Today we begin our in-depth looks at the individual crafts categories. I’m a sucker for starting with my favorite: Best Cinematography.
The art of film is reliant on the motion picture camera and those men and women who lend their talents behind the lens. The Director of Photography is in charge of charge of capturing the director’s vision on film, not only by ensuring mood through lighting, thematic comment through juxtaposition, etc. This work has to be done in tandem with the director, which makes it not surprising that many cinematographers and directors work together frequently.
This category tends to award “pretty” films. Big epics and gorgeous landscapes frequent the nominated five each year, as do war films and anything generally considered a labored task in this department. That is not to say such efforts have a monopoly on this category –- just that they are especially apt to be nominated.
Last year it was sad to see Roger Deakins lose for the sixth and seventh times on the same evening. I cannot deny that Robert Elswit -– a longtime favorite of mine –- was an excellent choice for “There Will Be Blood,” but the great Deakins is once again searching for his first statuette! He will be back in contention this year, lensing Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road.” This film clearly has Oscar in its sights. While I still remain skeptical on how it will be received overall, Deakins will almost certainly be in contention should the film deliver in the slightest.
Deakins will also be lensing “Doubt” this year, which also has the potential to be a major awards player. Though I’m doubtful (no pun intended) about its chances in this category.
In what would be a historic nomination, Mandy Walker will likely be in contention for Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia.” She would be the first ever woman nominated in this category. Yes, that’s right. No woman has ever been nominated for Best Cinematography in 80 years of Academy history. Lurhmann’s films are always visually spectacular and this effort in particular fits in perfectly with the sorts of epics usually nominated in this category.
Wally Pfister has emerged an unlikely favorite in this category in recent years due to his collaborations with Christopher Nolan. The only nominee from the great “Batman Begins,” he managed to score a follow-up nod in 2006 for “The Prestige.” Now with “The Dark Knight,” he has once again built a dark, moody atmosphere under Nolan’s watchful eye. I personally feel this film could end up being a major Oscar player, and this ranks right up with Best Supporting Actor as one of the most likely categories.
Eduardo Serra has managed to score two nominations for small, utterly gorgeous films: “The Wings of the Dove” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” With “Defiance,” Edward Zwick’s war film, Serra will add scope to his arsenal of mood and atmosphere. The Academy loves projects like these in this category. The film’s plot is the sort that they might embrace. If it garners any traction whatsoever, I would say Serra is primed for a nomination.
Claudio Miranda has never had an opportunity like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” David Fincher’s vision is often captured with exceptional collaborations with his cinematographers, especially seen in his working with Darius Khondji on “Se7en” and Harris Savides on “Zodiac.” The lighting will be pivotal to capturing the flavor of the director’s latest effort, and it could work hand-in-hand with various other design elements on the film. From what we have seen so far, “Button” looks gorgeous and potentially a huge player in the crafts categories.
Spanish cinematographer Javier Aguiressarobe impressed many with his lensing of “The Others” and “Talk to Her” earlier this decade. On John Hillcoat’s “The Road,” he will have to capture the chaos and starkness of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic world. This work will necessarily be pivotal to the film’s mood and the stills thus far have reminded me somewhat of Emmanuel Lubezki’s phenomenal photography of “Children of Men” (an Oscar loss I’m still reeling from, despite “Pan’s Labyrinth” being my #1 film of 2006).
Chris Menges won two Oscars in the 1980s for his collaborations with Roland Joffé, one for “The Killing Fields” and the other for “The Mission.” But in the past 22 years, he’s only managed to return to contention once, for Neil Jordan’s “Michael Collins” 12 years ago. He may have his best chance in quite some time for Stephen Daldry‘s “The Reader.” If Daldry’s film delivers (and this is a big if in my opinion), it could be a major player in the visual categories and bring Menges back into the race. This, of course, is also contingent on the film actually being released in this year.
