The single greatest SHOT ever...?

[Tom]

I mean, which single shot is the greatest in cinema history? I'm talking about a shot that lasts no longer than ten seconds.

I really love this scene from Kubrick's Barry Lyndon.

http://stalkingelmo.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/Barry_Lyndon_screenshot.JPG

It is so vital to the story, and Stanley was brilliant in the way he set it up. He was rocking custom f/.07 lenses for this movie.


But for me, the single greatest shot of all time is the woman on the swing in The Thin Red Line....

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/7724/swingif1.png

I say this is the greatest natural lighting ever. The light is the best I have ever seen. For the next shot in the sequence, Toll put his camera upside-down on a 10-foot ladder, overcranked it, and called it a "lucky mistake" that it came out the way it did. IMO, it's not a mistake.

For a bonus, I will throw in Darth Vader's funeral pyre shot from Jedi, which I feel is one of the most poignant shots I have seen.

http://www.theforce.net/swtc/Pix/laserdisk/sw6/pyre02.jpg

Oh and by the way: please provide screenshots to back up your thoughts.

[Bmoreshaun]

I have no particular favorite, but I will say the helicopter scene in the begining of Jurrasic Park took my breath away...(When they were flying in the valley with the cliffs on either side)....WOW...I couldn't find a pic of it anywhere, but I'm sure most everyone knows exactly what shot I mean...

[Tom]

I have no particular favorite, but I will say the helicopter scene in the begining of Jurrasic Park took my breath away...(When they were flying in the valley with the cliffs on either side)....WOW...I couldn't find a pic of it anywhere, but I'm sure most everyone knows exactly what shot I mean...

The one where the chopper is rising up. I know. But give us a screencap, dude.

[Bachman]

Hmmm, maybe a shot from Laurence of Arabia or the Helo shot from Apocalypse Now for impact

[Brook Willard]

I won't call this even close to the best... or even my favorite... and I know it's not "one" shot... but I still love it.

[Yash Keough]

Yes the Apocalypse Now shot is stunning. That scene blew me away. Also I'm actually very fond of some of the shots in Lord of the Rings particularly the giant helicopter shots around the characters or the lighting of the torches in Return of the King. Awesome stuff :D

[Ralph Oshiro]

http://www.24framefilms.com/blade-runner-2.jpg

Though not this exact frame, this shot is one of my all-time favorites.

[Jason Francois]

http://www.24framefilms.com/blade-runner-2.jpg

Though not this exact frame, this shot is one of my all-time favorites.

That's twice today I will agree with Ralph. Many shots in Blade Runner are forever etched in my mind.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

OK, I know I'm kinda crapping in the thread with this one, but I just have to do it. This is one of the funniest things I have seen in the last year and I still chuckle over it. Too bad it wasn't real. :devil: ...From the movie "Click".

Finner, if you're reading this thread, this one's for you. And for the Hoff.

See the scene in its entirety (http://youtube.com/watch?v=HAzQrU2glfM) on you tube. :pirate:

http://www.appliedvisual.com/redimages/hofftastesshit.jpg

[David Mullen ASC]

We covered some of this in another thread, but it's funny how many shots that I feel were great have some visual effect in them. I think this is one of the most iconic images ever to end a movie:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT3.JPG

And these are also some other memorable images:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT7.JPG

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT8.JPG

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT9.JPG

[Bachman]

Possibly the most famous sequence in the history of the movies.

[David Mullen ASC]

Another classic moment in film history with a visual effect:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT6.JPG

[Bachman]

LOL And another.."Voyage to the Moon"

I think thats as far back as it goes David

[Poi Boy]

There is just no way ! so many genius shots in cinema history.. how about 2001 the reveal of the monolith ? It just isn't right to bring up one shot because there are so many. very inspirational thinking about it.
Aloha
-A

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I've been trying to think and I've come up with about two dozen just off the top of my head. Can't decide on any particular one that just does it for me as being the best. I'll think on it some more and maybe I'll post a grab or two. And no, not another one like Hoff scene above. hehe...

[Bro Anansi]

yep.



http://www.jonathanminard.com/EarthSpace/monolith3.jpg

[Jason Francois]

We covered some of this in another thread, but it's funny how many shots that I feel were great have some visual effect in them. I think this is one of the most iconic images ever to end a movie:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT3.JPG

And these are also some other memorable images:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT7.JPG

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT8.JPG

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT9.JPG

yes
yes
yes
and yes

[Jared VanLeuven]

I can't find a grab right now, but a shot I've always loved is from "Contact" (Zemekis), the funky reverse-through-the-mirror shot of young Ellie running like hell to get her father's heart medicine. Very surreal, and very well done.

[Chris Kenny]

Best shot ever? Probably something from Barry Lyndon. But I love this shot from Chungking Express:

http://www.indie4k.com/wp-content/uploads/forum/shots/express.jpg

[Bro Anansi]

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/228_1178345482.jpg
How about this one from At Play in the Fields of the Lord?
That film was filled with powerful imagery, but this is probably the most iconic.
If I had the wide screen version you could clearly see the powerful synthesis of ideas in this shot.
The cross like shadow of the aircraft sweeping over the First Nation village
represents both the irresistible power of technology and the soul hunting Christians' obliteration of native culture.
The poignancy of the man's futile attempt to defend his people against these overwhelming forces, is breath taking.

Amazing shot.

[David Mullen ASC]

One of my favorite opening scenes is in "Excalibur" and the cut from the firelit battle in the woods at night to the calm, misty dawn at the lake:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/excalibur1.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/excalibur2.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/excalibur6.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/excalibur7.jpg

[Clint Johnson]

People, you are all wrong. The greatest scene of all time? That's easy.

http://www.clint-johnson.com/images/Art/phoebe_cates_fast_times.jpg

[Poi Boy]

Clint you are a genius !
-A

[Boothba]

Censored???? What, is that from an NBC broadcast? How about 48 frames later?

[Jaime Vallés]

Just a few of my favorites:

[Poi Boy]

We are all really showing our age by the clips we choose, very interesting.
Aloha
-A

[James T Mather]

I'm 37 (and getting harder to impress lately I have noticed) and was pretty blown away recently by some of the work in Children of men notably the car attack and the end as Owen ascends the building - don't know if it was the most poignant but it certainly was among the "single greatest shots" I have seen in a movie theatre.

[Jason Murphy]

The final shot of Tarkovsky's 'Nostalghia.' For my money the most beautiful shot in the entire history of cinema.

Of course, DVD screencaps don't do it justice at all, but here are frames near the start and the end of the shot. It's a very slow pullout which places the protagonist by his childhood home in Russia inside a ruined Italian cathedral. It almost seems like a still image, until the dog slowly starts moving, and then all of a sudden, snow begins to fall over the entire landscape.

[Sanjin Jukic]

JasonMurphy you have right choice.

[Jason Murphy]

Nostalghia was the movie that got me interested in cinema; this shot had a lot to do with that. If you can put that clip up Sanjin, that would be fantastic.

[Sean Michael Johnston]

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/709_1178378703.jpg
http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/709_1178378681.jpg

[kmikami]

Just one? Impossible.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40324000/jpg/_40324011_potempkin203.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Bungalow/1204/Images/caligari.jpg
http://www.revelationfilmfest.org/images/Metropolis_02.jpg
http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_01_img0103.jpg

[acehole]

http://www.indiewire.com/people/Perfume.jpg

[Mark L. Pederson]

nobody mentioned the opening of Touch of Evil !

how about the int. crane shot in Hitchcock's Spellbound?

North by Northwest?

[planet e]

not just a grab, but the entire shot.

ok, there is only one shot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgLEDdFddk

the big innovation of imagining the film screen as a 3D space. thanks, lumieres freres......

old tech meets new...someone oughta get out there and shoot this with a RED....

[overlandfilms]

Erm...

http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/jaws/jaws_shot6l.jpg

[Sanjin Jukic]

Nostalghia was the movie that got me interested in cinema; this shot had a lot to do with that. If you can put that clip up Sanjin, that would be fantastic.

JasonMurphy you'll get it.

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/Nostalgia1.jpg


http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/Nostalgia2.jpg


http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/Nostalgia3.jpg

The last Nostalgia film sequence.

[Ruairi Robinson]

"Keep yer lovin' brother happy"

http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/1.jpg
http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/2.jpg
http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/3.jpg
http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/4.jpg

[Ruairi Robinson]

http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/5.jpg
http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/6.jpg


A shot so epic it won't fit into one post!

[Kaz]

Amelie OWNS




...
http://www.idsmedia.net/aml.jpg

[Sanjin Jukic]

Amelie is sweet.

[Jason Murphy]

Thanks for the Nostalghia sequence link, Sanjin. Now, if only we could get it in 4K... :)

[Tom]

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT8.JPG

http://www.clint-johnson.com/images/Art/phoebe_cates_fast_times.jpg[/QUOTE]

:w00t:

I'm gonna have to agree with these two.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Tom I will prepare some more beauties for you soon. Just something nice from a pure FILM history. I mean clips. Don't worry. Stay tuned.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Thanks for the Nostalghia sequence link, Sanjin. Now, if only we could get it in 4K... :)

It's working.

[Kaz]

Amelie is sweet.

Hell, yeah. I realize this is supposed to be "Single" gretaest shot ever, but Amelie is filled to the gills with great shots. Besides, David Mullen already posted my favs.


