some good lookin stuff

lily
Apr 12, 2019
10 min read

Updated: May 19, 2019

"for your eyes only"- James Bond

our patron saint of cinematography, Roger Deakins

With this post I'm gonna be kicking off a new series I'd like to call "okmovies goes bts" where I'll be giving you a rundown of all my favorite cinematography, writing, scoring, other stuff...? If you couldn't tell already (context clues, use them) our inaugural post will be talking about cinematography. A lot of the films are grouped by director, so we'll start there and then move on to the misc shit. And if you don't feel like reading, just look at the pictures, they're there for a reason. We've got a lot to cover people, so get fukin ready.

(FYI I'm limiting it to 3/4 stills a film so you can figure out what you're looking at)

(additional PSA: some of these goddam pictures did not want to format correctly, so sorry if they look like shit. My apologies go out to any and all who were impacted by this tragedy)

Shuffle on down to Directortown: They're in no particular order, so don't get all pissy if your fav isn't number one, m'kay?

PTA: y'all knew it was coming

Our first grouping comes from none other than the man himself, Mr. Maya Rudolph's husband, Paul Thomas Anderson. Pretty much all of his films are gorgeous, but I narrowed it down to four for times sake. And those four are...in chronological order...Magnolia (1999), There Will be Blood (2007), The Master (2012), and of course Phantom Thread (2017). Up first is Magnolia, or the movie that Aimee Mann made her bitch. This movie, I shit you not, is about 3 hours long, so it's gonna have to be pretty if you want people to watch it. And it was. Google images isn't really doing the movie justice, so I guess you'll just have to go and watch for your self. Since Magnolia is basically just one big, very big, character study, most of the shots feel like portraits of the characters. It's cinematographer, Robert Elswit, matches the framing, lighting, and coloring, perfectly with the character's personas and behavior. Mr. Elswit is also responsible for our favorite film we love to hate, that's right it's There Will be Blood. Elswit definitely drank that milkshake with this one because the cinematography almost, almost, makes up for the movie itself. It's not that TWBB is bad it's just long as hell and is lacking the Aimee Mann soundtrack that would make watching the film worth it. It came out in 2007, aka the year of the west Texas flick, and makes fabulous use of the desert landscape. And I think that's all I have to say about that. Our next film, The Master, has already been talked about a multitude of times on the blog, but I still got something to say. The cinematography is super dreamy and hypnotic, which fits with the whole cult thing. It's in direct contrast to Joaquin's chaotic performance which gives the film a great balance. And lastly, the most fabulous, chic, and wack film to ever grace our screens, Phantom Thread. The clothes? gorgeous. The actors? beautiful. The cinematography? perfect, obviously. The look of the film matches the grand fashions and bold personalities, and also happened to be shot by PTA himself. ygg Paul. So I lied and I actually have 5 films to talk about, with the last being the ever iconic, Boogie Nights, or that movie where that one Wahlberg wears the fake dick. For time's sake, I'll keep this short. It's basically just your 70's porno fantasy (if you have one...), but make it glamorous, and pretty to look at.

Barry Jenkins: my one true love

So we only really have two films to choose from, I mean technically we have three, but I've only seen 2 so that's what we're gonna talk about. Those two films being Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk. And the cinematography is, to quote the title of Gus Van Sant's 1995 hit, it's to die for. James Laxton knows what he's doing when it comes to shooting Barry's films. With Moonlight, it had this almost documentary feel with it's camera work making it feel like real life, yet we were taken out of real like and into the dreamland that was this movie with the lighting and portrait like close ups. Moonlight also had a way of getting this circular/halo like shot of the characters, where everything in the background just bends in a disappears around the characters, which is just really really beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, the last shot is so amazing and heartbreaking. No other shot/scene has ever stuck with me the way this one has, to the point where I wrote a paper on it for a class I took (don't worry, it's the 4th image in the slideshow). Beale Street on the other hand had a glossy look to it, which complemented its novel background. The lighting wasn't as dramatic as with Moonlight, but the cinematography was so character driven that it didn't need it. That perfume counter shot...guyssssssss. When I saw that in the trailer I knew I was gonna be in for a treat. I get why Laxton didn't win the Oscar in 2017, because of La La Land, blah blah, but the man deserved it. He wasn't even nominated this year, which I mean, what the fuck? But I digress, James Laxton and Barry Jenkins are a match made in heaven, and they better keep working together for the sake of film.

