[johnny_ultimate]

We don't discuss the nitty-gritty of film around here nearly enough: and I'm not talking about Prometheus plotholes No, I'm talking about the artistic and technical processes of making a film. One of the most thankless things about being a DoP, editor, sound designer etc... is that if they're doing their job right often times many audiences members won't even be aware of the craftmanship on display. Not drawing overt attention to the technical side of things is actually sometimes a good thing.

But that's an aside, and this thread isn't about that. The complete opposite, actually. No, this is a place to discuss those astonishing feats of cinematography that you can't help but notice. That are so accomplished, imaginative, graceful and often seemingly impossible that you can't help but notice the artistry on display. The shots that make you want to track down a making of ASAP and figure out how the **** they did it.

So, obviously we're going to see Inception and Children of Men mentioned before long, but try to pick more unusual examples if you can. Those shots or techniques that have really had an effect on you for whatever reason, and that impress no matter how many times you see them. I'll get the ball rolling, and if there's a positive response I think an 'editing' sister thread will be a nice accompaniment:

I haven't seen the full film yet, but from the handful of extended clips I've seen I'm amazed by what the crew of I Am Cuba pulled off. The synchronized long-shots are captivating, the camera angles are brilliantly unique (from cityscapes to extreme close-ups), but it's the fact that it was made in 1964 that really impresses. Made with today's tech, such poetic movement would be stunning. Back then, with all the bulky equipment and limited tech (and I'd imagine budget) it's jaw-dropping. What ****ing insane setup did these guys have?



From lots of movement to the simplest pan, I love this extended shot from Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice. Bergman's regular cinematographer Sven Nykvist was responsible for this, and while I could name any number of Bergman examples (or Tarkovsky examples at that), I was just hypnotised by this shot when I watched it. The barren landscape, the burning house, those graceful pans and careful tracking movements: the camera here has a real sense of time, colour and space. It's deceptively simple, but a damn good example of less being more.



And finally, I love pretty much every frame of the Life of O-Haru equally. Just go and watch it. Amazing.

[MagicMarker]

This is what I thought of as soon as I saw the thread title. TBH I don't have the technical know how to know if it's an "astonishing feat", but I certainly think it's astonishing...

[MagicMarker]

Oh, and a personal favourite in terms of Cinematography is "The Fall", a breathtakingly beautiful movie from start to finish. The opening alone is mesmerizing...



Needs to be seen in HD.

[Manco]

Thought of I Am Cuba the moment I saw the thread title, the funeral scene is astonishing.

[krudler]

good idea for a thread, given so many movies are horrid looking these days (seriously Hollywood stop the orange/teal look, its destroying films, but thats a whole other thread) for editing and a great look then the opening of City Of God is fantastic.



Once Upon A Time In The West,several iconic shots in the opening sequence



the train robbery in The Assassination of Jesse James, gorgeous



The village attack in Apocalypse Now, some of the shots are incredible looking to this day, some of the setups must have taken forever, its more like Coppola just shot a war that happened to be going on at the time.

[TheIrishGrover]

I always thought the cinematographer was very unappreciated. We hear all about the stars and the directors and the writers but where would Wong Kar-Wai be without Cristopher Doyle with his eye for colour and his framing or look at the startlingly different look of Spielberg's work since he started working with Janusz Kaminski: All washed out colours and lens flare (But not Abrahams Flare).
I've always been a fan of long takes: The planning and choreography involved in a complex shot. I know Russian Ark is famous for being entirely one shot but the Copacabana scene in Goodfellas is one of my very favourite scenes ever. One shot displaying how cool it is to be important: Knowing everyone, great and small, everyone knowing you, the power of just having everything at your fingertips. All in 3 minutes.

[Monty Burnz]

Again, not an astonishing feat, but I love how this sequence shows so much in so little space:



Edit: City of God is a great shout, would have suggested it myself too.

[bnt]

I like Conrad Hall's creative use of varying high frame rates in American Beauty, which evoke Lester's alternate reality (or delusion, depending on your point of view). I remember Kevin Spacey saying that Mena Suvari was actually asked to flap her arms around madly in this scene, just to give some movement at that frame rate.


If you watch the first dinner table scene closely, you can see the camera very slowly moving in, the table gets closer ... but the back wall doesn't. I only spotted this recently. Its a subtle use of the dolly zoom, an effect which is normally exaggerated for effect e.g. in horror films, like this:

[Technocentral]

Apart from Soy Cuba this has to be some of the best cinematography ever, one continuous crane shot that covers half the town, if you've never seen it your in for a treat, the Secret In Their Eyes shot is fantastic but its 3 or 4 separate shots joined in the computer unlike the other analogue examples on this page.:

[GAAman]

Originally Posted by krudler

The village attack in Apocalypse Now, some of the shots are incredible looking to this day, some of the setups must have taken forever, its more like Coppola just shot a war that happened to be going on at the time.

If I recall correctly there actually was a war on there at the time. I think it even threatened filming at one point.

My own submission would have to be House of Flying Daggers. I saw this in 2004 in the IFI and was in awe at it. The cinematography is jaw dropping even for some of the smaller scenes lasting only a few seconds. The use of colour is amazing in some scenes even the bamboo looks fantastic!

I wont put a youtube video up as none of them do it justice, no points for whoever guesses what I am watching tonight

[e_e]

I got goosebumps when I finally got to see this in the cinema. Makes NY look like the most amazing place in the world to live.

[e_e]

From Syndromes and a Century, a contender for my favorite film of the last decade. Most hypnotic end to a movie I've ever seen, don't worry about spoilers since this just isn't the type of experience that can be spoiled in any way.

[Marty McFly]

The first one that springs to mind for me is Ong Bak now not a mind blowing film in general if youre looking for a great stroyline but the fight scene in the temple always blew me away, the choreography, the use of the water with the fire burning visually I think its just stunning.

Sorry for the low quality video its the best quality I could find sadly.

[Technocentral]

Originally Posted by MagicMarker

Oh, and a personal favourite in terms of Cinematography is "The Fall", a breathtakingly beautiful movie from start to finish. The opening alone is mesmerizing...



Needs to be seen in HD.

That film somehow passed me by, I notice its on Netflix so will have a look at it soon.

[Technocentral]

Originally Posted by bnt

If you watch the first dinner table scene closely, you can see the camera very slowly moving in, the table gets closer ... but the back wall doesn't. I only spotted this recently. Its a subtle use of the dolly zoom, an effect which is normally exaggerated for effect e.g. in horror films, like this:

The zooming in/tracking out effect is also used to great effect in Vertigo (first film it was used in)



and more slowly to ominous effect in the cafe scene between De Niro and Liotta in Goodfellows.