Harris Savides and Gus Van Sant have had an incredible working relationship. “Elephant,” “Gerry” and “Last Days” have proven that the cinemtographer understands the indie director’s vision. Having also proven himself on films such as Jonathan Glazer’s “Birth” and David Fincher’s “Zodiac,” Savides is once again teaming with Van Sant this year on “Milk.” While this may not necessarily seem to be the sort of film the cinematographers embrace, it nonetheless has the potential to be an across-the-board player like no film Savides has ever lensed before.
César Charlone was one of four shock nominees five years ago for “City of God.” His harnessing of the psychotic nature of Fernando Meirelles’s world was justly rewarded with that tip of the hat, but he was surprisingly snubbed two years later for “The Constant Gardener, I felt. This year he has collaborated with Meirelles again, on “Blindness.” This film was not very well received at Cannes but had a somewhat kinder reception at Toronto. Regardless, Charlone’s work has been praised pretty much across the board. A nomination would seem possible, in my opinion, even if all other categories fail to deliver anything for the film.
Janusz Kaminski, on the other hand, finally returned to the race last year with “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” after a nine-year absence. On “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” he does work that is very impressive, combining CGI with numerous widescreen shots. However, considering the difficulty Kaminski had returning to the race, and the less-than-stellar reception this unnecessary sequel received, I’d say odds are against him.
I’ll finish by mentioning Tom Stern. Clint Eastwood’s D.P. of late has shot “Mystic River,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima,” which have managed 19 Oscar nominations and 7 wins between them. Stern’s cinematography was key to setting the moods of all the films but he has yet to earn a nomination. “Changeling” is Eastwood’s latest Oscar-sseeking endeavor (before “Gran Torino” hits later in the fall). I would not be surprised if lighting turns out to once again be essential to establishing this film’s tone. And I do feel that a nomination for Stern will eventually come. This might be the year.
These are the major contenders as I see them now. Then again, it’s only September. Things are bound to change.
What are you thinking on the race for Best Cinematography this year? Tell us in the comments below!
Comments
28 responses to “TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography — Volume One”
I also felt Aguiressarobe’s work in Vicky Cristina Barcelona was more than deserving of a nomination. Beautiful stuff.
I think that cinematography is everyone’s favourite category (as far as craft awards go)!
I wouldn’t be surprised if the final line-up looked like:
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Revolutionary Road
The four that we haven’t seen yet look good in the trailers, but I don’t think the final shortlist will be able to hold a candle to last year’s nominees.
As much as I love Elswit and as much as he blew me away with his stunning work on TWBB and his subtle, stylish work on Michael Clayton last year, it’s a f’ing CRIME that Deakins lost the award last year. What he did with Jesse James was nothing short of pure and utter brilliance. It’s the most beautiful film I’ve ever watched on a movie screen.
I’m sticking with the five N8 mentioned, with “Button” being the weak link until we know more.
I’d scratch off Indiana Jones from that list. It’s been quite widely discussed amongst cinematographers how awful Kaminski’s work is in the film. It doesn’t even come close to matching Slocombe’s look for the first three films. Just bad cinematography.
I love these in depth looks at the crafts categories. You guys seem to be the only site out there that delves so deeply into it and it’s endlessly interesting. I agree with Nick that Deakins’ work on Jesse James should have been recognized with a trophy, so I have to believe that if Revolutionary Road stands up (which it looks like it will from the trailer) that Deakins would be the front runner. It’s nice to see a lady in the mix if Australia works — though I may not be getting the whole picture from the trailer, but a lot of the more “scope” shots in the trailer looked like CGI to me. Eduardo Serra has never disappointed and I’m really interested to see his work on DEFIANCE – Edward Zwick’s films are always beautiful and well done so I imagine Serra could be in the mix this season in a big way if Defiance flies. No way I see Indiana Jones happening. Harris Savides is incredibly gifted and the Milk trailer looked wonderful – if the film goes well, even if Savides’ work isn’t typical to “awards” style cinematography, he could easily get swept up since he’s so well respected in that community. Ben Button is a mystery but I just will not underestimate the power of Fincher even though Miranda isn’t part of the cinematographers’ good ol boys club. I personally wasn’t a fan of THE DARK KNIGHT but it’s probably happening so I might as well get used to it. So I’m going with (for now):
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
MILK
DEFIANCE
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – OR- AUSTRALIA
Javier Aguirresarobe/The Road
Phedon Papamichael/W
Eduardo Serra/Defiance
Harris Savides/Milk
Mandy Walker/Australia
Roger Deakins…
He should have been nominated for “Jarhead” in 2005 – the photography was one of the best parts of the film. Alas… He’ll win someday. Maybe not this year, but with “Revolutionary Road” and Sam Mendes it’s very possible. But I see “Australia,” “The Dark Knight,” and “The Road” leading this category.
