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Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2007 > January > 11 > Entry
Are these the best-looking movies of the year?
The American Society of Cinematographers has announced its nominees — for the best-looking films of the year, if you will — and I’m delighted with their list, for the most part.
Rather than mirroring the probable Best Picture nominees, the cinematographers have recognized some truly outstanding work in films that probably won’t get many Oscar nominations. Indeed, not ONE of the films nominated by the producer’s guild - a predictor of the Best Picture candidates - made the cut here. Most of these choices are indeed, among my picks for the best-photographed films of the year.
The nominees are:
Children of Men, Emmanuel Lubezki: People often mistake this award for “prettiest movie of the year,” but that ain’t necessarily so. Any photographer worth their salt can take a nice picture of the outdoors, but it takes a visionary to make desolation look compelling. Lubezki does this with the amazing virtuosity of his camera, which often films long, unbroken takes. Previously Oscar nominated for “A Little Princess,” “Sleepy Hollow” and “The New World.”
The Illusionist, Dick Pope: Pope turned in very evocative work, particularly by using a burnished look that made some shots look like old-fashioned photographs. While his work is deserving, I prefer Wally Pfiister’s lensing of the other magic film, “The Prestige.” Pope is British director Mike Leigh’s regular director of photography.
The Good Shepherd, Robert Richardson: Solid work as usual, but this is far from Richardson’s best. I would substitute Michael Ballhaus, for his work on “The Departed.” Richardson won Oscars for “JFK” and “The Aviator.”
Apocalypto, Dean Semler: I was thrilled to see this make the cut. And it’s not just about lush jungle vistas. I was surprised to learn the movie was shot with digital cameras. It sure doesn’t look it. Semler won an Oscar for shooting “Dances with Wolves.”
The Black Dahlia, Vilmos Zsigmond: Some may scratch their heads at this nominee because few people thought “Dahlia” was a good movie. It surely is not, but it was very well shot, reminding us there is such a thing as good work in bad movies. If this movie was as good as it looked, it would have made my 10 best list. Zsigmond won an Oscar for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
What do you think are the best-looking movies of the year, regardless of their overall quality?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Movie awards
Comments
By SRCputt
January 11, 2007 3:18 PM | Link to this
For my money, Children of Men was the best shot movie this year. I hope Lubezki wins many awards for it. The numerous long takes sucked me right into the film.By Allie D.
January 11, 2007 2:38 PM | Link to this
I definitely like this list, although I haven’t seen The Good Shepherd, so I can’t vouch for that. And I agree with you 100% on The Black Dahlia. I was able to detect that Apocalypto wasn’t using film, but I still thought it was a beautiful looking film. The scenes shot in the main city, where the pyramids were, actually evoked fear. It was very effective.