Films Every Aspiring Cinematographer Needs to Watch 

Hey all, really appreciate all the comments and I've had some amazing recommendations for future videos! But for those of you that keep reminding me that I have no taste or I missed a vital piece of cinema from the 60s, keep in mind this is a video aimed at beginners who may be intimidated by those kinds of films, I intended for this video to be an open introduction to people interested in becoming a cinematographer or filmmaker and put a lot of time into thinking about films that really helped me decide on this path. If you want a video that looks at more 'obscure' movies, check out part two and later parts!

Great choices, though I don’t think any cinematography list is truly complete without Persona. Bergman was always a master of faces but that film is really the pinnacle of his and Nykvist’s skills.

lovely list, I wish you explained things a little bit more, maybe giving more historical details or gave examples of scenes and why they are good, you have a beautifully calming voice and you don't need to rush the subject

Antonioni's Italian films are a masterclass in composition.

Barry Lydon might just be the most underrated Kubrick film. 2001, The Shining, and Strangelove are common citations for people's favorite films. Barry Lyndon seemed to fly under the radar for a lot of people and I am glad you mentioned it as a must see. Maybe it is because the run time is long and the pacing can be slow that Lyndon isn't as praised, but the cinematography is incredible and I find it incredibly entertaining. It also showcases Kubrick's kind of strange sense of humor at times.

Great list. In The Mood For Love is a fantastic example. More people need to see this movie.

Lovely! I have a few suggestions that have influenced me; Cries and Whispers for how it uses color, Fatal Attraction for framing/composition in very cramped environments (most of it was filed on location, Klute for very evocative and affective lighting, Carrie (1976) for how it usually mess movement and odd angles to tell it’s story, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011) for how the environment dictates the films style and color choices :)

lot of time i've said that this channel is criminally underrated ,my advance congratulations for 1million subscribers ❤

Had never really thought how good Shawshank looked before so thanks. If you want cinematography to tell you a story The cranes are flying is really worth a watch.

Such a great list, thank you. Some films I need to see.

I would add Seven Samurai, 8-1/2, North by Northwest, Fight Club, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Excellent list to work from. Definitely worth rewatching these films for both their stories and their cinematography. I haven't seen "Contempt", "The Passion of Joan of Arc" and "In The Mood for Love", yet. So, I've got some catching up to do. Thanks for putting this together.

Thank you!

Fantastic recommendations!

I love these movies. One suggestion for analysis is "The Third man" by Carol Reed/Robert Krasker. The B/W cinematography is outstanding.

very good picks

AWESOME VIDEO! Thanks for your recommendation.

Malick is known for the look of his films. I would use as an example one if his early films "Days of Heaven". Another example is an early little known film by Polanski called "Knife in the Water". It all takes place in a small boat on the water. Top notch.

Nice essay mate, keep it comming.

I would add Michael Mann's "Thief" (1981) for how it uses the night and the city of Chicago skyline as a backdrop. You would see it again in "Heat" only with Los Angeles and more daylight shots.

0:54 - Barry Lyndon - Lawrence of Arabia - Citizen Kane - The Godfather - 2001: A Space Odyssey 2:18 - The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari - The Passion of Joan of Arc - Fantasia - 12 Angry Men - Contempt 3:45 - The Shawshank Redemption - Se7en - In The Mood for Love - The Rider - The Lighthouse

I did enjoy this video!!

Superb stuff. I really do need to see Lyndon. Solid list, I’ll happily subscribe. Fare thee well.

Great list. I'm by no means a film maker. I know that one of the most beautifully shots films in in recent years for me is Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Every scene could be a painting.

Highly honorable mention: Amelie, Once Upon a Time in The West, 1917, Schindler's List, Rashumon, Das Boot

JOHN FORD’S THE SEARCHERS, HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, THE GRAPES OF WRATH AND THE LATEST MACBETH WITH DENZEL WASHINGTON ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE GEMS OF CINEMATOGRAPHY.

One for me that I love, in addition to all the Bergman comments lol, is The Color of Pomegranates. Really love how striking it is, not the best cinematography of all time, but certainly unique.

great list

Certainly a great list. I'd offer The Elephant Man as an addition. The fact that you scarcely notice that the scenes are NOT actually lit by the natural sources (lanterns, candles, etc) is worthy of note. One thing I found odd. You talked about 'how you can tell a story without words, even if it is animation.' Surely animation excels at this - I would think that when the artist controls every aspect of the image, including the content/lighting/composition, etc. it is easier to do well than when you have to wrangle real elements into your frame with the same measure of control.