A few more:


...
http://www.idsmedia.net/s.jpg

[adaml]

I can't find a still of it, but the shot in Tarkovsky's Mirror where the wind blows through the wheat field is a personal favorite.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Your Tarkovsky Mirror example. Stay tuned.

[Ruairi Robinson]

http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/blade1.jpg
http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/blade2.jpg
http://www.ruairirobinson.com/temp/blade3.jpg

[Gbabymogul]

The Searchers
http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/448_1178412968.jpg
http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/448_1178412998.jpg
http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/448_1178413024.jpg

many many more favs, but that's a fav ;)

:Guinness:

[Steven M. Bailey]

Picking a favorite is like telling one of my children that I love them more than the others,:innocent: but here is one that sticks with me:
From: The Patriot

[Brandon]

Has anyone seen The Duellists? Saw it for the first time tonight. Didn't like it very much, actually, but i saw what very well may be the greatest shot ever

it's a move that can't be replicated with one grab, but oh well:
http://www.harvardfilmarchive.org/calendars/05_summer/images/duellists.jpg

I can't wait to rip it off some day ;)

[goffb]

That's twice today I will agree with Ralph. Many shots in Blade Runner are forever etched in my mind.

Most of Ridley Scotts films have fantastic visual impact - but Blade Runner burned frames in my head - my all time favorit too.

[Casey Green]

I like this one. hehe :)

[Ralph Oshiro]

Speaking of Ridley Scott . . .

http://www.24framefilms.com/perfume_chanel.jpg
Chanel No. 5 television spot, "Share the fantasy" (1979).

Again, not exactly this frame, but the TV spot for the Ridley Scott-directed, Chanel No. 5 ad campaign, "Share the fantasy," still sticks in my mind. I'm sure both the DP and the agency art directors deserve a huge credit as well, but I have no idea who they were (was Ridley ever a director/cameraman kinda TV spot director?). This is probably my favorite TV commercial of all time. This is the only image of the spot I could find in Google.

[Zak Forsman]

http://www.trendesombras.com/num2/imagenes/werk001.jpg

this is absolutely my favorite shot... it runs ten minutes... from Bela Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFmu7BYbthY

[Sanjin Jukic]

Somebody said that sometimes this forum is funny.

So let us have some fun before our REDs arrive.

The last two examples to download:

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/Amarcord_Beshein2.jpg

AMARCORD by Federico Fellini
http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/The_Sheltering_Sky.jpg


THE SHELTERING SKY by Bernardo Bertolucci
with Debra Winger and John Malkovich
in Morocco's Sahara bordered by the Atlas Mountains
Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro AIC & A.S.C

[Jaime Vallés]

Not a great screengrab, but still a wonderful, iconic shot.

[Dan Blanchett]

Welcome to the desert of the REAL...

619

624

627

620

621

625

626

628

[hominid]

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w95/HominidDesign/ape.jpg

One more for Stanley

[Sanjin Jukic]

Had it already for download and like a part of a page concept about six/seven years ago on the old web page of mine. Coming up soon here again. Stay tuned.

[Tom]

Speaking of Ridley Scott . . .

http://www.24framefilms.com/perfume_chanel.jpg
Chanel No. 5 television spot, "Share the fantasy" (1979).

Again, not exactly this frame, but the TV spot for the Ridley Scott-directed, Chanel No. 5 ad campaign, "Share the fantasy," still sticks in my mind. I'm sure both the DP and the agency art directors deserve a huge credit as well, but I have no idea who they were (was Ridley ever a director/cameraman kinda TV spot director?). This is probably my favorite TV commercial of all time. This is the only image of the spot I could find in Google.

Oh man, I remember watching this one when I was a kid.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Tom I do have some better examples. And no commercials. And no soft or hardcore pornos.
And finally no any so called "THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA" or this sort of a throttle and bullshit intellectual opinion.
Just classic movies.
Stay tuned.

[Gavin Greenwalt]

The shot which got me into VFX and through VFX into film.

http://www.agraphafx.com/StarNet/Newstuff/xwings-new.jpg
http://www.agraphafx.com/StarNet/Newstuff/x-wingr2.jpg

Visually one of my favorite movie going experiences:
http://www.laurelindorenan.com/Argonath.jpg

The challenge with this is finding the frames you want... well here's my obligatory Andrei Tarkovsky film shot:
http://www.cfi-icf.ca/images/solaris.jpg

[Sanjin Jukic]

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/Amarcord_Beshein2.jpg

AMARCORD by Federico Fellini
http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/The_Sheltering_Sky.jpg


THE SHELTERING SKY by Bernardo Bertolucci
with Debra Winger and John Malkovich
in Morocco's Sahara bordered by the Atlas Mountains
Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro AIC & A.S.C


http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/Nostalgia1.jpg

From "Stanley Kubrick- A Life in Pictures" documentary movie about Kubrick work by Jan Harlan.


The last Nostalgia film sequence at

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/kubrick_lenses.jpg

[Gavin Greenwalt]

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n134/im_thatoneguy/Cinematography023-web.jpg

[Owen James]

From Paris Texas, Dir. Wim Wenders, DP Robby Muller.

[Ralph Oshiro]

Tom I do have some better examples. And no commercials. And no soft or hardcore pornos.
And finally no any so called "THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA" or this sort of a throttle and bullshit intellectual opinion.
Just classic movies.
Stay tuned.Hey--what's your problem? Relax. That Chanel No. 5 commercial was one of the most beautiful spots ever shot. Directed by Ridley Scott, who began his career as a painter and illustrator, e.g., an "artist." And who made you thread censor/moderator anyway? Keep your bullshit intellectual reactionary comments to yourself. And what the hell is your problem with hot chicks?

[Ralph Oshiro]

Erm...

http://www.horrordvds.com/reviews/a-m/jaws/jaws_shot6l.jpgI almost posted that one too!

[Sanjin Jukic]

Nothing against you or who else here on the forum and one more Oshiro just it's for you only:

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/Amarcord3.jpg

[Ralph Oshiro]

I knew Ed DiGiulio. He was a boss of mine. And he's no bullshit intellectual either!

[Sanjin Jukic]

Oshiro sorry but you have got mine writings totally wrong. It was addressed to some circles that are obviously out of our the forum. But that should be my error to write something that not so many people can understand here on this forum. Maybe I am mixing up certain levels of audience here. Sorry again.

[Ralph Oshiro]

Oshiro sorry but you have got mine writings totally wrong. It was addressed to some circles that are obviously out of our the forum. But that should be my error to write something that not so many people can understand here on this forum. Maybe I am mixing some levels of audience here. Sorry again.No problem. Just sounded a bit uncalled for. My apologies as well.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Great. Apologize too. So let's continue in peace.

[Evin Grant]

I agree with all of the above and I'll add...

The entire opening of 8 & 1/2
http://www.reduser.net/evin/8.5.jpg

Pink Floyd's the Wall
http://www.reduser.net/evin/wall.jpg

And an overloked shot from Apocolypse Now...
http://www.reduser.net/evin/Apocolypse.jpg

There are many more but this is good for now.

[Sanjin Jukic]

8 1/2 scene should be ready for download about tomorrow.

I have a good collection of an art classic movies on DVD. If somebody has a wish if I could I will try out to get it available online (and don't mix it up with a full lenght movies online, just a short info clips for all of us).

[Tom]

If you want to talk Apocalypse...

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/Godtomato/apocscreencap27.png

There are a number of great shots in Apocalypse. I also really love the first shot when Brando leans into the light.

[David Mullen ASC]

Another movie with iconographic images:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/seventhseal1.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/seventhseal2.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/seventhseal3.jpg

[Shawn Nelson]

By "shot" I assume we mean as long as the camera goes without cutting. Now everyone talked about the really long shots in "Children of Men" and while I was very impressed from a logistics standpoint (I very much did not envy the AD, who probably did 90% of the work for that) but the whole thing was not beautiful, I just felt like I was following some CNN reporter around. But there is one really long shot that I think is beautiful, and that's from Excalibur. It's near the end, when Percivel returns with the Grail. I never tire of rewatching that sequence. Below are 5 of the keyframes of that one beautiful take that seamlessly transitions with emotion and finesse.
http://www.nelsonentertainment.com/photos/Excalibur_1.jpg
http://www.nelsonentertainment.com/photos/Excalibur_2.jpg
http://www.nelsonentertainment.com/photos/Excalibur_3.jpg
http://www.nelsonentertainment.com/photos/Excalibur_4.jpg

[Shawn Nelson]

http://www.nelsonentertainment.com/photos/Excalibur_5.jpg

Then later on I love the sequence of them riding through the cherry orchard. Whoever thought to have a cavalry of knights ride through a cherry orchard in full blossom with the wind blowing is a total badass.
http://www.nelsonentertainment.com/photos/Excalibur_cherry.jpg

[Ralph Oshiro]

If you want to talk Apocalypse...

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/Godtomato/apocscreencap27.png

There are a number of great shots in Apocalypse. I also really love the first shot when Brando leans into the light.Well, that's another one of my favorites. I especially like when he takes his Zippo and lights his cigarette, and you can see the light from the flame reflecting off the sweat on his face.

