LIGHTS…CAMERA…you were probably waiting for the word “action,” no? Action is, after all, what many individuals go to a film to see. But the “lights” and the “camera” in this classic phrase bring a film beyond a book or a radio show…and capture the “action.”
The individuals who paint the images of cinema with light and composition are rewarded in the Oscar category of Best Cinematography. Cinematographers are pivotal in the making of any film and it is thus unsurprising that directors often continuously work with the similar camera heads.
Like many cinephiles, I must say this is my favorite of the so-called “technical” categories and I eagerly anticipate the race every year. This year is no exception.
Australian D.P. Dion Beebe might seem to be leading this year’s lenser race with his third collaboration with Rob Marshall, the musical adaptation “Nine.” Despite not being cited by the Academy for some of his more innovative work (see Michael Mann’s “Collateral”), Beebe has been previously nominated for 2002’s “Chicago” and won the Oscar in 2005 for “Memoirs of a Geisha.” “Nine” will give him the opportunity to pay homage to Federico Fellini while also capturing sprawling musical numbers, a feat this category tends to reward.
Another Australian Oscar winner who will be angling his way back into the game is Andrew Lesnie. But Despite winning the Oscar in 2001 for “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” Lesnie has had a difficult time getting back into the race. He was not nominated for his work on either of the “Rings” sequels, not to mention his acclaimed lensing of “Babe” and “King Kong.” Collaborating with Peter Jackson on “The Lovely Bones” will give him a unique opportunity to once again show his talents. We’ll see if he capitalizes.
Another Oscar winner is the great Robert Richardson. The two-time winner is working with director Martin Scorsese for a fourth time, a collaboration that brought him a statuette in 2004. This time he’ll be working on the genre film “Shutter Island.” The two work well together and the moody feel of this film will have to be largely realized by the camerawork.
Dante Spinotti has been out of the Oscar race for 10 years, ever since Michael Mann’s “The Insider.” His first collaboration with Mann since, on “Public Enemies,” did not exactly catch fire critically or popularly. Reviews were more respectful than glowing. Even so, I would not be surprised to see the film survive until year’s end in many a crafts category, and Spinotti’s eerie mood-capturing work could be along for the ride. This branch has, however, shown a bias against digital work in the past.
Stuart Dryburgh has been absent from the game for even longer than Spinotti, his sole nomination coming 16 years ago for Jane Campion’s “The Piano.” With the Earhart biopic “Amelia,” he could have the opportunity to capture beauty in the air as well as the usual period trappings. If this film strikes a chord with the Academy (something I remain skeptical of), a nomination for Dryburgh is certainly in the realm of possibility.
Rodrigo Prieto has suffered a surprisingly difficult time attracting Oscar’s attention. Only “Brokeback Mountain” earned him a trip to Kodak, despite many of his vehicles looking like good bets from afar. This year he will have both Pedro Almodóvar’s “Broken Embraces” and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Biutiful” to once again highlight his talent behind the camera. One of them could very well land him in contention.
After decades on camera crews, and another decade of lensing films for Clint Eastwood, Tom Stern finally managed his first nomination last year for “Changeling.” He’ll hope to repeat the feat this year with Eastwood’s Nelson Mandela yarn “Invictus.” The film seems like the sort the Academy might love so if the South African landscape is captured well, Stern could return to the show.
Then there are the D.P.s attempting to earn their first nomination. Leading that group may very well be Greig Fraser, whose camerawork on “Bright Star” received much praise at Cannes. The Jane Campion film was arguably the film that emerged from the Riviera best situated for Oscar love to follow. I think Fraser is well positioned in this race.
Meanwhile, the big award winner at Cannes was, of course, Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon.” If the film catches on in America, I wouldn’t be surprised to see D.P. Christian Berger emerged as a contender in this category.
Barry Ackroyd’s recent work on both “United 93” and “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” brought attention to his steady – or deliberately unsteady – handling of the camera. His lensing of “The Hurt Locker” has already been greeted with much acclaim and Paul Greengrass’s “Green Zone,” should i be released this year, is also a possibility.
Javier Aguirresarobe has also been doing quality work for a long while, in both Spanish and American films, to no fanfare from AMPAS. With the post-apocalyptic “The Road,” he will have his best chance yet to break into the Oscar race as camerawork will be pivotal in the realization of Cormac McCarthy’s brooding world.
Lance Acord has been doing top notch work on music videos and numerous “edgy” films for over a decade. With Spike Jonze’s “Where The Wild Things Are,” he will have a uniue opportunity to show off his talents. I don’t really see this as an Oscar vehicle, but if it’s really good, you never know. It probably represents Acord’s best chance to date.
Then we come to “Avatar.” James Cameron’s return to directing after a 12-year absence has incredible potential to be a visual treat. Will that benefit Mauro Fiore? It’s hard to say – it might rely too much on technology for the tastes of this branch of the Academy. But with the film set to be a potentially dominating force throughout the crafts fields, one can’t ignore the possibility.
Thus ends our first detailed look at a category! We’ll be sure to re-visit the cinematography field in the Fall, after the Toronto film festival – and several of these films – have landed. At this point last year, I certainly did not have “Slumdog Millionaire” on my radar!
What are you anticipating to be the heavies in this year’s race for Best Cinematography? Have your say in the comments section below!
(Check out a full list of contenders here.)
