August 02, 2009

The Top 10 Best Cinematography Films

In My Personal Opinion Of Course - by Tim Wambolt

Beautiful cinematography can often help make a film great (although it couldn't save "Australia", lol. I feel bad that Mandy Walker's genius was wasted on that film) but enough about dog shit, here is my list:

My Top Ten Favorite Cinematography Films

10: El Topo
Surreal imagery, metaphoric symbolism, and bizarre characters like the man with no legs who rides on the back of the man with no arms to help him climb ladders, or the hero who rides horse back with a child and an umbrella across long shots of beautiful sand dunes as he massacres his way through unique set pieces including snowy glaciers, caves, bridges, blood soaked deserts and a ranch where thousand of dead rabbits burn.




9: The Fall
Filmed in 18 different countries and influenced by Baraka, (especially in the breath taking traveling sequence,) director Tarsem combines set and character juxtaposition, dancing shadows, long shots and balanced symmetry displaying how much more beautiful reality is over computer generated imagery. Impressive shots include a face fading into a landscape resembles that same face.




8: The Evil Dead
From the creepy, slow perspective behind the car driving through the woods, to the shot under the stairs as Ash goes up with a shotgun, to the scene where Ash throws dirt on the camera covering everything except a small section allowing us to still see his face, (there must have been dozens of takes to get that shot that perfect), is all proof that Sam Raimi is a modern innovator. (The Point-Of-View shot is now called the "Raimi Cam" by many).




7: Baraka
Baraka is a documentary of pure cinematography and the best in my opinion. Ron Fricke filmed in 24 countries, photographed in 70mm for some truly beautiful tracking shots though cities occupied with interesting looking people in front of unique architecture. My favorite sequence is the up shot of the man on the scaffolding against the heavens, beautiful in itself, only to become jaw-dropping when a large plane flies behind him, framing up a picture perfect shot.




6: Lawrence of Arabia
Shot in detailed 70mm against the backdrops of several different countries including Cairo, Jordan, Morocco, Spain and England. The cinematography features beautiful desert landscapes, colorful sunsets over sand dunes, costumed Arabs riding camels, de-railing trains and watching ships approaching in the distant waters. Nearly all of the movement in the films goes from left to right to emphasize the journey. The King of all epic motion pictures in my opinion.




5: The Trial
When the production of this movie was shut down, Orsen Welles was determined to finish the movie himself in the guerrilla film making tradition of Citizen Kane, giving him full control over the creativity once again. The result is roller coaster ride of dizzying of camera movement, monumental perspective shots and surreal, dream-like imagery. Shadows, lighting and movement are the true stars of this picture. Very trippy!




4: Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola's war masterpiece is an epic ballad of symmetry and darkness. There are many beautiful and colorful shots in the film, a military boat floats down a Vietnamese river into the sunset, helicopters fly in unison, burning the jungles down in a blazing hellfire and Martin Sheen emerges from the dark waters in slow motion to enter a temple decorated with human heads on stakes and bodies hanging from trees.




3: The Searchers
From the caves and mesas of Monument Valley to the snowy, buffalo occupied mountaintops of Canada, the colors and hues are reminiscent of the painted backdrops in Gone With The Wind, only real. Indian villages are framed like Western oil paintings and the film's depth of perception is almost three dimensional. My favorites are the multi-layered shots with mountains in the background and Indians in the middle following the cowboys in the foreground.




2: Soy Cuba
The camera navigates a crowded roof party and is passed down the side of a building and into a swimming pool full of people all in one take. Unexpected camera shots will start in a room and then go out a window, down into the streets on an unseen rope, or travel down a river, over and under bridges. Filmed in almost a fisheye perspective, the moving low shots capture high and interesting backgrounds while still focusing on the characters.




1: A Very Long Engagement
Not content with capturing only one single picture-perfect shot in each take, master cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel will often start out with an already beautifully framed shot and then turn his camera as a person or object comes into frame against a breathtaking background, making for two great shots in one take. A lot of thought and vision was put into every scene in this movie, through balance, layers, colors, lighting and movement. This is art at it's finest.

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Honorable Mentions:

Most Whimsical: Amelie
The cinematography is what truly captures the magical feeling of the movie. A balance of symmetrical set pieces, brightly saturated color palettes and advanced camera movement, harmonized with fairy tale music and narration.

Best Lighting: Black Narcissus
Soft lighting and shadow colored to blend seamlessly in exposure with the beautifully painted backgrounds. Also, see Barry Lyndon for the beautiful candle lit shots and many scenes reminiscent of 18th Century paintings.

Innovation: Sunrise - A Song of Two Humans
A silent story told in images, called the Citizen Kane of the twenties. F.W. Marnau's advanced tracking shots, lighting techniques and depth of perception tricks are still being studied in film schools today.

Best Overall Shot: Zerkalo
As Tarkovsky's camera follows a child outside we see rain dripping from the roof, the camera moves out further we see a woman standing in a beautiful field, moving even further the shot is aligned with the porch creating a multi-layered picture frame. The house is burning in the background, the woman is in the middle and in the foreground the water is dripping down from the roof in complete contrast with the rising flames in the distance.





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