[David Mullen ASC]

Speaking of single-shot sequences, I've always liked this shot in "Superman: The Movie" where Lois waves goodbye to Superman, who flies away, then the camera pans and tracks her all the way to her front door, which she opens to reveal Clark Kent. An easy trick shot to do nowadays with digital compositing, but much harder back then. I believe after the first shot of Superman walking over to the ledge, and then a cut to his close-up, it cuts to the same wider image but now rear or front-projected in front of Margot Kidder, and she walks away from the projection screen, through some potted trees, and over to her apartment.

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/superman25.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/superman26.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/superman27.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/superman28.jpg

[chuck colburn]

Man I wish I was getting one of those RED cameras.
I can just picture you guys (any gals?) shooting your first footage. You will have to be SO excited you will probalyl be quakeing in your boots! And then that sheer esextasy when you melt into a soft fuzzy mound as you watch the first playback! Those will be some of the greatest shots ever.

[Sanjin Jukic]

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/APOCALYPSE_NOW.jpg

F.F. Coppola plays a war film reporter in his APOCALYPCE NOW.
Amazing cinematography by Vittorio Storaro A.I.C & A.S.C


http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/EIGHT_AND_ONE_HALF.jpg

Marcello Mastroianni flying in Federico Fellini's
EIGHT AND ONE HALF
Cinematography by Gianni di Venanzo


Downloads open for the next 48 hours.

Coming up next: Interview with Vittorio Storaro about the revolutionary art of Fellini's cinematographer Gianni di Venanzo.

[Policar]

http://home.comcast.net/~wauhkies/pics/7.jpg
This is just a great opening shot and introduction to the main character. The offside key and magic hour light are beautiful.


http://home.comcast.net/~wauhkies/pics/9.jpg
A nice use of light and composition to give a potentially boring scene added drama.


http://home.comcast.net/~wauhkies/pics/10.jpg
Conveys lonliness very well.


http://home.comcast.net/~wauhkies/pics/6.jpg
Just a nice shot that really nails the tone of the scene.

[agwah]

stalker

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/251_1178549255.jpg

[Sanjin Jukic]

Good idea, I am preparing a clip from this extraordinary film too.

[ericyoung]

Impossible to pick just one shot, and the most powerful aren't always the most beautiful as the whole film context plays a big part in what a shot means.

Anyway great choices so far, with many of my favourites already, and some new ones to check out. This thread's been a good education.

For starters some from Contact:
1) The amazing pull out from Earth to the edge of the Universe, eventually ending back on Earth...
2) Mind bending Steadicam shot of young Ellie running up stairs to bathroom cabinet to get medicine - at the end it turns out we have watched the whole run in the mirror of the cabinet.
3) Gentle jib down to a great juxtaposition of Ellie listening with the VLA radio telescopes also listening.
4) Very atmospheric tracking crane shot over a canyon, complimenting Ellie's emotional state.
5) Suspenseful quiet dolly in as the dozing Ellie becomes aware of an unusual sound.
6) Again great framing as Ellie sits up in a "Holy Shit!" moment.

EDITED text for spoilers!

[Tom]

Oh yes! That shot of Jodie Foster on the canyon rim is definitely one of my alltime favorites! It's a beautiful dolly shot. I have often wondered exactly where that was filmed. I would like to visit that location.

RIP Carl Sagan.

[ericyoung]

Oh yes! That shot of Jodie Foster on the canyon rim is definitely one of my alltime favorites! It's a beautiful dolly shot. I have often wondered exactly where that was filmed. I would like to visit that location.

RIP Carl Sagan.

Yeah, we could do with a lot more Carl Sagans in this world. Such a hopeful book and film!

[ericyoung]

A magical scene from Crash.
642

This fast dolly in, zoom out gets me everytime!

641

[ericyoung]

Some iconic images:

[Alexander Nikishin]

Fritz Lang's "M", Cinematography by Fritz Arno Wagner, (1931)
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9586/videotstitle1ch0frame14gm6.png (http://imageshack.us)http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/818/videotstitle1ch9frame12qr2.png (http://imageshack.us)
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2935/videotstitle1ch3frame41ro8.png (http://imageshack.us)http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/2924/videotstitle1ch6frame92wq9.png (http://imageshack.us)

[Alexander Nikishin]

Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" Cinematography by Douglas Milsome, (1987)

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/4994/videotstitle0ch2frame15kt7.png (http://imageshack.us)http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/571/videotstitle0ch13frame7yi3.png (http://imageshack.us)
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3995/videotstitle0ch22frame1hs3.png (http://imageshack.us)http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/9356/videotstitle0ch35frame1nu6.png (http://imageshack.us)

[redluvr]

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb312/td123_photo/red888.jpg

[Alexander Nikishin]

ok..?

[overlandfilms]

How did I forget this one?!

http://jtw.jw-music.net/empire_not_perfect.jpg

[damonbots]

One of my favorite shots... (pun intended)

[damonbots]

A few more... not my favs, but entertaining nonetheless

[Petr Dvorak]

http://thumbnails.freeimagehost.eu/31/fe06df305600.gif (http://www.freeimagehost.eu/image/fe06df305600) http://thumbnails.freeimagehost.eu/31/1b8d65305601.gif (http://www.freeimagehost.eu/image/1b8d65305601)

No more low res! :angry01:

First one grab as was broadcasted in Japan and second one as in states by HDnet.
Japan version is better quality but strange coloring.

[Gunleik Groven]

Full metal jacket is great.

I don't have a grab here, but the pool-shot from The Wall has had some significance for me.

As have Ran
(Hard to pick one there)

Some of the shots from "Unbearable lightness of being"

Star Wars IV

Definitely "A clockwork Oranga"

I too like some of the Bergman stuff -;)

Gunleik

[Ralph Oshiro]

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/APOCALYPSE_NOW.jpg
Again, one of my favorite scenes from Apocalypse Now. I really love the part in this shot a few seconds later where you can see the shadow of the camera, dolly, camera operator, and the dolly grip--could you post a frame of that please?

[Alexander Nikishin]

Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull", Cinematography by Michael Chapman (1980)

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6576/videotstitle1ch0frame14as6.png (http://imageshack.us)http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/1782/videotstitle1ch3frame19wh9.png (http://imageshack.us)
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/3233/videotstitle1ch20frame1sm3.png (http://imageshack.us)http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/4850/videotstitle1ch20frame1or3.png (http://imageshack.us)

[Weston]

Definitely my favorite shot ever.

http://aycu11.webshots.com/image/16010/2000822646240369116_rs.jpg

[Jason Murphy]

I swear my heart stopped beating when I first saw that lightning strike while watching "The New World" in theatres. It's an absolutely amazing shot.

[Tom]

Oh hell yes, I agree!

http://www.digitallions.org/god.gif

[Weston]

I swear my heart stopped beating when I first saw that lightning strike while watching "The New World" in theatres. It's an absolutely amazing shot.

Yeah it was the same with me the first time i watched it. And i think the preceding part of that montage...as well as the rest of it is my favorite sequence in a film.

[Dan Blanchett]

Some iconic images:

653



Yeah, this is one of my faves, too. I recall reading that the ligthing was a real challenge in this shot.

[Tom]

Yeah it was the same with me the first time i watched it. And i think the preceding part of that montage...as well as the rest of it is my favorite sequence in a film.

Agreed. It's a beautiful sequence. ...As you can see from my signature... heh.

[Policar]

Yeah, this is one of my faves, too. I recall reading that the ligthing was a real challenge in this shot.


Do you remember the article in which you read that? I was looking at the shot and wondering where they hid the lights...I couldn't figure it out at all.

Also, virtually any frame from Days of Heaven for the win. If long take action were allowed, I'd actually consider a few shots from War of the Worlds, or from the superior but less aesthetically amazing Children of Men, which was totally copping War of the Words, just doing it for real instead of through CGI. I like Janusz more than Lubezki (sp?), too, just because I think his aesthetic is more varied and more interesting...but they're both masters.

[Weston]

Agreed. It's a beautiful sequence. ...As you can see from my signature... heh.

yeah i hadnt realized what that was from...then i watched the movie again last night and remembered. I should have known though...based on your "somewhere worshiping terrence malick"....which I would agree to as being a good thing to do.

[Dan Blanchett]

Do you remember the article in which you read that? I was looking at the shot and wondering where they hid the lights...I couldn't figure it out at all.

It was a book actually. I think it was this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Exorcist-BFI-Modern-Classics/dp/0851706738


(and the lights are actually in that upper room, a few feet back from the window if I recall, and very bright)

[Tom]

http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5538/sun1ry6.jpg
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/1543/sun2qp6.jpg

This shot of the GIs coming up a slope of grass. It was shot with a huge Akela Crane, possibly with a Libra head. I will have to dig into my Feb 1999 issue of AC issue to be sure.

Famously, the clouds and light changed in the middle of the shot. It's really impressive.

http://www.eskimo.com/~toates/malick/trl/ac2.jpg

[Mark Thorpe]

Greatest shot ever? differing opinions, tastes and persuasions make it a hard choice. For me personally I love the shot featured in Howard Halls 'Island of the Sharks' filmed exclusively on location in (underwater) Cocos Island. One shot is at vertically 90 degrees with the perfect settings dialed into the IMAX camera using a wide, possibly fish eye, lens. Just a beautiful scene of many tens of hammerhead sharks passing overhead silhouetted against a slowly rippling Ocean surface, quite stunning.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Tom]

CamDiver, I have been wondering what you and SharkGuy think of Malick/Toll's underwater photography in The Thin Red Line.

