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Visually stunning films
- Thread starter Horse Detective
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FO-totality
Poet Centuriate
We are the Strange
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
It is my favorite film and I believe you are misunderstanding its intentions. Malick is philosophy, philosophy, philosophy. He's not a historian, nor an anthropologist, and he's not trying to offer insight into past culture or a critique of current culture. He is inviting you to take a personal journey inward to ask yourself what the characters ask themselves about throughout.
The New World explores...
-Love
-Commitments
-Communication
-Identity from your past experiences and actions (Smith)
-Identity from your people and foreigners (Pocahontas)
-Identity from what you learn about yourself and life (Pocahontas and Rolfe)
-Structure of society (social roles, rules, religion) vs Nature of humanity (appropriation, curiosity, need)
-Desperation (emotional and physical)
-Jealousy (emotional and physical)
-Conflict (emotional and physical)
-The accidental/automatic nature of both sorrow and strength
-Discovery bringing the death of what was (past of those cultures, Pocahontas' past identity) and birth of something new (Pocahontas' English cultural identity, her son)
-Humanity in general, both cultures and the individuals within them, as a part of nature (the final and universal identity) in the cycle of life.
That's not even everything, it's just an outline of the major components. What this film skimped on because it had a love and identity focus, he explored in depth with the Thin Red Line before and The Tree of Life after, but the three altogether make it very clear what he is after.
The films are not about the plot; they are, ultimately, about you. That is why they are so sensory and fluid in their direction, because the focus is on how you experience them rather than a specific way to experience them that he is trying to force you to use. If you're looking for (or seeing) intentions of his other than to vicariously inspire the feelings and questions of the characters in yourself, you're looking for (or seeing) something that is not there.
I thought that was Avatar.
Snkfanatic
Banned
This is an awesome thread, I really need to see a few of these and have gathered a list.
FO-totality
Poet Centuriate
The "Cube" series is very stark and easily one of the best horror movie series of all time (the original Cube is so crazy)
echoshifting
Banned
I don't think I've seen Another Earth in here yet. The movie is well shot, exploiting the enthralling mystery of its title as often as possible. The filmmakers took what should have been a fairly pedestrian story and made it something remarkable with a single visual concept. I found it captivating.
Farfetched as the concept is, there are moments in this film when it feels completely real.
Farfetched as the concept is, there are moments in this film when it feels completely real.
Great submission!
Shame the movie itself was pretty terrible and a waste of 2+ hours :/
I personally quite enjoyed it, a lot of that was because of the visual- & sounddesign though.
Citizen_Insane
Member
My man.
I'll just throw in a mention for Wes Anderson and basically anything he's ever made. Also Drive, the Fountain (right above this post, ha!), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
I liked this film a lot, although the DVD was 4:3, which was really depressing. And I was interrupted while watching to take part in a stupid photographic experiment my sister found on the Internet and wanted to copy.The Fountain
Gotta watch this one again.Valhalla Rising by Nicolas Winding Refn
That looks cool, but this critic's comment frightens me:
"Close-ups of a needle penetrating gnarled toes and a mutant slathered in what I choose to believe is bittersweet chocolate make as much sense as the scary drawings of angry vulvas hiding in a drawer."
Jason's Ultimatum
Member
Surprised nobody mentioned NBC:
PumpkinPie
Banned
Gattaca, a massively underrated film. It's very interesting in that it's shot like an old film and features vehicles from the 60s, but is set in the future and is about DNA alteration and human genes, as well as space travel.
Google turned up very little in the way of good pics, but these two capture the old-style colour and atmosphere:
Google turned up very little in the way of good pics, but these two capture the old-style colour and atmosphere:
I have no idea Chan-Wook Park & young gun Chung-hoon Chung haven't been mentioned yet.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance: Incredible use of colour and framing in this film.
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance: One of the versions become less and less saturated as the main character goes on a quest for vengeance.
Old Boy Everyone knows how iconic the hallway fight scene is, but there are several other memorable shots as well from Old Boy
Thirst: The visuals evolve with the narrative. Every visual aspect of a scene evolves along with the progression of the two main characters
Then there's Sergio Leone's beatiful, almost painting-like Westerns. They are truly some of the best films from a visual perspective I've come across in my lifetime:
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
For a Few Dollars More
And continuing the Western aesthetic, The Proposition was a refreshing take on the genre in an Australian setting:
Refn's Drive was also pretty well shot, although it seems to rely on much 80's aesthetics and almost Asian cinema:
I've always loved Wally Pfister's cinematography, but that also might be attributed to the excellent costume and set designs. His best is probably The Prestige:
Confessions is quite bombastic and can sometimes be too much, but I still think it's visually impressive:
Paprika, despite not being a very good story, has some explosive shots with a lot of detail:
Coraline is probably one of my favourite stop-motion films, and I'd say that its visuals and its incredibly admirable theme make it on par with Nightmare Before Christmas.
No Country for Old Men: Although the Cohen brothers often produce very well-shot films, many of them can seem visually boring compared to the best examples in cinematography. However I thought No Country for Old Men was somehow better than their usual output.
When you mention No Country for Old Men, you might as well also mention the much more beautiful There Will Be Blood
Then there's the usual Cyberpunk suspects in animé:
Akira The transition between comic and animated feature really showed the affinities between the two mediums:
Ghost in the Shell: The best example of a film that somehow accomplishes to excel despite being style over substance
Other noteworthy examples:
2001
Blade Runner
Playtime
Dogville
Rear Window
And most of all, Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle have probably done the most impressive work, but their films have already been mentioned.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance: Incredible use of colour and framing in this film.
