The 10 most well shot films of all time

MojoTrancer said:
I don't know. Animation is just different. If we start giving Pixar shouts out for cinematography then We'd have to bring up the old Disney 2D films as well. I think its a different discipline. There's some crossover but its not the same thing.
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If that's the case then you have to start questioning a lot of other movies. Lord of the Rings? The Star Wars prequels? So little of these films was actually "shot" in a traditional sense. This isn't a trend that's going away. Maybe questioning them is right, I don't know. Food for thought.
 
dougspice said:
If that's the case then you have to start questioning a lot of other movies. Lord of the Rings? The Star Wars prequels? So little of these films was actually "shot" in a traditional sense. This isn't a trend that's going away. Maybe questioning them is right, I don't know. Food for thought.
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Exactly. I think we should question them. I think both of those movie series have great visuals, but i wouldn't call it cinematography. That to me does a disservice to the masters of the craft. But that's just me. I'm getting increasingly anti-"fix/improve it in post"
 
I think I probably agree with you, but I haven't yet figured out a thorough viewpoint on the issue. Obviously the artists and technicians working in post are displaying a phenomenal amount of skill as well. It's just an erosion of the traditional DP's role on these bigger-budget pictures. I guess you could look at it in a similar way to the outsourcing of jobs overseas - also an extremely complex issue.
 
dougspice said:
If that's the case then you have to start questioning a lot of other movies. Lord of the Rings? The Star Wars prequels? So little of these films was actually "shot" in a traditional sense. This isn't a trend that's going away. Maybe questioning them is right, I don't know. Food for thought.
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I disagree

They are still using live actors, whether it be on a sound stage or location. Lord has some wonderful lighting and cinemaphotography.

The Star Wars prequels ? Is anyone even considering as some fo the best ever lighting / shot films ?
 
Probably not. Those movies are gorgeous in their own ridiculous candy-gloss way. I was stepping outside the scope of the conversation for a second. Sure, Lord of the Rings looks great, and a lot of it was practically shot. But a lot of it wasn't. Final Fantasy is a fantastically well "shot" movie. Where do you draw the line? It's a question somebody (the Academy, for one) is going to have to come up with an answer with sooner or later.
 
I wouldn't lump LOTR in with The Star Wars prequels and pixar movies. If you look at some of Andrew Lesnie's other work (Babe, for example) you can easily see the look of the film comes from his style. Sure, there was some significant post processing involved, but you can't polish a turd and have it look like anything but a turd, so the fact that the end product looks as great as it does can for the most part be attributed to him...That said, I wouldn't put it in my top ten. The camerawork is a little too reckless at times for my taste (more due to PJ's style), and we're talking about well shot films, which includes not just lighting but composition as well.
 
In a very particular order--



The Callaghan Top 10 Most Well Shot Films Of All Time List
01 Casablanca
02 It’s a Wonderful Life
03 Braveheart
04 Saving Private Ryan
05 Citizen Kane
06 E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
07 Schindler’s List
08 Raiders of the Lost Ark
09 Rear Window
10 Forrest Gump

Honorable Mentions
The Quiet Man
Titanic
Lawrence of Arabia
The Patriot
Far and Away​
 
John_Hudson said:
They are still using live actors, whether it be on a sound stage or location. Lord has some wonderful lighting and cinemaphotography.
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Yeah but if you watch the behind the scenes, just about every frame of that film has been fiddled with and altered. Granted its not on a Star Wars scale, but it makes it hard to know just how much the DP did and how much is a group of clever technical directors, compositors, and color graders.
 
MojoTrancer said:
Yeah but if you watch the behind the scenes, just about every frame of that film has been fiddled with and altered. Granted its not on a Star Wars scale, but it makes it hard to know just how much the DP did and how much is a group of clever technical directors, compositors, and color graders.
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Eh worthwhile debate, but in the end, it's the end result that matters, not the raw footage.

