Movies with great cinematography

[Sam Kanga]

Good topic
I would suggest anything by these cinematographers:
Jack Cardiff
Caleb Deschanel
Sven Nykvist
Gordon Willis
(and there are few more)

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Almost anything by Hitchcock.
I just saw a restored print of Vertigo at Anthology Film Archives in NYC a few nights ago and it was fantastic. Every frame was gorgeous.

All of the black and white movies by Akira Kurosawa and most of the color ones.

Nosferatu by F.W. Murnau

Full Metal Jacket by Stanley Kubrick.
The Shining.
Actually, most of what Kubrick produced could be a long series of still photos, he was that good a director.

Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Jaws.

Glengarry Glen Ross.

The Sword of Doom.

Night of the Living Dead.

Much of Ridley Scott's work.

Much of David O. Russel's work.

The Godfather and The Godfather II (first one has better cinematography)

The list goes on for a long time.

Philip Forrest

 

[Aristophanes]

Breaking Away

 

[paulfish4570]

anything by david lean (dr. zhivago, lawrence of arabia, bridge on river kwai)

kubrick (barry lyndon, 2001)

jean cocteau's beauty and the beast, my recommendation for most beautiful cinematography

once upon a time in the west

the searchers

so many more ...

 

[grapejohnson]

the seventh seal (dir. ingmar bergman, cin. gunnar fischer) - most beautiful looking movie i've ever seen

chungking express
fallen angels: trailer
happy together (all by wong kar wai - and all with amazing cinematography by christopher doyle)

 

[grapejohnson]

Manhattan, Easy Rider, The Shining, Psycho, Battleship Potemkin, Amelie, Barry Lyndon, (Paris, Texas), Days of Heaven, Stagecoach (1939),

there are more but this is what comes to mind right now.

Others come to mind for great computer effects and other computer generated imagery, and as much as I like Blade Runner, I feel too much of it is computer generated, and not actual cinematography.

it was 1982, they barely had CGI in that movie if any. they used a lot of models. it's an amazing movie.

 

[35mmdelux]

Alfred Hitchcock

 

[redisburning]

some fantastic films mentioned, and I was pleasantly surprised to see The Seventh Seal and The Twilight Samurai, two of my favorites. Blade Runner too, but that wasn't a surprise.

I'd like to call attention to director Masaki Kobayashi's films, especially Harakiri. it is an UNBELIEVABLY well shot film.

I'm personally a fan of Nicholas Winding Refn's movies and Only God Forgives really outdid itself IMO. Valhalla Rising is a tough act to follow from a visual standpoint!

I'm surprised to not see mention of the 3 big epics (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, Bridge Over the River Kwai), maybe I missed them? Lawrence is my favorite both visually and as a film.

It might be cheating but many Japanese animated films are great. I'd give the nod to Tenshi no Tamago, Kanashimi no Belladonna and Ghost in the Shell. More cheating is the TV show Kaiba, but if it were a movie it might be at the top of my list!

but probably my favorite film of all time excluding two of the ones in my last little paragraph is Alien. The cinematography really plays up Gieger's transcendent aesthetic work. While I think photographically this film is a bit weaker than some of the others I've mentioned, the overall visual effect of this film is so strong that I feel it deserves mention.

 

[keytarjunkie]

Absolutely agree with The Seventh Seal, The Tree of Life, and 2001...I'd like to add Tarkovski's The Sacrifice and Coppola's Apocalypse Now.

 

[Richard G]

And others not yet mentioned:
Virgin Spring (Bergman)
Mirror (Tarkovsky)
Rear Window (Hitchcock) esp Grace Kelly's entrance and single frame slowed kiss of Jeff
And many more

 

[Al Patterson]

Manhattan, Easy Rider, The Shining, Psycho, Battleship Potemkin, Amelie, Barry Lyndon, (Paris, Texas), Days of Heaven, Stagecoach (1939),

there are more but this is what comes to mind right now.

Others come to mind for great computer effects and other computer generated imagery, and as much as I like Blade Runner, I feel too much of it is computer generated, and not actual cinematography.

Blade Runner was matte paintings and overlays and such. Too early for CGI. Looked more real than a lot of newer stuff. Recently read the book on which it was based "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". Philip K. Dick was the shiat....

At least four movies based on his stories, the three I've seen were great. I wish someone would film "The Man in the High Castle"...

 

[OurManInTangier]

Night Of The Hunter directed by Charles Laughton with a menacing performance from Mitchum.

 

[OurManInTangier]

...and, Fritz Lang's 'M.'

 

[Sid836]

Andrei Tarkovsky's 'Nostalghia' has been one of my favorites.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Anything by Sergei Eisenstein.

Cheers,

R.

 

[konicaman]

The Third Man
Tess d´uberville
Barry Lindon
The French Lieutenant's Woman
Casablanca
Amadeus
Ladyhawke

Anything Hitchcock

 

[Harry S.]

Blade Runner
Gattaca
No Country For Old Men
Drive
Stalker
Assassination of Jesse James

I think Roger Deakins is almost untouchable these days.

 

[lynnb]

It's been a very long time since I've seen it, but Fellini's Amarcord sticks in my mind. And David Lean's Ryan's Daughter was a visual feast.

 

[tunalegs]

I think I'll have to add The Train - the thought of which reminded me of the opening scenes from Mr. Arkadin which are stunning, - too bad the story and the editing are so awful (I am talking of course about the public domain version - there are so many different cuts of this film I can't be sure of what order the scenes are in others).

For animated films, a little known film that never received an official release, Twice Upon a Time is probably the most captivating looking animated feature I have seen. Shame the story is so weak.

 

[Bobfrance]

It only came out this year but I think 'A Field In England' is well worth a mention.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375574/