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Cinematography Oscar Contenders this Year?


Tom Lowe

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From what I have seen this year, off the top of my head, here are my top choices, thus far:

 

Jesse James

Lust, Caution

Zodiac

Astronaut Farmer

Eastern Promises

 

I also liked Mr. Brooks and Bridge to Terabithia's photography.

 

I've not seen Into the Wild.

 

What am I leaving out?

 

I think at this point, Deakins has it locked. Then again, I have been wrong two years in a row on my Cinematography Oscar predictions, so don't take that to Vegas. :)

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Yeah, well, IMO, Lubezki has been robbed two years in a row, so I don't have much faith in the overall Academy.

 

The nominees are selected by cinematographers, so usually those are spot on. But the final vote goes to the full Academy membership, which, IMO, seems to often confuse art direction, costumes, etc, with the actual photography. That's what I think happened with "Memoirs of a Geisha." Let's face it - the general Academy members don't have a detailed knowledge of cinematography.

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That's what I think happened with "Memoirs of a Geisha."

 

Oh, I don't know if that's a good example -- the cinematography was gorgeous on that movie!

 

I try not to think that who wins the Oscar actually signifies anything; afterall, you don't know how the voting went. The movie could have won by one vote, or two other films split the votes between them, cancelling each other's chance of winning.

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I also think Pan's may have won based on the influence of costumes, art direction, etc. I loved the photography in Pan's but I thought Children of Men was just more impressive.

 

I could be wrong. But you have to admit the costumes and art direction were amazing in Geisha and Pans.

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Im betting that "No country for old men" will be a contender! The trailers look amazing!

 

And if Deakins gets two nominations, the chance that they will cancel each other for the winner becomes higher. Not that getting two nominations in one year isn't flattering.

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Deakins sure has two great looking films as contenders. No Country looked amazing, so did the Jesse James, I would be happy to see either of them win.

 

Personally, I would have liked to see Kaminski get a nom. for Munich, though I have not talked to too many people that share my sentiment, though I happily argue its merits ;)

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For me, this was the most inspired work of the year.

 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men by Roger Deakins

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Janusz Kminski

American Gangster by Harris Savides

There Will Be Blood by Robert Elswit

 

It would be great to see any of these cinematographers win. But man, Mr. Deakins had quite the year. I think that Jesse James may be his most inspired work yet.

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For me, this was the most inspired work of the year.

 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men by Roger Deakins

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Janusz Kminski

American Gangster by Harris Savides

There Will Be Blood by Robert Elswit

 

How was/is "There will be Blood?" Did you like it?

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I just thought it was very well shot - well lit, good camera movement, superb choice of compositions, extremely professional in every way. It was understated, but the feeling of the cinematography was right on for Zodiac's story.

 

It's not my top choice. Jesse James and Lust, Caution are the pictures I feel strongest about so far.

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I just thought it was very well shot - well lit, good camera movement, superb choice of compositions, extremely professional in every way. It was understated, but the feeling of the cinematography was right on for Zodiac's story.

 

It's not my top choice. Jesse James and Lust, Caution are the pictures I feel strongest about so far.

 

 

I agree.I really liked zodiacs cinematography, but I dont know if it will get nominated because it came out so early in the year.

and it seems movies tend to be forgotten if they come out to early.

But I hope Im wrong, I think zodiac is one of the best films Ive seen this year, so I hope its rememberd and gets a few nominations

but heres my list for best cinematography

 

Assasination of jesse james

lust caution

american gangster

zodiac

Hairspray

 

Theres still lots of great looking films I have not yet seen

 

Diving bell and the butterfly

there will be blood

gone baby gone

no country for old men

Im not there

 

So as soon as I get around to the theatre again Im sure my list will change alot

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I was really excited about Apocalypto being possibly the first Oscar nominated HD picture, but once I saw the movie, I was let down by its photography. There were a couple of really nice shots, like the cable camera shot going over the edge of the waterfall, but overall, the photography did not live up to my hopes.

 

In one sense, Zodiac is kind of unique in that if you took 100 random people to see the movie, probably all 100 would never know it was shot digitally uneless you told them. Superman and the Star Wars pictures were HD, but they had a lot of visual effects, and even movies like Miami Vice and Collateral kind of drew attention to the fact that they were shot on HD, because of some of the low-light shots.

 

Zodiac, to the average viewer, probably seems like any other well-shot film.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The reviews for Atonement are starting to roll in, and almost all of them mention stunning cinematography. I'm thinking this could be a real contender and give Deakins a run for his money. Has anyone seen it yet?

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