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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
What are the best looking movies of all time?
Last week I mentioned that my favorite techie category at the Oscars was cinematography. That art has always fascinated me - so much so that I know several DPs by name. I love to blow people’s minds by telling them the same cameraman shot Dr. Strangelove, A Hard Day’s Night and Star Wars (one Gilbert Taylor). I can also tell you who shot nearly every one of Steven Spielberg’s or Martin Scorsese’s films without looking it up. It’s the geek in me,
However, to make this post a little more accessible, I’d like to ask a fairly simple question. What are the best-looking movies of all time? Regardless of the story, performances, visual effects or any other considerations, what films are simply beautiful to behold?
I’ll throw out two golden age choices and two contemporary choices - one black and white, one color for each.
Citizen Kane - People tell me quite a lot they don’t think the film is really that great, but they can’t be talking about Gregg Toland’s groundbreaking photography. Practically every shot is worth framing on a wall.
The Red Shoes: In what just might be the greatest technical oversight in Oscar history, Jack Cardiff’s astonishingly beautiful visuals didn’t get a cinematography nomination. Watch this footage and try to justify that.
Schindler’s List: For a film that depicits so much ugliness, so many of its images by Janusz Kaminski have a stark, terrible beauty.
Apocalypse Now: Ditto, but in mesmerizing color, by Vittorio Storaro.
Hardly all-encompassing, but that ought to get you started. So tell me what you think the best-looking movies of all time are.
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Nix on High School Musical chick in ‘Twilight’ pix
So, ummm …. that report about Vanessa Hudgens supposedly auditioning for New Moon, the sequel to Twilight?
To quote Gilda Radner’s Emily Litella (that’s old school SNL for you young-uns): “Oh. Nevermind.”
Darn, I’m kinda disappointed, if only because I was SO pleased with my predictive powers. Guess I should drop “psychic” from that list of alternative careers. This does not bode well for my Oscar nomination predictions next week …
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