Mitchell talking about Sky Captain, American Beauty and Road to Perdition made me think of the best looking films that I have seen.
In the past two years, I've seen some really terrific looking films. Here are some that come to mind:
Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven is the one that comes to mind first. This is the best cinematography that I've ever seen. It's so breathtaking, the other elements of the film don't matter. Malick's Badlands is also beautiful to look at.
In both films, the lonely beauty of the prairie makes the films so visually appealing, but it's also the cinematography that takes it to another level. I believe there are scenes in Days where Malick only shot at twilight or dawn, just to get that type of lighting. It's so gorgeous. Some of the composition of the shots give me the same feeling as Edward Hopper paintings. I love that.
Another film that I saw recently that was visually beautiful was Tarkovsky's Sacrifice. The film has many different types of visually stunning shots. There are moments when the characters are in a home, and there is a feeling of shadowy brown, like in Rembrandt. Then there are brighter shots. The film is truly enigmatic and slow, but well-worth watching for the visual elements.
I'll try to post more later.
Posted by Reid at September 22, 2004 09:55 AMAmerican Beauty and Road to Perdition easily top my list, but here are a few others to consider:
Toys, which was such a disappointing movie that I seldom think about it except in conversations where visual appeal is the subject.
Most of What Dreams May Come, which is a movie I hated, so I seldom think of it, either, except in conversations where the topic is either visual appeal or movies I hate.
Dick Tracy and Batman for successfully accomplishing the look and feel of their respective source material.
Dances With Wolves, which breaks my heart just about every time I think of it.
Posted by: Mitchell at September 22, 2004 11:28 AMHero was one of the most visually stunning films I have seen of late. Well, I haven't yet seen it in the theaters but I'd expect it looks even better than on the tv.
Posted by: Jenn at September 22, 2004 12:43 PMTomb Raider I and II both movies were vivid and visually appealing for more reasons than Angelina Jolie. Not very good movies, though.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Incredible Hulk was a visual feast.
Star Wars
The Lord of the Rings
The Matrix
Posted by: burgess at September 22, 2004 10:29 PMMitchell,
Why'd you hate What Dreams May Come, again?
John,
I think the Star Wars films have some of the best action sequences of all time. The space ships destorying the Death Star(s) are aways good sequences, but I think my favorite is the chase scene in the asteroid belt.
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Most of Kubrick's films are really cool to look at. The Shinning comes to mind right away. I love the way the camera would move down corridors in that film. He really did a good job of makng the house seem spooky and sentient.
Posted by: Reid at September 24, 2004 05:37 AMSpeaking of Kubrick, I just watched Barry Lyndon. In the same way that Sky Captain tried to recreate the Art Deco (and what I refer to as the Tamara de Lempicka look)--to an extent that the characters seemed to be moving in a painting, I think Kubrick does a similar thing except within a 19th Century realistic painting.
The cinematography is really wonderful in this, and he really does a great job of recreating the look--particularly the light--in those type of paintings. I particuarly liked the indoor evening scenes, where I believe he just used the natural light from candles. In addition, transition scenes of the landscape were also pretty terrific. He seemed to like shots with some dark clouds in them, which created an interesting lighting effect.
If you like 19th Century realism (I hope that's the right term) and good cinematography, I highly recommend this film. The costumes and sets were pretty terrific as well. All in all, I'd say it's the best looking film on 18th Century England.
Posted by: Reid at November 1, 2004 09:00 AMI have to say that even if I didn't care for A Very Long Journey, I really like Jean-Pierre Jeunet, particularly the visual aspects of his films. I like the way his films have a early 20th Century look even if they occur in modern/future contexts.
Posted by: Reid at February 3, 2005 08:00 AM