Yeah, I’m almost finished with reading The Road right now, and I’m expecting big things from the cinematography. If it isn’t amazing, the movie will probably suffer greatly.
I know this is a bit of a wild suggestion, but what about “Hellboy II: The Golden Army?” Guillermo Navarro and Guillermo Del Toro working together again … gorgeous-looking film … any chance lightning could strike twice?
I know it’s unlikely. But I think it’s more of a contender than “Crystal Skull.”
5 Best Shot Movies of the Decade-
Werckmeister Harmonies
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
Y tu Mama Tambien
2046
The New World
One of the things I really like about this site is the writing on the technical crafts of movies. I don’t know much about it, so I feel like my eyes are being opened to appreciate these artistic skills. So, thank you.
I agree, Chad – though I’m partial to “A.I.” and “The New World” – both great and great-looking films. “A.I.” is my #1 from 2001, while “The New World” is my #2 from 2005 ( I can’t get enough “A History of Violence”).
I’m with Kris and Gerard on their pics.
As for the decade:
1. Children of Men
2. Jesse James
3. Road to Perdition
4. Batman Begins
5. Moulin Rouge!
Oh, and I’d also like to add that Tech Support is one of my favorite parts of awards season. Period. Thanks again for giving us these fantastic articles.
Just can’t wait for sound mixing (my personal favorite category).
I thought Jesse James was the biggest cinematography snub in the history of the Oscars. Though There Will Be Blood, the winner, also had gorgeous and notable cinematography. I think the fact that it was a Best Picture nominee gave it an edge over Jesse James who only had two nominations. Jesse James also should have gotten a Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. It was a much more impressive film than Juno and Michael Clayton in a variety of ways. I have a feeling the Academy might loosen their standards this year and spread the wealth. Meaning they might consider some of the box office hits as well as the prestige pictures. I think Australia is a shoo-in. People are forgetting about Che and Appaloosa as possible contenders. Some people might find this laughable but I know an academy member who thinks Mamma Mia is well qualified for a cinematography nom as well as a sound mixing nom. The Quantam of Solace also has amazing cinematography. I have high expectations for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and along with Slumdog Millionare, it is the film I am most excited about. For some reason, I think it might be snubbed for cinematography. Though it should be a top contender in the other technical categories like
Best Makeup, Editing, and it should also be a top contender in the main categories. I really think Milk will be a major contender in the main categories like Best Picture, Best Director,
Best Actor, Best Originial Screenplay, and etc
but there wasn’t anything brilliant or special about the cinematography and other technical aspects. I am also rooting for The Changeling in other categories, especially Best Actress, but I don’t think it will be nominated for cinematography. One academy member said he doesn’t want movies with a dark, dreary tone
and lack of variety to get nominated and I think The Dark Knight fits that label. I also think Revolutionary Road will be overlooked in the technical categories. As for Hellboy 2, I think it does have a chance at other categories like Makeup and Art Direction but I don’t think it will get a cinematography nom. Indy 4, I predict
will get an Art Direction and Sound Mixing nom
but not a cinematography nom. It is bound to get a couple of noms since Spielberg is such an influential and powerful member of the academy and I don’t think they would dare snub him.
