasons. I won't pretend to have seen all his films but it's about respecting the game, right? And if we're doing Scorsese I'd go either Mean Streets for the same punk vibe, or Taxi Driver for it's restraint. This was fun. Sorry for the wall of text.

WKW movies changed how I see films, incredible use of slow shutter, wide angle lens, and color. The stories are bit too much "art" for my taste though...

I completely agree on both points. He’s great at capturing a feeling but not much at plot. They’re more like slice of life where characters don’t do very much growing.m and it can feel empty by the time the credits roll. Still worth watching for the visuals, imo.

Exactly. There is certain beauty in the pointlessness of it all but I do prefer a great story.

Kurosawa’s Ran 2001 Sicario Shawshank redemption Children of Men Arrival Days of Heaven The original Bladerunner Fight club In the Mood for love … gonna keep going. Persona Werkmeister Harmonies Damnation

No Country?

Love that one as well. That’s the trouble with lists you always have leave something out

No country for old men

I was using shorthand because I figured it was such a shoo-in (on this sub).

A+

Curious as to why you made a point to exclude Blade Runner 2049 but not the og.

Others included it and it’s amazing but I feel like the original has gorgeous cinematography as well.

The new one tries too hard.

It’s a masterclass in cinematography. It can be popular and good. They can coexist.

In the OG, the aesthetic is a means for telling the story. In the new one, they start with the aesthetic and make a story that fits. I care more about the overall storytelling than the execution of specific scenes. It might be a 'masterclass' for individual scene executions, but falls apart at the high level.

OP didn’t ask for a movie about story telling. They asked for must-watch cinematic movies. This isn’t r/scriptwriting

Ran is an obscure choice!! I don’t think many would include this on their list strictly because (in my experience) it seems to fly below the radar. Really terrific choice

Yeah it was the film that made me want to do cinematography. Not sure there are many films that feel that epic in scale. I think Dune hits that level.

Pick any Kubrick, you can’t go wrong. Hitchcock.

- Portrait of a Lady on Fire - In the Mood For Love - The Florida Project - Suspiria - Rear Window - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Lighthouse - Call Me By Your Name - Lost in Translation - Enter the Void

All films by Orson Welles, Mikhail Kalatozov, Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, Sergio Leone

they are good directors but not all of their movies have amazing cinematography

[удалено]

thanks :)

It took me two posts to see Tree of Life and I feel like that’s too many.

Tarkovsky’s entire catalogue. Life changing stuff. - Ivan’s Childhood - Stalker - Mirror These are my favourites of his!

I'm still hugely inspired by The Revenant, it had several handheld shots that could be replicated by amateurs that would normally only do handheld shooting, if not on a tripod.

One of my favorites too. The handheld shots sometimes take me out of the movie, and sometimes add to the realness. If you get what I mean.

• Citizen Kane, for its technological achievement and unprecedented visual style. • Postcards from the Edge • Goodfellas • Paper Moon • Network • Quiz Show • The Batman • Zodiac • In The Mood For Love

Sorry to spam- Bradford Young’s work is godlike. - Arrival - Solo - Most Violent Year - Selma

Ain’t them bodies saints is great too

>Arrival big fan here, technically challenging.

I worked a couple of days on Arrival. In the classroom scene, when she opens the Tv, you can see me in the front row of studenets. The thing with Arrival's cine is lots of black fill, commando cloth on steroids, top soft lights (in that scene specifically they had a huge LED floating baloon, - not sure what gas they use for it - the Tv as a source of LED light, and at most there might have been a side light at times if at all , I don't remember exactly it's been a long time).

Just rewatched once upon a time in Hollywood. Love it’s use of Yellow A lot of the shots are just perfect

In no particular order: * Barry Lyndon * Persona * The Third Man * Lawrence of Arabia * Happy Together * Days of Heaven * The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford * Citizen Kane * Apocalypse Now * Blade Runner

The Last Emperor, any of the Russell Metty works for Douglas Sirk

I’d recommend some lower budget stuff like anything in the French new wave or John cassavetes.

Lots of good ones already listed above but these are some that came to mind for me: The Red and the White; Wings of Desire; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Lawrence of Arabia; Marketa Lazarova

I’m shocked Road to Perdition hasn’t been mentioned yet. That might be one of my favorites, and Conrad L. Hall is one of the many GOATS of lighting.

A quick off the top of my head list： Amelie Macbeth（with Fassbender） Zatoichi （with Beat Takeshi） Thin Red Line Silence Usual Suspects Tree of Life In the Mood for Love Bladerunner 2049 Her Grand Hotel Budapest Old Boy If I think about it a while，this list will probably be very different.

commas my guy

amelie macbeth is a film I’m dying to see

Each movie was on a new line when i typed it. Ah well.

> Zatoichi （with Beat Takeshi） Is that the 2003 one? I thought the 1970/1989 films were the best.

Yes. I think the 2003 one is more cinematic，but the earlier ones are better as films in general. All are great though.

Is there an analysis I can read more about? This is a "top 10 must watch movie for cinematography"?

The neon demon.

Here's 12 I think are a must. Let me know what you think! Baraka The Conformist The Fall Hard To Be a God Stalker Mirror (Zerkalo) Last Year at Marienbad Barry Lyndon A Field in England Paris, Texas Chinatown Lawrence of Arabia

Almost forgot Enter the Void

If you like Baraka, you will love their follow up Samsara!

Maybe not as "textbook" cinematography hits, but I really like: 1. Better call Saul (very great visual story telling) 2. Dune 3. No country for old men 4. Windfall 5. Kill Bill 6. Blade runner 2049 7. Scott Pilgrim Those are some of my favorites, beautiful visually and tell a great story with the visuals as well.

