many of the digital works of Leighton Pierce feature some of the most stunning imagery I’ve ever seen, more impressive than any sweeping aerial helicopter shot of a big budget set piece (but I do like those too). “Wood”, “The Back Steps”, “Water Seeking it’s Level”, “Viscera”, are the first ones that come to mind. To see his work though you need to plop down for DVD’s from him personally. No, he’s not paying me to say this but it’s well worth it to plop down 50$ for the two DVD’s that contain the aforementioned works.
Andrei Rublev, or Solaris
8 1/2
Manhattan, or Stardust Memories
Godard’s early color work, mostly Une Femme est une Femme
The Passenger
Shock Corridor
the cinema of Shuji Terayama is the most visually stunning
to single out a film: Zerkalo
no I can’t there are also days of heaven and heaven’s gate at least
also I should mention Silent Light but also the other Carlos Reygadas films are worth mentioning
Anghelopoulos’ the weeping meadow
lech majewski documentaries
then mario bava: the maestro of the macabre! most of his filma are visually stunning and dario argento’s inferno at least
Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller
The Thief of Bagdad (1940), Moonfleet, Casino, Otto e mezzo, Wallace & Gromit “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”
….and The Go-Between and Dead Man.
….and Jason & the Argonauts.
The Fall was the first that came to mind
Anything by Terrence Malick. Also, Sunshine had some awesome cinematography, even though it was kind of a bummer of a movie.
On the classical side of things, I definitely agree with moonfleet with 8 1/2.
2001, El Topo and The Fall
I’ll second Grey Daisies’ choice of Baraka. I remember seeing it during its first theatrical run, then dragging my friends to it the next day, then seeing it again with them the day after. I hear the Blu Ray is stunning as well. Also, my favorite of the Qatsi Trilogy has to be Powaqqatsi, it blows me away every time with its juxtaposition of tradition and modernity. Amazing.
Megaleksandros by Theodoros Angelopoulos
A Page of Madness by Teinosuke Kinugasa
A City of Sadness by Hou Hsiao-hsien
Black God,White Devil by Glauber Rocha
Lenny by Bob Fosse
just throwing in a few more picks….
Certainly not the best of all time, but I was stunned with the visuals of Schnabel’s “Diving Bell and the Butterfly.”
The circus scenes in Ophuls’ LOLA MONTES is stunning. His tracking shots (and setups) in The Earrings of Madame de… is unmatched.
When I watched the extras on Criterion’s HIGH AND LOW, it tells all about Kurosawa’s notorious’ demands and attention to the visual details and preparation. That gave me a newfound appreciation to the film (which I already liked).
On a semi-related note, I have a pet peeve against CGI computer graphics. Hence, I am not impressed by any of that binary shit.
Some more
The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
One From the Heart
Some Came Running
To the Left of the Father
Senso
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
Werckmeister Harmonies, The Man from London, and Last Year in Marienbad. They are absolutely beautiful.
The Fall (took 7 years to make, for goodness sake!)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Frida
Diving Bell and Frida may not be “of all time” material, but they are nonetheless impressive and visually appealing.
You guys have me all hot and bothered to watch Assassination again! Brilliant movie.
The finally party scene in La Dolce Vita is visually stunning, and obviously other scenes from the film (i.e. the fountain)
B&W: The Third Man
Color: 2001 Space Odyssey
Besides many other great films mentioned, I’d throw Bertolucci’s Novecento/1900 in. In purely visual terms, I’d say it’s even more operatic and ecstatic than The Conformist, or the Coppola/Storarro collaborations.
I just finished watching Michael Snow’s Wavelength which was on possibly the worst print I’ve ever sat through. Now I must see La Region Centrale, Corpus Callosum and Rameau’s Nephew by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen. Anybody have any sneaky ways I can go about doing this?
this is a tough call; i couldn’t choose just one but i’d look at the ones in recent memory like The Assassination of Jesse James, Sunshine, The Fall, Mirrormask and There Will Be Blood.
I’d say Ran is amazingly impressive as well.
A few more:
Citizen Kane
Fanny and Alexander
Gone with the Wind
Let the Right One In
Brokeback Mountain
2001: A Space Odyssey
Dances with Wolves (Yeah, jab at it all you want, but it’s still some of the best cinematography of 90s cinema, that and
The Ice Storm
Badlands
The Thin Red Line
the passion of joan of arc
Of the few movies that have ever stuck out to me visually, Senso and Sunshine top the list. Senso was the far superior movie, though, so I’ll say that’s the most visually impressive film I’ve seen.
The Godfather
The Shining
The Man From London
Playtime
Elephant
It warms my heart when I hear people talk about how visually stunning The Assasination of Jesse James is. Gimickicry bullshit is definitely back in fashion.
‘It warms my heart when I hear people talk about how visually stunning The Assasination of Jesse James is. Gimickicry bullshit is definitely back in fashion.’
I get the same feeling when people piss all-over films I like. ;)
Blade Runner
Le grand bleu
Also…
Irreversible
Tarkovsky – Stalker, Solaris, Nostalgia
Three Colours Blue/Red
Raise the Red Lantern/Hero
Amelie
Blade Runner
Apocalypse Now
Diving Bell and the Butterfly (for sheer innovation)
I cant choose One – besides, usually if the film looks good it generally has little depth
Lester Burnham
Days of Heaven