“I thought Jesse James was the biggest cinematography snub in the history of the Oscars.”
I’m sorry, and I say this as a fan of “Assassination,” but … no.
It got nominated, for a start. That’s more than someone like Christopher Doyle has managed in his entire career. There are any number of more embarrassing omissions.
FYI, Gerard has had trouble signing in to comment on his posts. Hopefully we can remedy that, but I wanted to explain his absence.
As for the best cinematography of the decade, I want to play, too:
1. “Road to Perdition”
2. “Winged Migration”
3. “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
4. “Children of Men”
5. “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
My five personal favourites of the decade — I make no claim for best:
1. “2046” — Christopher Doyle, Yiu Fai-Lai, Pung-Leung Kwan
2. “Amores Perros” — Rodrigo Prieto
3. “Far From Heaven” — Edward Lachman
4. “Morvern Callar” — Alwin H. Kuchler
5. “Birth” — Harris Savides
On a side note, I’m way behind here, but I only just noticed that Prieto is the DP for next year’s “Broken Embraces.” Prieto working with Almodovar, on a noir-styled film … this is going to be beyond amazing.
Man, Wally Pfister is one OVERRATED cinematographer.
How does this guy managed to get nods two nods in a row? And for what? Batman Begins (over Munich???) and Prestige (in the year of the stunnigly gorgeous “Illusionist”? I am sorry but just about anyone could have filmed Prestige. This guy is almost as bad as Gustavo Santaolalla.
His work in The Prestige was fantastic and his nomination for Batman Begins was inspired. Two nominations doesn’t make someone overrated. It’s clearly your anti-Bat bias talking, or the general Proman argumentative nature shining through. In either case: boring.
And to say that anyone could have filmed The Prestige is first and foremost without foundation, but one could just as easily say the same thing about The Illusionist.
Let…it…go.
So now Gustavo Santaolalla is overrated too — I assume simply because he won back-to-back Oscars?
I’ve never understood the widespread resentment over his “Babel” win (so the score had some pre-used elements… I thought we WANTED the Academy to get over issues like this), but even leaving that aside, arguing with the beauty of scores like “The Motorcycle Diaries” and “Brokeback Mountain” is just wilful. And not enough people recognise just how integral his score is to the immense soundtrack of “Amores Perros.”
No bias involved, Kris. And I believe that I was always pretty consistent, so I don’t think you can accuse me of being argumentative. I may be opinionated,
I personally have no problems with how either BB or The Prestige were shot. They were certainly done competently enough. However, when one gets into a debate about movie’s nominations on an Oscar website, the question of ultimate worthiness becomes unavoidable. And in my opinion, The Prestige was completely unworthy of such “honor”.
And I know why it was nominated too – and it mostly has to do with the lighting in scenes involving Bowie’s Tesla character (because are sincerely doubt it was because the were impressed with the camara work – plus the Academy likes their fancy lighting). So yeah, the lighting was good, but… an “inspired choice” would have been nominating the Fountain.
In the year of Casino Royale, Babel, Apocalypto and even The Proposition, I think I’ve seen superior work. That appears to be a mute point though, for if Children of Men could lose…
“but one could just as easily say the same thing about The Illusionist.”
Not true! I have seen both movies in theatres and on DVD and I’d say that Illusionist is more immersive by several orders of magnitude. I’d hate to say this but it’s like comparing Barry Lyndon (and not it’s not anywhere close) to Tootsie.
And for BB, Munich should have easily grabbed that slot (not sure what Kaminski was thinking with some of the shots in Indy 4 though).
OK, and now I shall address the Santaolalla comment:
Santaolalla has been overrated for a long time.
It’s not because he won back-to-back Oscars. It’s the fact that he was nominated at all.
Putting aside his score for “Brokeback Mountain” – which while I don’t particularly like it, I can kind of sort of understand why it won), Babel win is just buffling. Insulting.