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/1397/watercu5.jpg

And also I wonder what are your thoughts are on Nestor Almendros' underwater photography on The Blue Lagoon?

http://adorocinema.cidadeinternet.com.br/filmes/lagoa-azul/lagoa-azul07.jpg

[ericyoung]

How did I forget this one?!

http://jtw.jw-music.net/empire_not_perfect.jpg

Yeah that's a great one!

[ericyoung]

Aah, a bit of romance...

Not the greatest single shots ever, but I like them!

[agwah]

thanks to garrett brown cinema has many more interesting single shot solutions, here is the first I believe

http://www.steadishots.org/shots_detail.cfm?shotID=3

[Mark Thorpe]

CamDiver, I have been wondering what you and SharkGuy think of Malick/Toll's underwater photography in The Thin Red Line.

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/1397/watercu5.jpg

And also I wonder what are your thoughts are on Nestor Almendros' underwater photography on The Blue Lagoon?

http://adorocinema.cidadeinternet.com.br/filmes/lagoa-azul/lagoa-azul07.jpg

Tom,
Personally I choose not to watch war movies. As for the Blue Lagoon, I like the feel to it, the HSL balance and contrast gives it a nice aura.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Weston]

The tracking shots in The Thin Red Line are insane. I've always wondered how they did that.

[Tom]

Tom,
Personally I choose not to watch war movies. As for the Blue Lagoon, I like the feel to it, the HSL balance and contrast gives it a nice aura.

Cheers,
Mark.

I understand. The Thin Red Line is kind of an anti-war war movie, though. It does not celebrate war in the way a movie like Saving Private Ryan does. Instead, it highlights the absurdity of war and at the same time showcases the beauty of nature.

[Kaz]

I wouldn't say SPR celebrates war. It celebrates the courage of the men caught up in it. It'd be tough to do an anti-war film about WWII seeing as that was one of the few wars that actually needed to be fought.

[Jason Murphy]

I'd say that Saving Private Ryan celebrates war in a way that The Thin Red Line does not. I'm not sure that Spielberg necessarily intended this, but as talented as he is from a technical perspective, he's never been one to carefully think through the ramifications of his movies.

I think it's very legitimate to be against war, even when one concedes the need for it at (hopefully incredibly rare) times. That said, the best war movies generally have a very complex and nuanced relationship with war that can't be easily described as 'anti-war' or 'war-glorifying.'

Bringing it back to movies: two examples of the sort of complex relationship to WWII that I'm describing were recently released in the US for the first time, though both were made in Europe over 30 years ago.

The first is Army of Shadows (directed by Jean-Pierre Melville in 1969), about several people caught up in the French Resistance during WWII. It's pretty cold, stark and brutal. Speaking of great shots, the opening shot of this movie is incredibly iconic.

The second is Overlord (directed by Stuart Cooper in 1975), about a young British recruit's experiences from training until the beaches of Normandy. Much of the film was edited from absolutely stunning archival footage, which really needs to be seen to be believed.

Anyway, both of them are distributed on DVD by the Criterion collection, and have been recently released. They are two of the best WWII films ever made, and while they are both in many ways against war, they approach it in a much more complex way than the typical "War is hell" mentality. I'd say that both of them are worth checking out for anyone interested in WWII movies, but, really, both of them are worth checking out for anyone with an interest in movies, period.

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't agree -- "Saving Private Ryan", from the first battle shot where the doors of the boat open and half the men are killed instantly, clearly shows war to be a horrifying experience, an enormous waste of human life on an epic scale. My reaction to seeing the D-Day battle was definitely not "gee, I wish I were there!" What's glorious about seeing a man picking up his own severed limb? You even see American soldiers shooting surrending German soldiers during the battle. You're not thinking every time someone dies in the movie "oh well, at least it was for a good cause!" The characters in the movie are constantly questioning the point of everything they are involved in, with no easy answers given.

It's a major discredit to the people involved in the making of the movie to say that it is a "pro-war" film. All decent war movies are essentially anti-war movies.

Certainly SPR is a more conventional war film than "The Thin Red Line" but there are dramatic problems with that movie too, even though it is a more poetic and artistically challenging movie.

---

On a different note, it's interesting to compare "Burmese Harp" to "Fires on the Plain", both by Kon Ichikawa, both adapted from different books by Natto Wada. Totally different views of mankind, the first having a kind of John Ford humanism and the second being the bleakest look at war you'll ever see (starving Japanese soldiers reduced to hunting each other for food).

[Shawn Nelson]

"War has never solved anything except for creating the United States and for ending: slavery, Genocide, the Holocaust, Fascism, Nazism, etc." Heck, I agree to not glorify unnecessary conflict, but if our brave boys were defeating said above attrocities, let's show it decently eh? Though to keep the pendulum swinging too far, movies need to show it accurately. Remembering the words of Robert E Lee "It is a good thing war is so terrible; else we should grow too fond of it"

[Tom]

Well, The Thin Red Line certainly celebrates war less then Private Ryan. You don't see any flag waving in TTRL. "War don't ennoble men, it turns 'em into dogs..."

That is not to say that SPR's view on war is wrong. It is not. Most every American views our efforts in WWII as a noble and necessary cause. I fully support the message of Saving Private Ryan, but it's not as philosophical nor deep as TTRL, in my humble opinion. I fought in the first gulf war, and I can tell you that 99% of your time is spent waiting and thinking about your life and thinking about your woman back home, for the first time contemplating your own mortality, and so on. Only a tiny fraction of war is actual combat, so in that sense I felt more of a connection with TTRL.

Actually this SPR vs TTRL debate is a longstanding one for cinema fans.

[David Mullen ASC]

"War has never solved anything except for creating the United States and for ending: slavery, Genocide, the Holocaust, Fascism, Nazism, etc." Heck, I agree to not glorify unnecessary conflict, but if our brave boys were defeating said above attrocities, let's show it decently eh?

Even a justifiable war is never as clean-cut as that, morally-speaking. Lincoln initially sent Union troops against the South to hold the Union together, not to free slaves -- and the U.S. certainly did not enter WW2 to stop the Holocaust nor end Fascism (how many brutal dictatorships have we supported over the decades?)

Also remember that (I believe) something like thirty Soviet soldiers died during WW2 for every single American & British soldier killed, and without that massive sacrifice by the Red Army in the eastern front, Germany might not have lost the war -- my point being that the Red Army certainly wasn't marching to end the Holocaust or defeat totalitarianism; they were marching for revenge and to expand the Soviet empire.

So no war ever stands on clear moral grounds, and as they say, history is written by the victors.

Even the creation of the United States was not on clear moral grounds -- it was a tax revolt, more or less, plus the recognition that we were too independent to continue to be a royal colony without equal representation in Parliament. But one of the reasons that U.S. citizens supported ending British rule was that the British government would not allow further expansion into Indian territories west of the Ohio River. Not to mention that our institutions of slavery were starting to rankle members of Parliament, who wanted to limit the expansion of slavery into new territories. So taking lands from Indians and expanding slavery was a motivation for some of the people supporting the end of British rule. Hardly the romantic view of the early history of the U.S. that they teach in grade school...

[Shawn Nelson]

Aye David, good thoughts

[David Mullen ASC]

Uh oh...politics. I won't get into the discussion, but this statement isn't really true (i agree with Davind on a lot of things, though). The Soviets were invaded. They fought because they had to fight. There was no moral ambiguity for them.


I wasn't talking so much about the fight on Soviet territory, but the march to Berlin afterwards. Yes, I guess I wasn't clear about the fact that the Soviet Union was attacked brutally first (I figured everyone knew that part already...)

I said "revenge"... but self-preservation certainly was also a part of it, but so was Stalin's intent to take advantage of the situation to expand Soviet domination. To say that the invasion alone justified everything that Stalin did afterwards, that there was no moral ambiguity there, simply isn't true. There is always moral ambiguity in any large complex war when it goes beyond simply defending the homeland. I guess you are saying that for the Soviet soldiers involved there was no ambiguity as to why they were fighting, which is probably true. I'm talking about the broader question of whether the Soviet Union's motivations that led to the fall of Germany were completely pure.

But yes, this isn't a good place to discuss this. I was just trying to make a point that nothing is ever really simple when it comes to nations waging war on each other.

(History is a bit of a hobby lately - the last three books I read, before I read a recent Edison bigraphy, were John Keegan's "The Second World War", and "Overlord" and "Armageddon", both by Max Hastings. And before that, it was three American Revolution books...)

[Shawn Nelson]

So no war ever stands on clear moral grounds, and as they say, history is written by the victors.


True, but now movies can tell the other side. Imagine movies that showed the regiments of free black men who fought for the Confederacy, or a movie portraying SS who were not racist and thought they were fighting for their land, or one showing Vikings as decent fellows, or one showing Romans as the better side altogether. I'm not saying such movies should be made nor that I endorse such views, just making some extreme points here. So let us not forget that films can go against the cultural grain and present the viewpoints that our so-called history decided for us are not presentable.