I think when you make a list like this there will always be omissions! My sense is it should be a film that I want to go out and buy a projector and rewatch! Paris, Texas is one film i loved due to the beautiful visuals and compelling story. In the mood for love was visually stunning but I didn't really find the story that compelling. Thanks for the list. Yet to watch Lyndon or Godfather..

There Will Be Blood is my favorite film when it comes to cinematography. It's the best naturally lit film in my opinion especially in the modern era. Elswit didn't even put in any post production work to the image because PTA wanted it as natural as possible. It's also a masterclass in composition

surprised this channel doesn't have more subs--I thought I was watching a video from some 2mil youtuber--great work!

'The Servant' (1963) is an absolute must watch film for anyone interested in cinematography.

Hi. Interesting list. I wouldn't have put a lot of these films on there but it is a good list! Joan of Arc for cinematography is very interesting and inspired I feel and I'm happy that part of it is highlighted. The ending has some of the best shots ever. I think your point of including it is to highlight the filming of the human face which seems like a good lesson to cinematographers who might lose sight of that with framing shots. I recommend you check out Marketa Lazarová if you haven't for it's underseen life-changing cinematography.

Yeah good choices, those films have great atmos. They do make you part of the film.

There was a movie from 1979 called Black stallion. The second half of the movie was like a very good Disney movie however the first half was almost magical. In the first half there is almost no dialogue. It's an extremely visual movie. The cinema photographer was Caleb Deschanel. The film also won the 1979 National Society of Film Critics award for Best Cinematography. I'm glad you mentioned the Shawshank redemption. That movie was like a fine watch. I also loved that you mentioned Ryan's daughter. If I had to add two movies to list I would add the movie Brazil and Dr. Strangelove.

The dune is silent, but for the murmur of a soft breeze. You kneel down and run your fingers through the sand, your hand like a tongue tasting the emotion locked in every grain. A symphony of a thousand subtle yet distinct emotions washes over you. Somehow it all computes in the vastness of your mind. It’s like you raked your tongue through the depths of her turbulent psyche. Your eyes well up and a tear rolls down your face. A loud crack of thunder, like a gunshot, startles you from above, and the sky begins to pour with heavy rain. The sound of rain soothes your soul. The landscape - or, really, your mindscape - feels enchanted, exactly as you want it to be.

beautiful

Amelie, one of my favourites, also No Country for Old Men

Another film you might consider adding to your list is Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven.

Nice list! I would add, at a minimum, The Cranes are Flying(1957) lensed by the visual genius Sergey Urusevsky and The Conformist (1970) lensed by the incomparable Vittorio Storaro.

Le Samourai, High and Low, Good Morning, Memories of Murder - some of my favourites :D

1:18 This scene is actually from The Godfather Part III, which nobody would consider a masterpiece, but it is a well framed shot. All your picks are great films and among my favorites. A few that I also love and would consider must see for aspiring filmmakers as they have the criteria for great visuals and storytelling: Seven Samurai Apocalypse Now The Good The Bad and The Ugly Baraka Hero Blade Runner The Last Emperor Schindler's List The Thin Red line Spirited Away I tried not to repeat your directors choices, but Coppola has to be mentioned again for Apocalypse now as virtually every scene is a work of art.

Good list. In terms of sheer beauty, you could have also picked Néstor Almendros' work on Days of Heaven... and featured at least one Italian. Maybe Vittorio Storaro for Apocalypse Now, or Otello Martelli for La Dolce Vita. All three of these movies could easily have been included in your first section about masterpieces, for instance, but of course lists are exclusionary by design. Another masterful Italian was Gianni Di Venanzo, whose slightly lesser known work on Antonioni's La Notte (1961) or l'Eclisse (1962) rivals any of those other films. In terms of using cinematography to turn back the clock, outside of Barry Lyndon, the movie that most impressed me was Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev. Cinematographer Vadim Yusov at times almost has you convinced that they somehow had cameras in Russia back in the fourteen hundreds. And as for impressive somewhat more recent films, Robert D. Yeoman's photography on Drugstore Cowboy is one that is both largely unsung and a personal favorite. Also Robby Müller is the shit. His use of colored lighting and singular style in Paris, Texas is unmatched. Phantom Thread and Roma were both gorgeously shot by the directors themselves, in recent years, which is an interesting turn of events. And Edward Lachman did a very convincing 16mm homage to Saul Leiter, and other photographers of the mid twentieth century, in Todd Hayne's 2015 Patricia Highsmith adaptation Carol... So many to chose from, how do you even begin to make a list? PS: I love Raoul Coutard's colorful French Riviera look even more in Pierrot le Fou than I do in Contempt.