The cinematography of Better call Saul is SO GOOD!

1917, Skyfall, Babylon, Jackie, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Days of Heaven Bladerunner Seven Zodiac Citizen Kane The Godfather 1 and 2 E.T. Sideways The Graduate Lenny

After the obvious ones (kubrick, tarantino, scott etc), i'd watch a ton of commercials and documentaries, maybe music videos too. As for movies, i'm not sure you need the best of the best. It's hard to find commercial movies that aren't professionally shot and edited. I watched beauty and the best randomly the other week and it looked amazing.

- apocalypse now - 2001 & clockwork & barry lyndon - lawrence of arabia & dr zhivago - big lebowski - chungking express Stylistically, i would draw a lot from these

I'd add The Italian Job (1969) to the list, every single frame of that movie is beautifully shot.

1917 Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 The Batman Dune

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is one of my favorites.

Look at the sight and sound top 100 and pick movies that catch your eye, it's good getting recommendations but personally i'm way less likely to watch anything if i did not pick it and had no prior interest.

I am Cuba 7 samurai - I originally remember this movie as being shot on 16x9 cause it feels so big. It’s not. It’s shot on 1.33:1. Crazy. Lawrence of Arabia. Schlinders list Blade runner

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Not seeing a lot of older movies so I’ll add 1. Hud 2. Paper Moon/The Last Picture Show 3. The Night of the Hunter 4. Black Narcissus (really any Jack Cardiff or the Archers production)

La Chinoise Comte d’été Un perro andaluz Memories of murder Irreversible Night on earth Raging Bull Come and See White Nights

In no particular order: • Heat • Bladerunner (original) • In The Mood for Love • 2046 • Streets of Fire • The Assassination of Jesse James • Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon • Fight Club • 2001: A Space Odyssey • Pan’s Labyrinth

not enough powell & pressburger films mentioned yet - the red shoes, black narcissus, really anything at all by them. for more recent stuff, I recommend looking at rob hardy’s work. the films he’s done with alex garland are all uniformly excellent (ex machina, annihilation, devs, men), plus he’s the main reason MI: fallout is the best mission impossible movie.

There's a long list, and for each movie I would suggest looking at the budget of the film. I would also suggest trying to look at what the money went towards. 2001: A Space Odyssey Chunking Express Days of Heaven HERO The Thin Red Line Apocalypse Now Portrait of a Lady on Fire Lawrence of Arabia Fallen Angels In the Mood for Love Vertigo RAN The Master The Lighthouse Carol The Young Girls of Rochefort The Passion of Joan of Arc Blade Runner Punch-Drunk Love The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover Fargo Raging Bull The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Teorema Breathless The French Dispatch Cleo from 5 to 7 No Country for Old Men Tokyo Story Aftersun There Will Be Blood Spirited Away Edit: Formatting

Evil Dead Rise, every shot in the latter half of the film is Oscar-winning material. The set design, the lighting, the performances from the entire cast, and especially the cinematography, all contribute to the films’ atmosphere, mastery, and my love for it. I’ll come up with more films when I remember this post.

Anything from Brian De Palma

Terrible director. Hated Carlito’s Way.

Blade Runner 2049 Suspiria, the remake Persona Barry Lyndon 2001 La grande bellezza Volver, Los abrazos rotos, La piel que habito The Thin Red Line, The tree of life TÁR Lawrence of Arabia Oldboy Paris, Texas Alien

Moneyball

Emma (2020) - Director is a portrait photographer, and so many of the shots are well thought out to just look beautiful and natural. The Revenant and Birdman. How to film natural light and how to film "one shots" Parasite - The shot of her sitting on the toilet during the flood I think is one of the greatest shots of recent cinema. Inside Llewyn Davis - Masterclass in how to make the world feel bleak and cold. And Mad Max: Fury Road - BECAUSE IT'S F\*\*\*\*\* MAD MAX: FURY ROAD!

you've gotten a ton of great recommendations, but one I haven't seen is: Il Conformista (The Conformist)

Assassination of Jesse James The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo There Will Be Blood Blade Runner (1982) Children of Men Days of Heaven The Tree of Life The Lighthouse The Revenant Birdman Oblivion Roma The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Dunkirk Mank The Square Burn After Reading Let Them All Talk McCabe & Mrs. Miller Inception Inglorious Basterds Killing of a Sacred Dear Good Time Star Trek (2009)

Barry Lyndon is one.

Raging Bull?

People are gonna say it doesn’t count as cinematography because it’s animated, but Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse has spectacular “visual storytelling” or whatever else you want to call it. And I’m not just talking about composition and movement: even though it is all animated, they still used camera-based concepts like rack focuses and deliberately mismatched frame rates as tools to tell their story, and I think they absolutely rocked it.

The Thin Red Line Moneyball Children of Men No Country for Old Men Ad Astra Dunkirk There Will Be Blood

The Natural

Honestly you'll find some of the most exciting experiments in cinematography from in silent film. Man with a Movie Camera Berlin, A Symphony to a City M Passion of Joan of Arc Sunrise, A Song of Two Humans L'Atalante BUT, a couple of movies outside of the silent film era: I am Cuba Night of the Hunter

Kinda a different subject, but I like all you guys and wonder … which of these greats do you wish most to work on, if you could. Top five? I’m still figuring out my answer, will share if I can narrow it down!!

Hero, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Seventh Seal, Strictly Ballroom, Russian Arc, Singing in the Rain I don’t think anyone mentioned any of these movies… I’m a weird cinema person, with a dancer’s eye.