Yes there have been quite a few threads covering cinematography, but as we have this thread now, rather than drag another back up here as well, i’ll say:
Miyagawa in Sansho the Bailiff
Rerberg in Mirror
Urusevsky in I am Cuba
i also admire Storaro, Muller, Toland…
In spite of the fact that I usually like my cinematography dirty, The Last Emperor really is the Citizen Kane of cinematography. The one-two punch of Bertolluci and Storaro combined with Ferdinando Scarfiotti’s production design is a thing to marvel.
Maybe coincidence, but like Wenders without Muller, Bertolucci just doesn’t seem to have been himself without Storaro.
Yeah, you need a good DP. Jarmusch didn’t seem to have that problem when he opted for Elmes over Muller (but of course Fred Elmes is as good a DP as Robbie Muller is). I think that while Storaro is arguably one of the greatest cinematographers in the history of the medium, Bertolucci is a master at camera and Storaro repeatedly stated that a lot of that stuff in Emperor was all Bertolucci. And I think you can see that when you watch a movie like The Dreamers. While I thought the film was weak, the camera work was most impressive. However yeah, it’s most definitely not in the same league as some of his previous films.
Kenji, don’t you think Miyagawa might be the greatest cinematographer ever? His body of work during the 50s and 60s is just incredible. Rashomon with Kurosawa, Ugetsu, Sansho, Crucified Lovers with Mizoguchi, Floating Weeds with Ozu, and Tokyo Olympiad with Ichikawa just to mention a few. Does anyone even come close? I imagine Nykvist might, but that’s about it, no?
I think the cinematography by Sven Nykvist in Winter Light and The Silence is some of the most astonishing I’ve seen.
Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography in Children of Men and A Series of Unfortunate Events is to die for.
Robert Elswit’s cinematography in Good Night and Good Luck is brilliant as hell, as it is also in Michael Clayton and There Will be Blood.
I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of good photography in films. I think Storaro’s in Last Tango is beautiful and very evocative.
Actually, though, to tell you all the truth, my favorite cinematographer would be Nestor Almendros. Man, did the guy know how to shoot a freaking film.
EDIT: By the way, I notice that I basically listed cinematographers who make films look beautiful. Truly, though, some of the best cinematography out there is some that is completely unnoticed, because it is doing too good of a job in telling the story.
Savvy
People will argue that Storaro, Connie Hall, Vilmos Zsigmond or whoever is the best DP that’s ever lived.
However for me, nobody comes close to Gordon Willis. Unlike nearly every cinematographer before and since, that man did not give a fuck. The balls on that man is awe-inspiring.
Well, Blue K, how did you guess, yes i do think Miyagawa might be the greatest cinematographer…but i’ve been biased since first i saw Sansho..
As well as his work on Apocalypse Now and The Conformist, Storaro made a superb contribution to The Sheltering Sky. He had his own ideas on colour schemes and the 2nd half nocturnal-moon-female-blue takes over from the earlier day-sun-yellow/orange-male. The train scene in the Conformist is extraordinary. With Urusevsky on I am Cuba it was more about the daring and astonishing camerawork, up and down high buildings and across great voids. But Kalatozov, from the evidence of some other films, must have been pretty bold and pushing for something out of the ordinary. It can be hard to be sure where exactly to attribute credit, the lighting expertise is very important, but the ideas, organisation and location/shot placements etc would usually be attributed more to the director, or D.O.P and director play ideas off each other, sparks + catalysts, demands and inventive solutions. Toland’s importance to Welles + Kane is well known, even with Welles the great auteur. With or without Miyagawa, a Mizo film is still clearly recognisable. And Mizo, so dictatorial in other aspects, wasn’t one to bother much with the viewfinder. But what do i really know? I wish i’d seen Chris Menges, from my neck of the woods, in action either directing or as cinematographer, i would have learned a lot
And i’m glad Almendros has been mentioned; i really like his work for Rohmer too, eg My Night with Maud and especially Claire’s Knee.
Oh, and Gianni di Venanzo has showed versatility with different directors, topped off with 8 1/2.
@Fredo: Citizen Kane is the Citizen Kane of cinematography.
Almendros in Ma nui chez Maud…. It’s one example. There are thousands, of course, but CarloDi Palma’s work on Blow Up is impressive too.
Stanley Cortez never gets his due. He photographed two films that would make my top 3 best-looking black and white masterworks: The Magnificent Ambersons and Night of the Hunter.
Oh yes, magnificent! And Luís Cuadrado on Spirit of the Beehive, i think he was losing his sight
Either Manhattan (Gordon Willis) or Werckmeister Harmonies (Patrick de Ranter, Miklós Gurbán, Erwin Lanzensberger, Gábor Medvigy, Emil Novák, Rob Tregenza)
James Wong Howe, who gave Warner Bros. pictures of the 40’s, with his low-key photography, a distinctive look, along with his use of deep focus needs to be mentioned.
Of course, we gotta give some props to Nestor Almendros who was losing his sight for sure during Days of Heaven. He did some great work with Truffaut and Rohmer as well.
PS edit: Days of Heaven might be the prettiest American color film.
Tarkovsky of course. The Mirror.
Everything in any Jancso I’ve ever seen.
Sombre
Sombre
Sombre
The Danube Waves
Marketa Lazarova
Platform
Vortex
Wanderers of the Desert
Erotikon
to add some more.
Charmed Particles has easily the most ridiculously good B&W cinematography I’ve seen.
Koyaanisqatsi
Not being familiar with the Asian repertoire (Kurosawa), which im sure looks fantastic, i would go with 2001.
Also:
The Inner Scar
At Land
The Face of Another
Brakhage: By Anthology
Throw Away Your Books, Rallye in the Streets
Eaux d’Artifices
Babel
In Praise of Love
Landscape Suicide
Trouble Every Day
RR
City Of God (basically any of the work of cesar charlone), barry lyndon and fanny och alexander.
I’m sure there are many more, but those are the films that came to mind immediately.
Wow So many wonderful films that come to mind
Whenever I am asked this, two films come immediately too mind
The Deer Hunter
and
Apocalypse Now
Kazuo Miyagawa in Ugetsu
NOT one of my favorite films, but Don’t Look Now sure is pretty.
days of heaven
eyes wide shut
cries and whispers
(in color)
touch of evil
araya
persona
(in black and white)
Robley
Just curious…