Not only did he recycle his own music for several compositions. The best music on the soundtrack isn’t even his! And the rest is practicly unlistenable (and I tried to give this a benefit of the doubt having listened to the entire 2 CD Soundtrack four times).
You could argue, that the music works well in the movie (that’s why I’ve learned to accept BM’s win) but I repeat the best music in the movie isn’t his.
Quality considerations aside, there is absolutely
no reason why Academy even allowed this to be legible for a nomination in the first place (while snubbing numerous scores around the same time for much smaller contributions).
I am fairly active in the Soundtrack communities and I can tell you that 99% of those people completely agree with me.
“The Motorcycle Diaries” is overrated too.
Not only is he a severly limited composer, his scores seem to get progressively worse too. He has talent (and a sense of ambience) but maybe he should finally take the time and start taking music lessons. Otherwise all of his works will inevitably sound the same. Learning how to read music could be a good first step.
Well we’re in agreement on The Fountain and certainly Munich (as I’ve long been on the record for Kaminski — the best lensing of 2005 — despite the fact that I think the film is a total miss).
We’re just going to have to agree to disagree on “The Illusionist” vs. “The Prestige.” I think both are wonderfully filmed and fail to see how anyone could slight one and praise the other, but whatever. It’s more than just lighting with the latter, however. It’s an evocation of Nolan’s dreamlike broken narrative, each element of the timeline appearing separate and to itself. What’s more, your asinine “Lyndon”/”Tootsie” comparison is obviously stretching and incredibly hyperbolic. Keep it on the ground, please.
The Proposition, by the way, was a 2005 film. And for your own future benefit (and not saying this in an asshole-ish way, it’s just the grammar hound in me), I would go look up the word “moot.” It’ll go a long way for you in future debates.
I know how the word “moot” is spelled. That was just a brain fart (I tend to have those when I’m typing fast, a point I will try to address – grammar is one of my pet peeves also). And while Proposition was a 2005 movie it didn’t receive US distribution until the following year. Still, I admit that I shouldn’t have brought it up.
And for the record, I claim that my Lyndon/Tootsie comparison was perfect. It certainly was a big stretch (as I’ve admitted in the original sentence) but it sure went a long way of demonstrating the gap in my opinion of the cinemotography of the two films.
And best of all Tootsie was nominated for Best Cinematography ;) !
I really do hate to beat down on someone’s work (in this case, Mr. Pfister’s) just because I think it was somewhat short of the ultimate honor (even if it’s just a nod). Regardless, how deluted the Academy’s own tastes and perceptions may be, I try to keep it pure in my head when I talk about the awards from a personal perspective. This is one point I hope you understand. I am not a hater.
And I’m perfectly ok with on agreeing to disagree on that though.
Just like I’m perfectly content with having “Munich” in my personal top 10 of all time.
I must have brain-farted as well on The Proposition. I distinctly remembered seeing it in Pasadena in the fall of 2005, but it must have been one of those “long falls” that carried into April of 2006 in my twisted mind. Whatever the case there, I never found the cinematography, or the film, all that special.
How you guys can keep on and on, overlooking THE FALL is beyond me. No movie so far in 2008 has been more lushly designed and photographed. I don’t care how many people have seen it–you can bet on it being nominated for Cinematography, Costumes, and Art Direction.
And, yes, I’ll play, too, but I expand my list to the top ten:
Best Cinematography of the 2000s:
Emmuanuel Lubezki, The New World
Harris Savrides, Elephant
Roger Deakins, The Assassination of Jesse James
Conrad Hall, Road to Perdition
Roger Deakins, The Man Who Wasn’t There
Colin Watkinson, The Fall
Matthew Libatique, The Fountain
Emmanuel Lubezki, Children of Men
Donald McAlpine, Moulin Rouge!
Tilman Buttner, Russian Ark
Oh, and as for this year (and it’s early):
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Fall
Revolutionary Road
Synecdoche, NY