Friday, September 28, 2012

Best Cinematography: 1990s

1990: Dreams (Takao Saitô and Shôji Ueda)
Oscar winner: Dances with Wolves (Dean Semler)
Was this film nominated?: No

1991: The Double Life of Veronique (Slawomir Idziak)
Oscar winner: JFK (Robert Richardson)
Was this film nominated?: No

1992: The Lover (Robert Fraisse)
Oscar winner: A River Runs Through It (Philippe Rousselot)
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1993: Three Colors: Blue (Slawomir Idziak)
Oscar winner: Schindler's List (Janusz Kaminski)
Was this film nominated?: No

1994: Three Colors: Red (Piotr Sobocinski)
Oscar winner: Legends of the Fall (John Toll)
Was this film nominated?: Yes!

1995: Se7en (Darius Khondji)
Oscar winner: Braveheart (John Toll)
Was this film nominated?: No

1996: Fargo (Roger Deakins)
Oscar winner: The English Patient (John Seale)
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1997: Gattaca (Slawomir Idziak)
Oscar winner: Titanic (Russell Carpenter)
Was this film nominated?: No

1998: The Thin Red Line (John Toll)
Oscar winner: Saving Private Ryan (Janusz Kaminski)
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1999: Eyes Wide Shut (Larry Smith)
Oscar winner: American Beauty (Conrad L. Hall)
Was this film nominated?: No

Updated: 10/24/14

16 comments:

  1. The Double Life of Veronique is a masterful, the more I watch it, the more I like it ! Blue and Red are also visually extraordinary.

    Eyes Wide Shut was misunderstood upon release(as Kubrick nearly always was). It is haunting, though for me a little too obvious for use of warm and cold colours.

    From that decade, Edward Scissorhands (1990), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), and Hamlet (1996), also caught my eye, though maybe that was set design and makeup territory.

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    1. I completely agree on The Double Life of Veronique. It just gets better and better. I almost gave White and Red a tie, but decided to go with Red in the end.

      As for Eyes Wide Shut, I love the obviousness of its color usage. It's just so gorgeous and so memorable that I had to go with it.

      Edward Scissorhands would probably make my nominees, and I still need to see Hamlet. At 4 hours, it's not high on my list right now though. :)

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  2. Great list!!! Goodfellas didn't even make my top twelve, but truth is I haven't seen the film in a long time. You also haven't seen Days of Being Wild, which may have the best cinematography of the decade, so GET ON THAT!!!

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    1. Haha. I will see it. Oh, and I should be watching Pierrot le Fou this weekend. :)

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    2. YAY!!!! My #3 favorite film of ALL TIME!!! Oh, and I see you saw Mysteries of Lisbon! What did you think?

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    3. I thought it was good, but it could've been much shorter. It was a bit too epic for my taste. 3 stars.

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    4. I just saw this! UGH, but the length is what makes it so...impressive. It is four hours and yet flows so organically. I'm glad you saw it though, and it has to be considered for awards in all the techs, right? I mean, cinematography, costume design, art direction, that SCORE...UGH, perfection!

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    5. I really liked the film, but I probably won't ever watch it again. It was good though. If I didn't think it was way too long, it would at least get 3 1/2 stars.

      Definitely a costume nod, and possibly art direction. Cinematography stays the same, though: Drive/Hugo/Melancholia/Rampart/The Tree of Life (winner)

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  3. Your best cinematography posts make me think that Academy makes maybe 1 good decision per year :) I mean The Double Life of Veronique wasn't even nominated? And Eyes Wide Shut? As good as the cinemattography was in AB, the one in EWS totally made the movie and it is exactly because of the way it is filmed that the movie is so atmospheric and mysterious.

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    1. Ha! The Academy makes questionable choices, for sure. Of course, I can make some too . :)

      Those are two of my favorites from the '90s. And EWS? Definitely. One of my favorite aspects of it is the cinematography.

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  4. Great selections here Josh! Man I still need to see the Three Colors collection, I bet they're all great. The Thin Red Line is definitely beautifully shot, as most Malick's films are. WOW that is a cool shot in FARGO, forgot about that one.

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    1. Thanks! Oh, you *must* watch those at some point.

      Those are my favorite shots from Fargo and The Thin Red Line, so I couldn't resist using them.

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  5. Excellent screenshots, as always. The image from Eyes Wide Shut is kind of haunting. I've avoided it because I'm not particularly a fan of either of the lead actors. I do like Kubrick's work, though. Overall, do you strongly recommend this film?

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    1. Thanks. I strongly recommend it, but it's not for everyone. It might be too slow, too explicit, or just too weird for some, but I'm entranced from the outset. The cinematography is haunting, brilliantly utilizing Kubrick's popular tracking shots, but the acting and use of previously recorded music is also great. If I were giving out Oscars, I'd give the film a number of awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress. I'd even nominate Cruise for Best Actor. Of course, I LOVE the film. Not everybody does. Hope that helps. :)

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  6. YES! These are fabulous picks. GoodFellas not being nominated is blasphemous.

    Veronique is a great choice, although I do love the look of JFK.

    Res Dogs!

    The photography in Se7en is amazing, and criminally under discussed. Great call.

    I love what Saving Private Ryan did, but The Thin Red Line defines movie cinematography. A masterpiece of vision.

    Great, great picks here Josh.

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    1. Thanks. Yeah, Goodfellas should've been nominated for the Copa tracking shot alone.

      I totally dig the look of JFK and Saving Private Ryan, but Veronique and TTRL can't be denied.

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