Comments
21 responses to “TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography – Volume I”
If I had to predict right now Id go with The Lovely Bones, Nine, Shutter Island, Where the Wild things are and Avatar
It might be worth mentioning John De Borman for “An Education” — not showy work, for sure, but he did win a prize at Sundance and if the film gains traction in awards season, you never know.
Rodrigo Prieto’s work in “Broken Embraces” is exquisite, but I fear too subtle for the Academy. And Anthony Dod Mantle SHOULD be in the conversation for “Antichrist,” but we all know that ain’t happening.
I have yet to see the Half Blood Prince, but Bruno Delbonnel has been getting rave reviews. Does he have a chance?
Nine is 100% in. The Hurt Locker has an extremely good chance, Harry Potter I don’t think so.
But I’ve been meaning to ask this about Avatar, as far as I understand it, Avatar is completely, 100% created in the computer. There’s no actual photography. The only shooting was motion capture, actors with suits laced with dots filmed against a blue screen.
In that respect, doesn’t it make Avatar similar to an animated film. I know they have kinda reached perfection and it won’t look animated but can it truly be eligible? Because I thought LOTR 2 & 3 were looked down upon due to the over-riding use of FX to modify almost each and every shot of the film.
It seems to me that a lot of rule changes will be made for Avatar just because it is a revolutionary film. I may be wrong, but in principle it seems to me to be like making an animated film. I read the motion capture shooting was just for about a month and a half and the computer work took about 4 years. If Avatar is eligible for direction as well, I wonder why animated films wouldn’t be because in both cases the film is literally being created inside a computer.
You can’t really ignore Emanuel Lubezki’s work on Malick’s The Tree of Life, assuming of course it releases stateside this year. Beside the fact that Lubezki is one of the finest DPs working today, and Malick is one of the most camera-savvy of filmmakers, early reports from people like production designer Jack Fisk suggest the cinematography on just the handful of problematic dailies he’s seen is game-changing.
I think his quote, to paraphrase, was something like “I’m not sure how I’ll be able to work on anything else after this one, because everything after this is going to ‘look like a film’ again.” He also said The Tree of Life might be the first film he’s seen of its type that uses absolutely no artificial light sources, which of course it something Malick has played with throughout his career. The question though, aside from the film’s actual release date, is whether or not the Academy would want to acknowledge Malick’s film in this regard or in any other categories. Who knows?
Yes to “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Public Enemies” – too stunningly shot films.
No to “The Hurt Locker” – do away with the grainy, hyper-kinetic shaky cam.
Er, that would be *two* not *too*.
Lance: I don’t think it’s going to be released this year. I’ve all but done away with it in my head for this season, in any case. Really want to see Potter now, though. Love Delbonnel.
Bruno Delbonnel should be a clear lock for a nomination at this point. Half Blood Prince is the best shot film so far this year as far as I’m concerned.
Was I the only one that felt more distracted than attracted to the photography in HP? The bluriness was bugging me in particular.
Bruno Delbonnel’s work on Half Blood Prince should be nominated (and should win, of course, but there might be other contenders whose movies I just haven’t seen yet). It’s impressive.
It was obvious that he shot “Across the Universe” when I saw Luna Lovegood’s kaleidoscopic specks. There were so many shots I enjoyed in the movie. Good stuff.
Delbonnel’s photography was massive in HBP. Great film, great look. Best cinematography of the year by far, especially in the last act.
I’m skeptical about Spinotti’s chances, not simply because “Public Enemies” was shot digitally, but because it just doesn’t look “pretty” enough for Oscar’s taste.
I’m interested in seeing how “The Last Station” is going to look, with Sebastian Edschmidt as head of cinematography. It seems so ripe with possibilities for landscapes, interiors, characters, and contrasting lush/stark looks.
Red_wine: I don’t think Avatar is 100% animated. Indeed, it’s considered a “live action” film. I believe actors like Same Worthington will appear as themselves, whereas that feline-like character is a motion capture creation. Also, if you look at some of the released stills, you can see a real set with green screen mixed in intermittently.
Having seen it at the NZFF, I can say that Bright Star might be a hard sell in terms of cinematography. It’s excellent, and makes use of the beautiful landscapes in a showy way, but it’s much more intimate than the Academy goes for.
I’m not sure that A Serious Man is going to do it, but in any cinematography race, Roger Deakins cannot be counted out. He is one of the greatest DPs alive.
right now, I’d say…
Barry Ackroyd for THE HURT LOCKER
Andrew Lesnie for THE LOVELY BONES
Dion Beebe for NINE
Dante Spinotti for PUBLIC ENEMIES
Robert Richardson for SHUTTER ISLAND
(alternatives: Green Zone, Precious, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Inglourious Basterds, Broken Embraces / Biutiful)
I saw HP 6 and I have to say that what I think is cinematography (because I’m not completly sure, let’s say 100%, about what it represents) was really impresive giving an dark and at the same time precious look to the movie; and I’m with you Joel, the last part was awesome on every aspect (music, actings, twists on history, use of colors and camera, and direction).
I’d love to see Bruno of HP nominated xD
Hi from Chile to you cinephiles friends.
Thought I’d chip in again. I’d say Amelia, Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Hurt Locker, and Nine. Nine wins because it’s a Rob Marshall musical, and we all know what happened with the otherwise overrated Chicago.
Without any bias, I think Bruno Delbonnel should and deserves to be nominated… He really gave HBP an impressive cinematic effect….
Dion Beebe is assured of a slot of course…
I haven’t seen the others but based on the trailers, its Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince, Nine, The Lovely Bones, The Tree of Life, and Public Enemies….