[David Mullen ASC]

It's tricky business, of course, because you don't want to fall into moral relativism either. Paul Verhoeven got into trouble with some critics for his recent movie "The Black Book" (which I haven't seen) for presenting some of the Dutch resistance as bad and a few Nazi's as good, etc. as if there wasn't an obvious moral difference between the two (I'm not saying the critics were right or wrong, not having seen the movie, only that that's the risk you take as a filmmaker if you're not careful.)

You get into safer territory when you simply cover the plight of soldiers in war, even on the other (losing) side, as in "Letters from Iwo Jima" or "All's Quiet on the Western Front", because your message is basically humanistic.

Anyway, I'm more interested in the depiction of war from a directorial and cinematographic standpoint, and SPR and TTRL are obvious examples of different styles to portray a WW2 battle scene.

[Gbabymogul]

I wasn't talking so much about the fight on Soviet territory, but the march to Berlin afterwards.

Thanks for clarifying.

The problem with ascribing changing modern prisms of context to historical events is that it oft leads to moral relativism (not saying that's what you're doing) or with more specificity moral revisionism. <- edit wrote that before you posted.




:Guinness:

[David Mullen ASC]

Yes, it's a tricky balance between maintaining a sense of true right and wrong in life and history while recognizing most people are fed a lot of propaganda about wars, because basically it's hard to get citizen-soldiers to fight if the causes and goals are not clear. But for the sake of clarity, you get oversimplification, flag-waving, etc. and it can take decades to get beyond that and view the events and motivations surrounding a war more objectively.

My point was that SPR is not a simplistic work of pro-war propaganda -- it definitely falls into a tradition of anti-war movies. But I agree that it is also not particularly deep or original, other the brilliant ferocity of the portrayal of the D-Day landing, the highlight of the movie from which it never really recovers dramatically. As soon as they reach the top of the hill and overlook the beach after the battle, you feel like you can pop the DVD out of the player and put it back on the shelf, satisfied to some extent. That opening battle is like a great short movie.

I get a little thrown by "The Thin Red Line" because all the internal voice-over monologues remind me a bit too much of David Lynch's "Dune" (which I like too). It borders on the pretentious sometimes.

Both are interesting in how they portray the "reality" of battle, reality in SPR being that which resembles WW2 combat photography, reality in TTRL being ultra-sharp widescreen color photography that has an immersive you-are-there IMAX movie quality. Both styles sort of suck the viewer into the reality of the situation, yet both are opposite versions of what "reality" means. SPR is the reality of old documentary combat photography, shakey, grainy, monochromatic, while TTRL is the reality of how your eyes would see the setting, the jungle, the grass, etc.

[Boothba]

You know it's a shame that some of the truly important war stories would probably make lousy films by virtue of the fact that they are inherently un-cinematic. War pretexts, media spin, profiteering and back door funding deals are just not as sexy as blood and guts. The Gulf of Tonkin non-incident is not as riveting as the Tet Offensive. Trotsky's funding drives in New York are not as dynamic as the Odessa Steps. And Prescott Bush's indictment under the trading with the enemy act of 1942 is just way more boring to watch than the Battle of the Bulge. Oh ya - and Smedley Butler lacks leading man status.

Oh well.

[Gbabymogul]

When it comes to the subject, somehow i like Kurosawas films.
:beer:

[David Mullen ASC]

Yes, one aspect that I admire about "Seven Samurai" is that while it is an action movie with clear heroes and villians, killing itself is never glamorized, it's always a bit tragic -- for example, the scene where the samurai light the bandits' fort on fire and kill them as they emerge, or when the villagers surround the fallen bandits in the rain during the final battle.

For Kurosawa, the only difference between a hero and a bad guy was the moral choices they make, not who they are intrinsically. We are defined by our actions. There's that scene in "Stray Dog" where the young cop hunting down the killer discovers that the killer has the same background as he does, came to the city broke as an ex-soldier, etc. But his older partner reminds him that he chose to become a cop and the other chose to become a criminal. And when he finally catches the young killer, they fight in the mud until you can't tell them apart. It's sort of like the end of "High and Low" when Mifune confronts the killer/kidnapper in jail and their faces are reflected over each other in the glass. Kurosawa suggests that none of us are completely free of the possibility of doing evil, but we make a moral choice not to, and that's what separates us.

--

I thought about writing a screenplay about the political forces at work that led to the internment of Japanese-Americans during WW2, but it's hard to bring all of those oddball incidents into a dramatic whole. But there are a lot of weird stories, like how the California poultry industry asked the U.S. government for an exemption for Japanese "chicken sexers" -- apparently the Japanese poultry workers could determine the sex of a baby chick and separate them in half the time as the other workers. Or how the U.S. government froze the bank accounts of Japanese-Americans on the West Coast after December 7, but didn't ship them off to camps until late February, by which time many Japanese-American businesses had declared bankruptsy because they couldn't pay their bills or their workers.

[Tom]

I get a little thrown by "The Thin Red Line" because all the internal voice-over monologues remind me a bit too much of David Lynch's "Dune" (which I like too). It borders on the pretentious sometimes.


For you it might, but not for others. Generally pretentious means something aimed at drawing attention to itself, or making one's work seem more important than what it is. I find neither to be true for Malick, though everyone is entitled to their opinion. Malick hardly seems like the type to want to drawn attention to himself or inflate his work beyond its true worth. The man hasn't spoken to the media since the 1970s. I think his achievements speak for themselves.

[Sanjin Jukic]

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/storaro1.jpg
Storaro is talking about use of a natural light in the work of Gianni Di Venanzo another revolutionary Italian cinematographer.

Ipod size of the clip 320x180, 17min, about 205 MB.
ftp://84.112.86.213/Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/storaro-venanzo.mov

Open the next 24 hours.

[Evin Grant]

Honestly I love Malick's work, especially Days, but I think TTRL is his weakest piece. Even The New World seemed more thought out. I know the meandering was a device as well as the symbolisim (Poor little birdie) but when it comes right down to it I almost always pull one of his other films or SPR off the shelf, although my favorite WWII film is actually Empire of the Sun.

David, I'm also a big Dune fan myself. "The lips aquire stains the stains become a warning, it is with wil alone I set my mind in motion"

[Boothba]

Love it. Love Dune. A true guilty pleasure. And the worst final line in movie history - pure joy.

[David Mullen ASC]

For you it might, but not for others. Generally pretentious means something aimed at drawing attention to itself, or making one's work seem more important that what it is. I find neither to be true for Malick, though everyone is entitled to their opinion. Malick hardly seems like the type to want to drawn attention to himself or inflate his work beyond its true worth. The man hasn't spoken to the media since the 1970s. I think his achievements speak for themselves.

Well, the voice-overs in TTRL do call attention to themselves -- how many other war movies can you name where so many characters have inner monologues that you hear on screen? It stands out as being different than any other war movie I've seen, hence why the device draws attention to itself.

And at times, the thoughts expressed are fairly poetic, which in the middle of a war movie, can be thought of as a bit precious. Hence why I think it borders on being pretentious -- it has pretentions of being high art, of saying something significant about the human condition. Obviously that was just my personal reaction... and of course if you feel it was successful at being high art and at saying something significant, you wouldn't think it was pretentious therefore.

But to me, the movie is a bit "arty". I still think it's a good movie though, just that it is problematic in a very different way than how SPR is problematic.

I'm not accusing Malick of trying to draw attention to himself, just that TTRL is a very ambitious movie conceptually and artistically, and I'm not sure he was completely successful in pulling all of his ideas together.

[Jason Murphy]

I don't agree -- "Saving Private Ryan", from the first battle shot where the doors of the boat open and half the men are killed instantly, clearly shows war to be a horrifying experience, an enormous waste of human life on an epic scale. My reaction to seeing the D-Day battle was definitely not "gee, I wish I were there!" What's glorious about seeing a man picking up his own severed limb? You even see American soldiers shooting surrending German soldiers during the battle. You're not thinking every time someone dies in the movie "oh well, at least it was for a good cause!" The characters in the movie are constantly questioning the point of everything they are involved in, with no easy answers given.

It's a major discredit to the people involved in the making of the movie to say that it is a "pro-war" film. All decent war movies are essentially anti-war movies.

And this is why I should know better than to make an off-the-cuff post before signing off for the night. My apologies.

At least it sparked some good discussion.

You are of course right, David, in saying that Saving Private Ryan is not a pro-war movie, and it definitely IS a disservice to everyone involved in the making of the movie to say so. The opening sequence (and many of those that followed) are definitely horrifying, and nobody in their right mind would find them appealing or pro-war. But I still think it did at times celebrate war in a way that The Thin Red Line did not.

I guess what I objected to in SPR was more the celebration of killing Germans/Nazis. This was specifically highlighted in the scene at the end in which the German soldier that Tom Hanks let go earlier in the film comes back and shoots Hanks in the final battle; the movie seems to make it clear that he realizes who it is he's shooting. Then Jeremy Davies' character gets the drop on him, and after being conflicted for a second, he shoots the German soldier. Both times I saw this in theatres, this action was met with rapturous applause (one man behind me yelled "Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout!"). It seemed at this point that the lesson of this scene was that all German soldiers were evil, untrustworthy dyed-in-the-wool Nazis without a shred of human decency, who should be coldly shot; you'll realize that those moral conflicts you had about it were misguided. Not that the whole movie was like this, and I don't even know that Spielberg intended the scene to read this way, but given his history of gleefully dispatching cinematic Nazis, it left a really bad taste in my mouth which definitely colored my view of the film, showing it in a much more negative light than it probably deserves.