The Coens: some nice Jewish Boys

The two Coen films we'll be discussing today both happen to also be two of Roger Deakins best works. The first film, Fargo, is pretty damn good looking. For as funny/dark/batshit/wtf as this movie is, the cinematography is somewhat minimal. It's basically just one big snowfest that is periodically drenched in blood (aka woodchippered). The most famous shot is probable the birds eye of the parking lot. I see this shot on every annoying ass film twitter/ top ten cinematography list there is, but it's a good shot so who cares (me, obviously, but for once in my life I'm not going to be an asshole about it's popularity). The other film we have to look at is No Country for Old Men, or the movie TWBB wishes it could be. So this movie falls into the 2007, deserts of Texas genre, as well as being the darkest of the Coens films. The cinematography is more focused and serious, which complements the film'f tone. It also goes full sepia, because you might have forgotten it's about the desert, but it doesn't feel cheesy or gross, so we're here for it. I read an interview with Deakins from yet another west Texas film he shot (a film that we may or may not get to later) and he said that the landscape is so beautiful there that it basically does all the cinematography work for you.

Terrence Malick: y'all let that good cinematography go to his head

If there's one thing you should know about ol' Terrence, it's that he knows how to make a pretty film. That being said, I feel like he knows this and now all his films are just cinematography porn accompanied by a half ass story. But I'm here to give credit where credit is due so cheer to you Terr. His first film, Badlands (don't feel like confirming if this fact is true) was inspired by some knock off Bonnie and Clyde/ Natural Born Killers couple from the 50's. It's set in the Badlands of South Dakota/ the midwest. Even though that area of the country might be bland as fuck in real life, it photographs well. Badlands is really pretty but also somewhat experimental with its cinematography/editing. I should also add that the film is apparently one of Jeff Nichols' favorite movies, so I guess I'm biased. My personal favorite of the Malick series is of course Days of Heaven. It's the same as Badlands location wise, and I'm pretty sure I read that they were inspired by Hopper's paintings when framing their shots. I feel like I've said a lot about Days of Heaven before so I'm gonna cut it off here. The last film would probably have to be Tree of Life, which is pretentious to the max. It's got a 2001 vibe going on in that it's just imagery and sound, except it's obviously not as groundbreaking. The story is really nostalgic and the cinematography fits perfectly, capturing a somewhat autobiographical depiction of Malick's childhood in Texas. if your going to watch any of his films, then definitely go with Badlands and Days of Heaven. I'd now like to take a moment of silence for Sam Shepard, whose beauty took the look of Days from a 10 to an 11. RIP in peace bby boy.

Gus Van Sant: man of the 90's

So Gus if one of the founding fathers of the New Queer Cinema, and even though only one of these films falls into that category, both capture the look and ambiance of the genre. There's no real way to describe the look of these films, but if I had to I'd say that it's "somewhat low-rent, indie shit from 30 years ago".For our first film we'll be chatting about the non-gay junkie fun that is Drugstore Cowboy. I would be lying if I didn't tell you that part of the reason this movie looks so good is because of Matt Dillon, but it does have some interesting cinematography as well. It's basically just an hour and a half (not looking up run time but it has to be abt 90 minutes) of junkies running around Portland in the 70's. What more could you ask for? The other film is probably one of his most famous films as well as the most famous from the genre. And that film is of course My Own Private Idaho. If I could describe it in two words they would be, River Phoenix, sighhhhhhhhhhhhh. Please add him to our running moment of silence for Sam. This movie also dicks around in Portland (literally...), but it also takes a trip over to Idaho (duh) and Rome (not duh) for some really beautiful scenery. Drugstore Cowboy is definitely the more user friendly (user... anyone?), but My Own Private Idaho is also worth the watch. Though I would take caution because that shits weird as fuck, but it has pretty boys so who cares. (fyi google didn't want to give me any good stills from Drugstore Cowboy so enjoy the only shots I could find at the end)