If we're talking best DPs, then yeah, we'd have to question the DPs who did LOTR, SWars Prequels, Matrix, etc etc.

But I think the thread is geared towards final result - so I guess all goes.

But another debate is - when we say best shot, do we mean form or function? Which has the most informative storytelling shots vs. what has the most beautiful shots???
 
I am shocked that no one's mentioned the great job Dante Spinotti did on Last of the Mohicans. Perhaps one of the most beautifully filmed pictures I've seen.
 
Blaine said:
I am shocked that no one's mentioned the great job Dante Spinotti did on Last of the Mohicans. Perhaps one of the most beautifully filmed pictures I've seen.
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Indeed, that was a gorgeous film... one other that hit me was Signs. I loved the shots in that film... really fit the genre.
 
CallaghanFilms said:
In a very particular order--




The Callaghan Top 10 Most Well Shot Films Of All Time List
01 Casablanca
02 It’s a Wonderful Life
03 Braveheart
04 Saving Private Ryan
05 Citizen Kane
06 E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
07 Schindler’s List
08 Raiders of the Lost Ark
09 Rear Window
10 Forrest Gump

Honorable Mentions
The Quiet Man
Titanic
Lawrence of Arabia
The Patriot
Far and Away
​
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Wow! Far and Away was AMAZING! You are right!
 
MojoTrancer said:
Yeah but if you watch the behind the scenes, just about every frame of that film has been fiddled with and altered. Granted its not on a Star Wars scale, but it makes it hard to know just how much the DP did and how much is a group of clever technical directors, compositors, and color graders.
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DPs often plan their color-correction from the beginning...they have a role in post.

And as to the animation debate...what about Sin City? I loved the cinematography in that, loved it. But when you're capturing your actors' performances as plates like that, it's so much easier to tweak your composition. On the other hand the greenscreen actually helped the cinematography because RR was able to backlight anytime he wanted (among other things). Rimlighting is a signature technique there, and it wouldn't have been so pervasive if it wasn't shot entirely on a greenstage (made that word up).
 
I looked at the list and watched some of the highly ranked ones but I'm surprised no one mentioned:-

Band of Brothers

I mean, compared to Braveheart, Band of Brother's cinematography is in a whole different league altogether. Maybe it's just me but that series had my jaw hanging.

Daniel Wee
 
Most stylistically influential films of the past 30 years--

Blade Runner (copied to death)

Brazil (ditto)

Top Gun (the first "music video" film, for better and mostly worse)

JFK (for its fragmented editing and kitchen sink visual style, which Stone went overboard with through most of the 90's)

Saving Private Ryan (for its high shutter speed handheld camerawork, which is standard issue style for battle scenes now)

The Matrix (bullet time. nuff said.)
 
Daniel Wee, I certainly would have mentioned Band of Brothers, but we're talking about films here. Band of Brothers is a little bit outside the scope... although still really close. In my own head I made the rule "Could I have gone to see it on the big screen?"
 
John_Hudson said:
In no particular order

The Godfather - Gordon Willis

Apacalypse Now - Vittorio Storaro

The Abyss - Mikael Salomon

Blade Runner - Jordan Cronenweth

The Deer Hunter - Vilmos Zsigmond

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Vilmos Zsigmond

Schindler's List - Janusz Kaminski

Saving Private Ryan - Janusz Kaminski

Titanic - Russell Carpenter

The Thin Red Line - John Toll
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Why did you choose "The abyss"? its a strange choice among all the classical films you listed
 
I'll try not to list too many that have already been mentioned.

City of God
A Very Long Engagement - amazing war cinematography
City of Lost Children - another Jean-Pierre Jeunet, some awesome stuff
Hero - mainly for use of color and landscapes
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Bourne Identity
Payback
NightWatch - not consistant, but full of good stuff
The Weatherman - composition just fits the mood perfectly
Waking Ned Divine - just love the compositions for some reason!

-pasty


http://imdb.com/name/nm0000466/
 
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