Anyway, I'll end my little rant now. I do appreciate the thoughtful discussion that followed my earlier post; it's rare to find that on the internet.

Now, on with the shots...

[krd]

I don't agree -- "Saving Private Ryan", from the first battle shot where the doors of the boat open and half the men are killed instantly, clearly shows war to be a horrifying experience, an enormous waste of human life on an epic scale. My reaction to seeing the D-Day battle was definitely not "gee, I wish I were there!" What's glorious about seeing a man picking up his own severed limb? You even see American soldiers shooting surrending German soldiers during the battle. You're not thinking every time someone dies in the movie "oh well, at least it was for a good cause!" The characters in the movie are constantly questioning the point of everything they are involved in, with no easy answers given.

It's a major discredit to the people involved in the making of the movie to say that it is a "pro-war" film. All decent war movies are essentially anti-war movies.

The trouble here (I think) is that action movies of any sort are fundamentally, viscerally, exciting. The worst monstrosity, whether depicted brutually or deeply aestheticized, can become a kind of pornography on a screen. In that sense, the more accomplished the "realism", the better the production value and the more inventive the filmmaking, the more pornographic the whole venture becomes. We are, after all, animals, and we respond helplessly to stimuli.

Does this mean that all movies should be romantic comedies? Of course not, but it's difficult not to squirm or vociferate when someone like Spielberg takes on subjects that clearly exceed his moral authority and historical consciousness. Even forgetting (and forgiving) all the phony Tom Hanks humanism, and the Hollywood absurdity of many of the scenes -- my favorite is the blond granddaughters with thighs at Normandy, which tells you more about Steven than anything else in the movie -- the whole thing has the feel of a fraud. The fact that the first battle scenes don't seem to belong in the movie is the best evidence of that. Maybe the whole thing should have been inchoate, violent, unresolved -- still voyeurism in the end, but one which doesn't invite the viewer to associate himself with the "heroes" and congratulate himself for his own unexercised (and non-existent) virtue (rewarded, naturally, since this is Hollywood, by blond babes). But of course that wouldn't have been a Steven Spielberg movie....

As for Malick -- it's hard to imagine any American narrative film of serious intent which didn't somehow skirt pretentiousness, in one way or other. Or maybe the movies in general have an uneasy relationship to classical art, particularly when (as in the case of Malick) there's a literary basis to the films? Or it's an artifact of our times -- nobody is entirely comfortable with solemnity these days(?), particularly when it's in one's own language.

[David Mullen ASC]

That's certainly true -- "2001" is perhaps my favorite film, and certainly it has been called pretentious by some, arty by others. It all depends I guess on whether we feel the film was successful. An arty or pretentious film is a little like an unfunny joke -- we know the intent was to be funny, but we didn't laugh. But why we didn't laugh can be complicated.

As for the positive audience reaction at the killing of the German soldier, that's always a bit of a conundrum for filmmakers, a tonal issue, and it's hard to control an audience emotionally once you've worked them up during an action scene. For me, I saw that scene merely as the tragic irony of war, that there is no justice or fairness about war -- good deeds are not rewarded always, that in fact, it may backfire. But I don't think therefore that the message was "kill as many Germans as you can before they kill you", I don't think Spielberg is that simple-minded. But he may have been bringing up a moral conundrum that was too complex to explore effectively in his story.

Like I said, it's a problematic movie to say the least.

It's easier to get behind a war movie that points out the insanity and absurdity of war (which tend to be WW1 movies, being a less understandable conflict) -- "Paths of Glory", let's say.

[krd]

As for the positive audience reaction at the killing of the German soldier, that's always a bit of a conundrum for filmmakers, a tonal issue, and it's hard to control an audience emotionally once you've worked them up during an action scene.


Somebody else raised that scene (not me), but apart from the implication that maybe it's good to kill unarmed Germans in war time, here we have this craven American soldier, the brainy undersized guy, acting like most of us would in combat for the first time (terrified and incapable and getting our buddies killed because of it). Then, as a measure of his instantly acquired maturity (a movie conceit if there ever was one?), he's shown capably shooting a German soldier in cold blood without a second thought, and we, the audience are supposed to approve (if not cheer). It's nuts -- the sort of conceit only a poolside Angelino could come up with. I'd argue that far from losing control, this is exactly what the filmmakers were after -- part of the larger lie, that this filmmaking is itself heroic and "moral", so whatever works dramatically or pleases an audience has to be "good".

Paths of Glory certainly is a telling comparison -- one measure, I think, of how much more rigorous and mature Kubrick was as a filmmaker.

[Tom]

That's certainly true -- "2001" is perhaps my favorite film, and certainly it has been called pretentious by some, arty by others. It all depends I guess on whether we feel the film was successful. An arty or pretentious film is a little like an unfunny joke -- we know the intent was to be funny, but we didn't laugh. But why we didn't laugh can be complicated.

Well high art in cinema is a funny thing. I find TTRL to be high art, even transcendent in places. I also find the same to be true of 2001, though to a lesser extent. Intelligent people can disagree, because esoteric art films will appeal to people for different reasons.

[Kenn Christenson]

Actually, I'm kind of fond of "Band of Brothers" you can't really match the poignance of those interviews at the end of the series.

[Tom]

Actually, I'm kind of fond of "Band of Brothers" you can't really match the poignance of those interviews at the end of the series.

Absolutely! I prefer Band of Brothers to Private Ryan. Those old guys almost had me in tears at the end.

[Sanjin Jukic]

What ever but people like all those little downloads!!!!!

[Sanjin Jukic]

NOTHING LIKE>>>
Have a look now at the two examples of Vittorio Storaro's masterpieces...

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/APOCALYPSE_NOW-BRANDO.jpg

APOCALYPSE_NOW_WITH_BRANDO.mov

ftp://84.112.86.213/Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/APOCALYPSE_NOW_BRANDO.mov

or

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/LAST_TANGO_IN_PARIS.jpg

LAST_TANGO_IN_PARIS

ftp://84.112.86.213/Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/LAST_TANGO_IN_PARIS.mov
(ftp://84.112.86.213/Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/LAST_TANGO_IN_PARIS.mov)

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/storaro1.jpg
Storaro is talking about use of a natural light in the work of Gianni Di Venanzo another revolutionary Italian cinematographer.

Ipod size of the clip 320x180, 17min, about 205 MB.
ftp://84.112.86.213/Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/storaro-venanzo.mov

TO FTP DOWNLOAD USE FIREFOX ON BOTH PLATFORMS!!!!

Also an exclusive 48 hours of download time limit. Get it as soon as possible.

[agwah]

what if tarkovsky had made bladerunner with brando

[Boothba]

Brando would never have made that jump across the rooftop. And his fingers were to fat to break.

[Alexander Nikishin]

what if tarkovsky had made bladerunner with brando

I think Tarkovsky and Brando would have made for an extraordinary collaboration.....but not for the film Blade Runner.

Tarkovsky is the master of mis en scene. He holds on a single shot like there were no tomorrow.

Brando loves the camera, he prefers a long, grueling performance shot.

Blade Runner would be a completely different film than the Blade Runner I know and love.

If there were any films tailor made for Tarkovsky's style they would be those of Akira Kurosawa's. I think he would blend in perfectly Kurosawa's love for the wide shot and performance pieces.

[Tom]

The Third Man, what kind of server do you have to be able to host all these clips?

[Sanjin Jukic]

The Third Man, what kind of server do you have to be able to host all these clips?

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/server.jpg


Tom, nothing special, it is a very old computer Apple G3 upgraded to G4 running also an old version of Apple Mac OS X Server version 10.3.9.
BUT it's a ROCK STEADY SERVER on a cable/broadband connection. That's it.

[Sanjin Jukic]

And more Tarkovsky examples coming soon!!!
Stay tuned.

[James T Mather]

what if tarkovsky had made bladerunner with brando

or van helsing with eddie murphy

[Jason Murphy]

If there were any films tailor made for Tarkovsky's style they would be those of Akira Kurosawa's. I think he would blend in perfectly Kurosawa's love for the wide shot and performance pieces.

This makes sense: Tarkovsky was, incidentally, a huge admirer of Kurosawa and his work. You can read a number of things he wrote about Kurosawa and his films in Sculpting in Time, his book about filmmaking (which is about as good a book on the subject of filmmaking as has been written; highly recommended for those who haven't read it yet).

[David Mullen ASC]

or van helsing with eddie murphy

Imagine Stanley Kubrick's version of "Home Alone" or other inappropriate director / feature combinations, like Tarkovsky's "Happy Gilmore"... or Michael Bay's "Tokyo Story"...

Anyone remember SCTV's skit of a Jerry Lewis / Ingmar Bergman collaboration called "Scenes from an Idiot's Marriage"?

[agwah]

bergman doing van helsing with macaulay culkin

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/251_1178987448.jpg

[James T Mather]

Terry Malick helming spaceballs.
Kubrick on showgirls

Ang Lee doing Hulk....oops.

[km9000]

lol jtm.

though i'd like to have seen kubrick make Showgirls...

