Jack Johnson_38359 Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) Was wondering if anyone know of any movies with great Environmental Cinematography? This can range from space, nature, cityscape, landscape; basically, cinematography where the environment is used as the focal point or as an instrument or technique to bring about certain mood or emotions. Director of Photography: Emmanuel Chivo Lubezki's recent work on the Revenant is of course a good example. Edited April 9, 2016 by Jack Johnson_38359 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Field Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) I remember Blade Runner was received very well for that. Edited April 9, 2016 by Macks Fiiod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Silent Running Ferngully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bill DiPietra Posted April 9, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted April 9, 2016 I remember Blade Runner was received very well for that. Definitely a great choice. For cityscapes, I would go with The French Connection (1971,) Serpico (1973,) The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (1974,) and Taxi Driver (1976.) As a friend of mine always says when he watches Pelham (which I love,) you can almost see the grit of the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted April 9, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted April 9, 2016 There are the sort of "world-building" science fiction / fantasy movies like "Blade Runner" (and many others, such as "City of Lost Children") and there are the ones that capture the textures of a real location such as the 1970's urban movies that Bill mentions. And of course, historical dramas that recreate a past environment with great attention to detail (westerns such as "Heaven's Gate" or "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" come to mind immediately.) Tarkovsky movies seem to cover all those categories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Satsuki Murashige Posted April 10, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted April 10, 2016 Some films from my movie collection: Cityscapes: Man with a Movie Camera Berlin: Symphony of a Great City Vertigo Rome: Open City Band of Outsiders The Conformist I Am Cuba Taxi Driver The French Connection Annie Hall The Warriors Dog Day Afternoon Ferris Bueller's Day Off Risky Business Chungking Express Three Colors: Red Se7en Narc Lost in Translation City of God Period/Nature: Gone With the Wind How Green Was My Valley The Searchers Seven Samurai Lawrence of Arabia L'Avventura The Godfather, Part II Deliverance Tess Paris, Texas Amadeus Days of Heaven Koyaanisqatsi The Last Emperor Legends of the Fall Saving Private Ryan The Shawshank Redemption The Thin Red Line Pride & Prejudice The Tree of Life The Master Fantasy/Science Fiction: Nosferatu Metropolis The Red Shoes Black Narcissus 2001: A Space Odessey 8 1/2 Alien The Shining The Empire Strikes Back Blade Runner Legend The Princess Bride Brazil City of Lost Children The Double Life of Veronique Amelie Dark City Minority Report The Fellowship of the Ring The Dark Knight Suburbia: ET Back to the Future Goodfellas American Beauty Far From Heaven Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bill DiPietra Posted April 10, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted April 10, 2016 Suburbia: ET Back to the Future Goodfellas American Beauty Far From Heaven Carol Sat - I'm curious to know what made you put GoodFellas in to the category of "Suburbia"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Satsuki Murashige Posted April 10, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted April 10, 2016 Some of the films fit better than others, to be sure. But I was mostly thinking of the scenes after Henry and Karen get married. Not sure what borough they're set in. Especially outside her mother's house where he asks her to hide the gun, driving around the leafy neighborhood while high, the domestic scenes. Even most of the 'city' scenes don't feel like cityscapes to me - the diner near the airport, the various dive bars, the cab stand, there's a small town kinda feel to them. Maybe as close as you get to suburbia within New York City limits? I actually wanted to make categories by city originally but then I got lazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bill DiPietra Posted April 10, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted April 10, 2016 Some of the films fit better than others, to be sure. But I was mostly thinking of the scenes after Henry and Karen get married. Not sure what borough they're set in. Especially outside her mother's house where he asks her to hide the gun, driving around the leafy neighborhood while high, the domestic scenes. Even most of the 'city' scenes don't feel like cityscapes to me - the diner near the airport, the various dive bars, the cab stand, there's a small town kinda feel to them. Maybe as close as you get to suburbia within New York City limits? Yup, very accurate. Karen's neighborhood is actually right at the Queens/Nassau border. And I think some exteriors were shot in my current Queens neighborhood. And yes, if you look at the framing, everything is very insular & familial - just like the old-school NYC mob did it back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted April 10, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted April 10, 2016 There's some great desert stuff in Dune. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted April 11, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted April 11, 2016 Almost any movie where the mood, atmosphere, production design, cinematography is dominant, even oppressive, would be a good example -- "Apocalypse Now" would be one, and "Thin Red Line" in a similar vein. Or a movie where the setting was as important as the characters, something with a strong sense of place or space such as "Days of Heaven" or "2001". Most Terry Gilliam movies -- "Brazil" for example. I'd almost start with movies known for their strong production design, just to get going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiliam Cardoza Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 "Army of Shadows" by Jean-Pierre Melville... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastien Scandiuzzi Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Interesting. I immediately thought of non narrative documentaries, as in our literal environment (earth): Lessons of Darkness Visitors Qatsi Trilogy Pina Samsara There are tons more in this genre with beautiful cinematography but those are the ones that immediately come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Norman Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Giant The Big Country The Magnificent Seven Lawrence of Arabia The Birds Ryan's Daughter Tess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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