Marty Scorcese: we're on a first name basis, r u jealous?

I could easily make a whole post dedicated to Scorsese's films, because the man has too damn many. He just won't stop!! That being said I'm limiting this to my three favorites, sorry Goodfellas fans and also Raging Bull enthusiasts. I've seen both of those films a few times each but I can't even seem to finish it. At this point I probably never will, much like my Pulp Fiction viewing habits. I've seen that movie about 4 times now and have still never seen the last 20 minutes and have finally made peace with the fact that those 20 minutes just aren't gonna happen for me. Also f u Quentin. But alas, we aren't here to talk about QT, we're talkin about Marty. Up first is of course Mean Streets. I watched this for the first time in my post-Piano Harvey Keitel obsession phase, and wasn't disappointed. Mean Streets is basically what you would get if you let Scorsese direct The Godfather, it's super mob-y and nostalgic but a lot more fun. The cinematography is very Little-Italy nightlife inspired, which just means lots of neon lit clubs and Italian American guys trying to out-macho each other. The film is about 3/4 baked and you can tell it's one of his first features. If you're looking for something that's 100% baked, then look no further than Taxi Driver. This is easily one of my favorite movies, and that's partly due to the way it looks. It's another nostalgic look at NYC, but a lot grosser. The cinematography has a total New Hollywood look to it, which of course I have no clue how to describe so I'll just let you see for yourself. If anything you should watch it a) because it looks good, and b) because it got Reagan shot. How iconique. Our thirst and final film would have to be The Departed. I always forget how good this movie looks until I rewatch it and am like, "yeah, ok, so that was great". Unlike the other two films, The Departed is more framing based rather than lighting, etc. It's look is sort of clinical because of that but it's still pretttttty, prettyyyyy, prettttttyyyyyy, good. Honorable mention goes to Silence. There's no way in hell I'm gonna watch a three hour movie about missionaries in Japan, but from what I've seen it looks really pretty, kudos to whoever shot it.

Spike Lee: he's in the Annapolis

I sadly have only seen 2 of his films and I don't remember the way Blackkklansman looked, so today we're here to talk about Do the Right Thing, and Do the Right Thing only. I looooveeee the way this movie looks. It reminds me of Mean Streets in the way that they both have a very distinct NYC visual style. DTRT is super vibrant and fun. I love the use of all the tilted angles and distances. You could show me this movie and not say who it was by and I would immediately know Spike did it because of the way it looks. Everything about this movie fits together perfectly, especially it's cinematography. I also want to give a very pretentious shoutout to La Haine, or the French knockoff of Do the Right Thing. This is another example of non-asshole b&w cinematography, and it's also just very cool. Maybe that's because it's French, but who cares. (definitely because it's French)

I have now exhausted myself with all this writing, so please enjoy various slideshows of various films. Thank you and goodnight.

Lynne Ramsay: Scotland's finest & queen of the long ass title

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

You Were Never Really Here (2018)

Denis Villenueve: he's a cool guy (see above for why)

Prisoners (2013)

Sicario (2015)

Arrival (2016)

stay tuned for Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Blade Runner series: shit's cool as af

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

FYI I haven't actually seen 2049 yet but you can't tell me that shit doesn't look good. It's also the film that got Sir. Roger Deakins (probably not a Sir, but he's British so whatever) his first, that's right first, Oscar.