[Eddie]

With regard to tarkovskij I am in favor of the opening sequence of Andrei Rublev. But if I had to choose an all time favorite it would be this timelapse sequence of an ant killed by a brain fungus. It really crept in on me when I saw it the first time. Great cinematography.

but hey, what does that say about me :help:

[scriptor]

all this picture and movie are pretty good but in my mind the cinema history have two period : BEFORE and AFTER JC
and notice that SKYNET will probably steal RED technology to build the T800 eye
++

[Tom]

A few more:

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/980/legendsyq3.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/1201/capturetreess5vrtu6.jpg

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/5518/turtleswa9.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9854/rankp5.jpg

Sometimes I think this horse crossing the river scene from RAN was a homage to John Ford.

[Method]

Amelie OWNS




...
http://www.idsmedia.net/aml.jpg

I couldn't agree more. I think this is a very beautiful looking piece of cinematography.

[MrGlory]

I find TTRL to be high art, even transcendent in places.

I know exactly what you mean, and agree completely. That film captures something that is almost impossible to explain.

Here's one of my favorite shot's [from HEAT]:

http://www.lucidscreening.com/i/heat1.jpg

[Shawn Nelson]

Jim and Jarred both need to pipe in here! They have good eyes for shots, their favorites would be interesting.

[karapetkov]

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/3438_1195286445.jpg

Braveheart...

[Tom]

From the same sequence in Braveheart.

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/8611/999063ej4.jpg

This overcranked shot of Murron appearing in the crowd as Wallace dies sends shivers up my spine every time I see it. :(

[NuclearNerd]

Maybe I'm still suffering from "last movie I watched" bias, but I was awed by most scenes in Children of Men, including this ten minute long steadicam shot:
http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/h/A/O/childrenofmenwinterpreview.jpg

[arrinick]

Hi,

Great shot I agree, but just for the record it was hand held, not steadicam, and it was several seperate takes/shots stiched together digitally. Interestingly enough, the blood on the lens was in fact a mistake, and it was a big pain in the ass to make it slowly run off the lens in post.

Cheers, love that movie,

Nick

[Tom]

Great choice. I think Children of Men should have won the Oscar.

I also loved the car ambush scene. Spectacular filmmaking!

[karapetkov]

From the same sequence in Braveheart.

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/8611/999063ej4.jpg

This overcranked shot of Murron appearing in the crowd as Wallace dies sends shivers up my spine every time I see it. :(

Yes.

That next place...

[NuclearNerd]

it was several seperate takes/shots stiched together digitally
Really! I should have checked that. It just shows how convincing post work is these days.

[Tom]

Not to mention the camera work!

Children of Men was a marvel.

I can't wait to see what Lubezki and his guys will do next.

[JonathanLB]

Children of Men looked terrible to me, but I guess I should see it just to judge for myself. The idea was just so lame I thought, it reminds me of some mediocre fertility worry movie, oh no what ever shall we do, save the pregnant woman! Ugg. Who cares.

[lotar1]

The pool shot as he's narrating about making up his razudocks. The four of them are walking towards the camera in super slo mo. that or the opening shot are two of my favorites. (atleast from a Kubrick movie)

[James T Mather]

some people don't seem to offer much positive feedback - Pcs are rubbish, spielberg is overrated and films they haven't even seen blow. Guess you don't need to be informed anymore to have an opinion about something.

Children of Men was, IMVHO, the most original vision of the future since Blade Runner. Stunning on every level. First film in ten years I've gone back to the cinema to see multiple times.

[Adrian Correia]

for those interested, "Burmese Harp" and "Fires on the Plain" are botth available through The Criterion Collection and are fantastic films. Army of Shadows is amazing....and the transfer on the DVD is excellent.

[Ramesh Jai]

Iconic moments for me:
ET - the bicycle silhouetted against the moon.
Jaws - The underwater shot of the girl swimming.
Jurassic Park - The glass of water as it starts to shake.
Rocky - The steadycam shot as it moves around Stallone at the steps.
SNF - Travolta walking to Staying Alive.

[Gbabymogul]

A film that verily impressed me, and didn't get the attention it deserved, imho...

A Very Long Engagement

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/448_1195427519.jpg

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/448_1195427548.png

:bière blonde:

[Alexander Nikishin]

If anyone here hasn't seen The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford shot by Roger Deakins, you're seriously missing out.

[Tom]

Jesse James is probably my top choice for Cinematography this year, and I'm betting it will win the Oscar, but let's be fair - I think Malick should get some royalties on a few of these shots! :)

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7532/jessejames600im4.jpg

Jesse James

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3922/daysofheaven3qv9.jpg

Days of Heaven

[Alexander Nikishin]

God I love that film!

LOL, good eye Tom!

[Jels Prostetnic]

That's odd, why has nobody mentioned this timeless masterpiece:-)

http://www.theater-der-gezeiten.de/images/plan9.jpg
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/plannine/plannine4.jpg

I've always loved the wrinkles on the smoke-filled sunset sky, clearly designed to depict disruptions to the space-time continium, a well-known side effect of the Plan 9 technology!

But seriously folks, this was a pretty iconic scene for me, (well, it would have been if somebody hadn't already blabbed the ending!)
http://www.movieprop.com/tvandmovie/PlanetoftheApes/ending.jpg

[zak forrest]

Not to mention the camera work!

Children of Men was a marvel.

I can't wait to see what Lubezki and his guys will do next.

Lubezki's shooting for the Coen brothers due to some scheduling thing with Roger Deakins.. Should be pretty damn interesting.

[zak forrest]

Jesse James is probably my top choice for Cinematography this year, and I'm betting it will win the Oscar, but let's be fair - I think Malick should get some royalties on a few of these shots! :)

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7532/jessejames600im4.jpg

Jesse James

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3922/daysofheaven3qv9.jpg

Days of Heaven

http://www.rogerdeakins.com is pretty amazing. check out the forum. i wish more cinematographer's were as active as this guy (with anyone that wants to ask a question...

[kunal2]

Hi David,this Iconic Image "Super Child" will forever be engraved in my mind because its so mysterious and it has got a great physolophical representation ..this movie is was not ready for it's time..

We covered some of this in another thread, but it's funny how many shots that I feel were great have some visual effect in them. I think this is one of the most iconic images ever to end a movie:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT3.JPG

And these are also some other memorable images:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT7.JPG

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT8.JPG

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/GREAT9.JPG

[kosmos3d]

Lubezki's shooting for the Coen brothers due to some scheduling thing with Roger Deakins.. Should be pretty damn interesting.


well they tested red #0031 about two weeks ago and we are going out again soon to do the final then a film out...

I think he is in love with RED #0031...

[zak forrest]

Hi David,this Iconic Image "Super Child" will forever be engraved in my mind because its so mysterious and has it has got a great physolophical representation ..this movie is was not ready for it's time..

Star Child...


and David Mullen should be added to the list of kick ass ACTIVE cinematographers taking the time to talk to people... :biggrin:

[blacksunday666]

Suspiria Rules !

[filip kovcin]

if i am not wrong - no one mentioned final (pre-last) shot of antonioni's "the passanger" (aka "profession: reporter"). in my opinion - that's one of the bravest shot ever made.
what do you think?

filip

p.s. anyone with screengrab?

[mlochm]

a pittance but good...

First two from The Weeping Meadow and the third from Runaway Train.

oh and I couldn't find a grab, but the last shot of Soylent Green- tehe...

[Tom]

http://www.rogerdeakins.com is pretty amazing. check out the forum. i wish more cinematographer's were as active as this guy (with anyone that wants to ask a question...

Damn, I didn't know Deakins had a forum! Very awesome. Thanks for the link.

[karapetkov]

One of my favorite opening scenes is in "Excalibur" and the cut from the firelit battle in the woods at night to the calm, misty dawn at the lake:

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/excalibur1.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/excalibur2.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/excalibur6.jpg

http://www.davidmullenasc.com/excalibur7.jpg


It's very strange that many people actually hate this movie.

I adore it.

The whole of it is visual poetry and even more - it's cine-poetry.

Amazing...

[Yannick Hagman]

I saw "Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf?" this weekend and did like the night shot with Richard Burton on the swing and also the shot where the others drive with their car away, leaving him back on the street.

[Stephen Pruitt]

Well, it lasts a lot longer than 10 seconds, and I didn't read through to see if anyone else posted it, but the SINGLE GREATEST SHOT IN CINEMA HISTORY is often considered the opening shot of Orson Welles' masterpiece, "Touch of Evil." From it's brilliant close-up to the great overhead crane moving through the town, that's as good as it gets.

As for me, I'd take Welles' shot of Major Amberson head on in "The Magnificent Ambersons." Welles' narration and the look of the old man seen straight on is just to die for. I get chills even now thinking about it.

My two cents. . .

Stephen "gotta love Welles" Pruitt

[mezmo]

Single greatest shot ever?
Just about every frame in The Conformist.
Bertolucci & Sturaro, both young and reckless.
Shot in the early seventies.
Others like The Trial, Amacord and Dr Strangelove also contain
a passion for storytelling with pictures and will always
last the test of time.

A rare thing these days at the movies.

[Petr Dvorak]

some more BR
http://www.image-load.eu/out.php/i14432_shot0002.png
http://www.image-load.eu/out.php/i14433_shot0003.png

[Robert Aldrich]

"Amelie OWNS"

What about the transition shot where she falls to the floor as tears? One of the most amazing shots I've ever seen on film, perfectly integrated with the story and footage.

