Movie Pictures

Old Frankenstein

From my most favourite film of all time - Tarkovskys Stalker, 1979...

Before Peter Jackson went almost 100% green screen for his Hobbit films remember how he stunned everyone with the beauty of New Zealand. The Edoras outdoor set was amazing. Built on Maori land, as part of the agreement, it had to be removed and the land left as if untouched after filming. You could fill this thread with beautiful New Zealand scenery but I just loved the introduction of Edoras.

Another example of Christopher Nolan's amazing cinematography choices. From the Dark Knight. For all the amazing Imax footage and full scale practical effects (The amazing truck flip later) the introduction of The Joker at the very start of The Dark Knight told you everything you needed to know: This was not the dapper crime lord at the top of the chain in an expensive tailored suit. This was as far removed from Nicholson and Romero's Jokers as you could get: The hunched shoulders, the greasy hair and disheveled suit. The mask held carelessly in his hand. The very fact that he's on the street waiting to be picked up. You can see that this guy is not there to make as much money as possible. This guy is there purely for the addictive chaos element of the heist.
Sure, this is expressed more blatantly later on (Especially in his scene in the hospital with Harvey Dent) but you can gather that from this single intro shot without a word of dialogue or even seeing his face. Amazing intro.

Kubrick's Barry Lyndon was on TV over Xmas - one of the most beautifully shot films ever (much of it filmed in Ireland). Each scene is like a classic painting, with Kubrick often starting scenes in close up before gradually zooming out to reveal the full picture. Many of the indoor scenes were shot using candlelight on special low-light lenses developed by NASA.

American Psycho:


War of the Worlds:

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