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance: One of the versions become less and less saturated as the main character goes on a quest for vengeance.
Old Boy Everyone knows how iconic the hallway fight scene is, but there are several other memorable shots as well from Old Boy
Thirst: The visuals evolve with the narrative. Every visual aspect of a scene evolves along with the progression of the two main characters
Then there's Sergio Leone's beatiful, almost painting-like Westerns. They are truly some of the best films from a visual perspective I've come across in my lifetime:
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
For a Few Dollars More
And continuing the Western aesthetic, The Proposition was a refreshing take on the genre in an Australian setting:
Refn's Drive was also pretty well shot, although it seems to rely on much 80's aesthetics and almost Asian cinema:
I've always loved Wally Pfister's cinematography, but that also might be attributed to the excellent costume and set designs. His best is probably The Prestige:
Confessions is quite bombastic and can sometimes be too much, but I still think it's visually impressive:
Paprika, despite not being a very good story, has some explosive shots with a lot of detail:
Coraline is probably one of my favourite stop-motion films, and I'd say that its visuals and its incredibly admirable theme make it on par with Nightmare Before Christmas.
No Country for Old Men: Although the Cohen brothers often produce very well-shot films, many of them can seem visually boring compared to the best examples in cinematography. However I thought No Country for Old Men was somehow better than their usual output.
When you mention No Country for Old Men, you might as well also mention the much more beautiful There Will Be Blood
Then there's the usual Cyberpunk suspects in animé:
Akira The transition between comic and animated feature really showed the affinities between the two mediums:
Ghost in the Shell: The best example of a film that somehow accomplishes to excel despite being style over substance
Other noteworthy examples:
2001
Blade Runner
Playtime
Dogville
Rear Window
And most of all, Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle have probably done the most impressive work, but their films have already been mentioned.
SilentProtagonist
Member
Wow, just realized that's the same floor pattern as the Red Room (lounge?) in Twin Peaks...^ Never seen Hannah - is it good?
Also, Eraserhead is so damn eery in places.
Damn, beaten. Along the Anime route:
Princess Mononoke
What a shame that I cannot find decent screen grabs.
The forest scenes are very lush and minutely detailed. The forest spirit also makes for some haunting imagery.
This movie begs for a BD release.
Whoa this looks right up my alley. Will be watching tomorrow night. Thanks!
MidnightCowboy
Member
Hunger and Shame are beautiful. Sean Bobbitt has a wonderful eye. Looking forward to The Place Beyond the Pines.
The Fall
Brilliant use of color and imaginative costume and character design. Very nice locales, too.
The vivid imagery of the story-telling sequences contrast nicely with the real world scenes.
Edit: A couple more screens:
Came here to post this. Loved the visuals.
Truly, there are incredibly gorgeous scenes in Wolf's Rain. The art is unparalleled by any Anime show IMO.
Afro Gunsou
Banned
All of you need to go watch Howl's Moving Castle.
CadetMahoney
Member
I did like Cabin in woods.
The "Cube" series is very stark and easily one of the best horror movie series of all time (the original Cube is so crazy).
GAF should be ashamed, didn't see this mentioned, hope I didn't miss it:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
basically every single shot in the movie is amazing. When combined with the acting, the story, and the music, the movie is a masterpiece.
The train robbery and the final 30 minutes are just sublime. In terms of character development it has flaws, but visually it is simply perfect.
Theres that one scene of Batman standing over the rubble in TDK, but overall the cinematography in Nolan's films is nice, but nothing very memorable.
drifter444
Member
I totally forgot about this amazing movie. Of the best cinematography I have ever seen!
The soundtrack is amazing too!
Kontroll
The soundtrack is amazing too!
Kontroll
TrAcEr_x90
Member
Biutiful
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Toys:
FO-totality
Poet Centuriate
Makoto Shinkai's films are always beautiful. Really boost the emotional threads of his films.
5 Centimeters Per Second
The Place Promised in Our Early Days
5 Centimeters Per Second
The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Truly, there are incredibly gorgeous scenes in Wolf's Rain. The art is unparalleled by any Anime show IMO.
I don't know. FMAB is still by and far the best animated show in terms of visuals for me. Extremely smooth, and even there style and choice of kinetic expression is just impeccable.
Most obviously The Fountain. There's a reason this is number one here.
Recently, though unexpected as the Lion's manes look ugly as fuck (come on, that head is square-shaped!): the last hour of Madagascar 3 with the 'Circus Americano'. That stuff was just made for cinema.
No pics unfortunately, but this should give a small insight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huAbmcm0mIM
Recently, though unexpected as the Lion's manes look ugly as fuck (come on, that head is square-shaped!): the last hour of Madagascar 3 with the 'Circus Americano'. That stuff was just made for cinema.
No pics unfortunately, but this should give a small insight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huAbmcm0mIM
ReturnOfTheRAT
Member
Melancholia
Strange Days is another good one. Sadly, I can't find any good screencaps of the Region 2 Blu-ray.
Strange Days is another good one. Sadly, I can't find any good screencaps of the Region 2 Blu-ray.
will check out, but that seems to have a lot of digital after effects. Something about primarily cell animated frames impresses me much more. While I can't say this for the whole series, but the most insane animation from a TV series that I have ever seen was the Pain Arc from Shippuden. That final battle reached a whole new level that I have yet to see again.
Characters aren't properly fleshed out and the script and dialogue aren't anything to write home about. Meanwhile, the theme is pseudo-philosophical at best. I really like Ghost in the Shell, but it is pretty flawed in executing its narrative.
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