[Ricardo Mehedff]

-scorcese's 'goodfellas' sequence when ray liotta and lorraine bracco walk into the club through the back of the place and walk across the kitchen etc... it's at least five minutes long... incredible!
-'children of men's war sequence is also pretty damn awesome!!
-not to mention 'cinema paradiso's kiss sequence in the old theatre...
-pick any one of kubricks shots...
-chinatown is full of incredible stuff......
-many 'requiem for a dream' sequences are pretty bad ass......
-pick any shot from sergio leones films...
-what about the 15 minute rape scene from 'Irreversilble'... probably the most unwatchable shot ever... not because it's bad, but because it's so damn repulsive!!

[Poi Boy]

on the action side, how about the through the window shot in Bourne ultimatum with the camera jumping right behind Bourne ?
Aloha
-A

[krd]

Don't know about "greatest", but a VERY long and ingenious tracking shot in "I Am Cuba", which no one ever forgets -- starts at a ground level street demonstration, moves high up the side of a building, tracks laterally over the parapets, enters a top floor Havana cigar factory, moves through it as the workers unfurl a banner, and then continues out the window, and high above the demonstration, moving with no apparent means of support, until the shot finally fades out.

There's another one which starts on the top of luxury hotel (pre-Castro days), where a bikini pageant is going on, and ends up at the bottom of a swimming pool, at ground level, but that's just a warm-up....

Note that all this pre-dates the steadicam era.

[Evolve]

To me one of the most mesmirizing and important shots in all of recorded film is the 22 second shot taken by Abraham Zapruder on his double 8mm video camera....here it is stabilized...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ozx4_4DZp38&feature=related

and here it is full frame wide unstabilized

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1G_Zxup7esU&feature=related

I am sorry now, as I was the first and every time I've watched it, for the loss.

[bscenefilms]

For me, the Conformist has some wonderful visuals in it. Vittorio Storaro does some really visually stunning work in this film.

http://www.b-scenefilms.com/c1.png
http://www.b-scenefilms.com/c2.png
http://www.b-scenefilms.com/c3.png
http://www.b-scenefilms.com/c4.png

[bscenefilms]

http://www.b-scenefilms.com/c5.png
http://www.b-scenefilms.com/c6.png
http://www.b-scenefilms.com/c7.png

[RedCrosser]

Here's one...the moment Luke confronts Vadar in Empire.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Vitorio Storaro is our greatest teacher.

Just try to get focal length for all those snap shots:

24 mm, 28 mm, 35 mm, 40(2) mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 75 mm, 85 mm, 90 mm...primes and macros...etc.

That's all you would need to use for a film drama like this.

No zooms!!!

Also Roger Deakins ASC, BSC teaching us about using the prime lenses too:

"I generally use the fastest and cleanest lenses I can get. Nowdays I use the Cooke S4s and the Master Primes.
As far as focal length goes I like to shoot mostly on the 27, 32, 35,40 and 50mm. It will vary greatly from film to film but these lenses I use the most. I rarely use a zoom and prefer to change focal length by changing my prime lens. I think working this way tends to focus you on why you are placing the camera in a particular position and why you are choosing a particular focal lengh. Just to zoom in for a close up from the same position as the wide shot is, to my way of seeing, just sloppy."

QUOTE>>>LINK>>> (http://www.rogerdeakins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25)

[mezmo]

Not to be forgotten,
Vitorio probably shot The Conformist using a film like eastman kodak 5254,
Turd of a film stock, short dynamic range, major colorshifts per batch,
highlight blowouts, I can go on. But he's managed to use the limitations of
these early filmstocks to creative advantage on Conformist.
Degree of difficulty X2 compared to shooting on modern film stocks.
This is the era of unusable high speed color film stocks so most of what
you see above would be 100 ASA stuff.
The guy's scary.
Conformist is a great example of what can be done with a short dynamic range color imaging system with a tendancy to blow out (clip) highlights and new to the market in 1971.
Anything sound familiar here in 2007/8?
Mezmo

[bscenefilms]

Excellent point, Mez. But for those of us who have seen Crossing the line, understand that the limitations of the red when compared to film can be overcome with talent.

[mezmo]

My point exactly.

[Sanjin Jukic]

All great points, thanks guys!

[Shawn Nelson]

Can we get this thread moved to the new Cinematography section?

[blacksunday666]

'White of the Eye' directed by Donald Cammell, has some of the most striking images as well as being a one-of-a-kind viewing experience- an austere, bizarre, horrifying puzzle-box of a film.

[karapetkov]

Atonement (http://imdb.com/title/tt0783233/): The 4:30 min. stadycam shot of Dunkirk.... WoWzy!!!! :)

Check this one out. Pure cinema...

[Tom]

I cannot wait to see Atonement! I skimmed over the article in the new AC, and saw the layout for that shot... impressive!

[karapetkov]

The whole movie is incredible, it is plotted in a very smart and surprising way - you actually don't understand what is it all about until the very end. And then - it cuts like a knife... at least for me.
This guy Joe Wright is just 35 and wow! - he's a f*cking master already!

Gorgeous visuals, gorgeous...

I'm definitely gonna see it in the theater, after seeing it in the... urgh... umm.. well, I'm definitely gonna see it in the theater :).

Happy New Year. :watsup:

[karapetkov]

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/3438_1204593739.jpg

From The Blue Lagoon (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080453/).

One of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen...

[Tom]

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/3438_1204593739.jpg

From The Blue Lagoon (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080453/).

One of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen...

Yes indeed! Almendros + tropical island + shields = heaven. :)

[Joofa]

Atonement (http://imdb.com/title/tt0783233/): The 4:30 min. stadycam shot of Dunkirk.... WoWzy!!!! :)

Check this one out. Pure cinema...

Saw Atonement over the weekend. Really liked it. That Dunkirk continuous shot was amazing!

There was this great long shot in "Children of Men", towards the end with the crying of the child that I liked.

Though not particularly long, certain shots from Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line" are still so vividly etched in my memory that I always think about them.

[Andrew Walker]

"Miller's Crossing"

[karapetkov]

Yes indeed! Almendros + tropical island + shields = heaven. :)

+ this guy (http://imdb.com/name/nm0006231/)'s score.

Again, one of the most beautiful film music I've ever heard :).

The movie is a classic.

But it's sad that both the DP and the composer are not alive anymore :sad:, their work on the lagoon is a landmark.

[Tom]

Blue Lagoon would be a great title for a Bluray release.... along with just about all the other pictures on this thread!

[Craig Ryan]

A lot of great ones posted already for sure but I can't believe some of these have not been posted yet.


http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/070917/popchill/et_l.jpg

http://pwp.netcabo.pt/0210980301/md/exorcist.jpg

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/images/rocky1.jpg

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/Travel%20Section/Summer%20Travel/060608_shining_vmed_1p.widec.jpg

Maybe more later.

[Greg Huson]

If you love 'Miller's Crossing,' (one of my favs, too) see Il Conformista- iirc, Miller's Crossing is, in part, an homage to the somewhat slow but very beautiful 1970 Bertoluci film.

[Joe D'Arcy]

........

[Christian Edwards]

http://www.reduser.net/forum/uploaded/3568_1205759509.jpg


i love the composition in this shot , its like a Renaissance painting

[rockoblm]

I didn't read the whole thread but my favorites are from Tonino Delli Colli and Sergio Leone

* Edit - to appease the Gods of Topics on this board, I change to a shot, not a "poster"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/GoodBadUgly_Mexicanstandoff.gif

[Joe D'Arcy]

........

[CraigWB]

That looks to me like a "poster" as opposed to a "shot".

[Tom]

I didn't read the whole thread but my favorites are from Tonino Delli Colli and Sergio Leone

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/45/Good_the_bad_and_the_ugly_poster.jpg/405px-Good_the_bad_and_the_ugly_poster.jpg

Fail.

[rockoblm]

That looks to me like a "poster" as opposed to a "shot".

Wow, you're a smart one. I wasn't going to pull a still frame from the movie just to "talk" about it on a website, and I couldn't find a reference frame online. Damn the "My D is bigger than your D" talk on this site is annoying. I think the grabs from ET, The Shinning, The Exorcist are all promotional poster materials also.

[rockoblm]

Fail.

Just to note, I said "my favorites" not "your favorites". I do realize that the topic is "The single greatest SHOT ever...?" There is no such thing since there is this thing call personal opinion. For my own personal interest there are a number of great, well composed, well acted scenes in GBU. If I want to talk about one frame, I'll leave the motion pictures alone and head over to still photography discussions.

PS - Don't be such a self righteous ass.

[Christian Edwards]

chill out man!

[rockoblm]

chill out man!

I apologize for getting worked up. I just don't see the need in people to be so quick to 'correct' people on their comments. I think its rude and it doesn't aid to further discussion.

[Weston]

Fail.

what does that mean

EDIT

My bad...I didn't pick up on the sarcasm and thought you guys were just making fun of him.

[Tom]

lol, man, we were just joshing with you. sorry. sometimes sarcasm and zingers don't come off on the net like they would if you were joking around with someone in person.

[Dukeswharf]

yes
yes
yes
and yes

Agreed! And may that great spi