The Best-Photographed Films According to the American Society of Cinematographers

[zorbonaut]

The list feels fairly generic, albeit there are some deserving titles mixed in. Exactly what I expected to see when coming into the thread.

Would have loved to see films like, The Master, A Brief Encounter, Moonlight, Amelie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Psycho, Tree of Life, The Vanishing, The Seventh Seal, Persona etc.....

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

Of the last 18 years I would put Assassination of Jesse James, Tree of Life, No Country For Old Men, The Master.

Lord of the Rings trilogy, too. Can't think of anything else that deserves to be in the all-time great conversation. Maybe some movies shot on digital (Skyfall, Life of Pi, The Revenant, Blade Runner 2049), but even those I'm not sure about.

[stvn1974]

Yeah, they should have put in films that they didn't think belong just to diversify the list.
Reminds me whenever greatest films of all time list are posted with Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Gone With The Wind and The Godfather listed and people complain about it being predictable. Sure they should have nominated Leanord Part 6 to be different.

[Darth Marcus]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

Lord of the Rings trilogy, too. Can't think of anything else that deserves to be in the all-time great conversation. Maybe some movies shot on digital (Skyfall, Life of Pi, The Revenant, Blade Runner 2049), but even those I'm not sure about.

Those, Gravity, Children of Men, Birdman, There Will Be Blood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception. Hell add virtually anything Roger Deakins 2001-Present to the list.

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by zorbonaut

Would have loved to see films like, The Master, A Brief Encounter, Moonlight, Amelie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Psycho, Tree of Life, The Vanishing, The Seventh Seal, Persona etc.....

The list if for 20th century films only.

[TajSamKojiJesam]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

Yeah, they should have put in films that they didn't think belong just to diversify the list.
Reminds me whenever greatest films of all time list are posted with Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Gone With The Wind and The Godfather listed and people complain about it being predictable. Sure they should have nominated Leanord Part 6 to be different.

No, the objection is valid. There are tons of great films that are never posted on these generic top lists because they're outside the typical canon. When it comes to cinematography, I think that Floating Weeds (1959) is shot in a more beautiful and interesting fashion than like half the titles on this list, and that's just a random example (and the film isn't even obscure).

[Cremildo]

I can't find fault on the list. I also disagree with the notion they just went for the most notorious stuff. One wouldn't expect to see Chariots of Fire or I Am Cuba in an "obvious" all-time cinematography list.

However, even if there were only expected titles, what'd be the problem, exactly? There's a reason why the list appears to be generic to some: most of the movies in there are almost unanimous touchstones in cinematography, so they will always be included on lists like that.

[zorbonaut]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

The list if for 20th century films only.

Missed that in the OP. Because of the photos, OP causes me to side scroll (which I hate to do). Didn't see 20th century

[Cremildo]

From the past 18 years, I'd highlight The Fellowship of the Ring (Lesnie), Minority Report (Kaminski), Skyfall (Deakins), Marie Antoinette (Acord), The Dark Knight (Pfister), and Knight of Cups (Lubezki). Not sure if they'd merit mention in an all-time ranking, though.

[imsounoriginal]

Knight of Cups over Tree of Life?

[RedHarvest]

Very nice list. I would've added Rosemary's Baby (William A. Fraker) though...

[Poya]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Seen 69 of them, got a few more in my collection waiting to be seen.

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

I can't find fault on the list.

Spoke too soon.

How can The Searchers and Cries & Whispers be absent?

[MifuneFan]

Here's some notable ones not listed:

The Searchers
Kwaidan
Suspiria
Ran
Howard's End
Woman in the Dunes
The Seventh Seal
Persona (How does the list have no Ingmar Bergman?!)
Stalker
The Letter

Their list is painfully lacking when it comes to foreign films.

[UltraMario9]

The Leopard???

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

Knight of Cups over Tree of Life?

I wish I had the proper vocabulary to explain why, but I don't. It boils to down to personal preference, not anything objective, I suppose. All I can say is that Lubezki's work made a bigger impression on me in Knight of Cups than in other Malick movies. I think the way it was shot was impressive not only from a purely pictorial standpoint but also due to how perfectly it supported the moods and thoughts that Malick wanted to convey.

[EvaDK]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

Of the last 18 years I would put Assassination of Jesse James, Tree of Life, No Country For Old Men, The Master.

This!

And yeah, omissions such as Suspiria, Ran, Mulholland Drive, Blow-Up, Peeping Tom and other 20th century European films are mindboggling.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Here's some notable ones not listed:


(How does the list have no Ingmar Bergman?!)

Fanny and Alexander is on the list.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

Fanny and Alexander is on the list.

Ah, totally missed it, thanks

[GLaDOS]

Lawrence and Blade Runner in the Top 2 is correct.