when first watching the Godfather I knew the cinematography was excellent, but the zoom in shot where Michael Corleone is sat with a broken jaw discussing how to assassinate the police chief and Sollozzo, is perfetto! Ultimate foreshadowing of the character becoming the Godfather in the end

Thanks.

superb selection, im team kubrik naturally but a good way to see great examples is to push the boat out and look at world cinema. belgian director fabrice du welz "calvaire" is amazing. west african film "the fisherman". and from the tartan asia extreme series of videos release " the happiness of the katakuri's" would be high on my list. there are also some films that just have one or two outstanding shots like predator's one shot camera movement from high above the forest canopy down under the tree's to ground height and into a character scene. how that was done ill never know, presumably a cut somewhere between a heli shot and a boom shot but it feels like an invisible cut.

Great video! you've got a new subscriber! I love the font of the thumbail as well, if you don't mind what font is it called? :)

Awesome video

You can't leave out Robert Richardson, the list of movies he's done is insane. He's consistently worked with Scorsese, Oliver Stone and has been Tarantino's go to in every film since Kill Bill.

Nicolas Winding Refn has made some pretty good films in terms of cinematography, like the Pusher films, Bleeder and Fear X.

For me one of the best of movies is a Blade Runner.❤

We should also have a video about important paintings an aspiring cinematographer needs to study

great list but especially for cinematographers Emmanuel Lubezki's work on Tree of Life is a must. He pictures humans with a sensibility like nobody else. Also generally the film is a great entry point for poetic filmmaking in the likes of Tarkovsky, Bergman, Antonioni, Kiarostami and in my book a must watch.

In my mind it’s hard to make a great movie without great cinematography. My fave atm is Children of men.

After Tarkovsky, three Bela Tarr Films have some of the best Cinematography I've ever seen: Damnation Satantango Werkmeister Harmonies & for some reason his work is very slept on in America.

I would argue that anyone behind a camera, photographers included, would benefit from watching these films. Great video!

The Incredibles - pitch perfect control over a wide variety of genres (from Action to Comedy), delivers on dialogue scenes or intimate personal moments as well as on huge scale set pieces and all within a consistent visual style that truly stands out (and also really works within the story's world). Truly a filmmaking masterclass beginning to end. Just my thoughts though.

I would consider adding the royal tennanbaums and meshes of the afternoon by maya deren

Here's some other movies (purely from cinematography point in my opinion): Earth 1930 (dir. Dovzhenko) Mirror 1975 (Tarkovsky/Rerberg) Seventh Seal 1957 Cries and Whispers 1972 Come and See 1985 Berlin Alexanderplatz 1980 Veronika Voss 1982 Three Colors: Blue 1994 Le Bonheur 1965 Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors 1965 The Color of Pomegranates 1969 (1970) Khrustalyov, My Car! 1998 (US blu ray release has really bad audio de-sync, up to 1 sec at the end of movie) The Wishing Tree 1977 Repentance 1984/1986 Commissar 1967 Finis Terræ 1929 Masculin Feminin 1966 Pierrot le Fou 1965 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 1932 Le Diable probablement 1977 L'Argent 1983 Equinox Flower 1958 Davandeh 1984 A Letter Never Sent 1960 Salt for Svanetia 1930 The Lonely Voice of Man 1978/1987 (sadly, only poor quality copy available at the moment, there was a new restoration, it's only played in cinemas in Russia from time to time, but no info on possible blu ray release, last time I spoke with director (somewhere around 2017) he told me that he don't have the money/resources to release it).

I have a few suggestions Return on the jedi, Ewok adventure, Flash Gordon

I really really like this video, but I would've loved for it to be at least twice the lenght!

in the mood for love probably the most well shot movie of 21st century along with Samsara(2011)

A question: From what film is the painted shot at 0:30? It looks gorgeous... Also: A great list. Wonderful starting point for further explorations (and I love that THE CONFORMIST made it into the second part - to me it's Storaro's masterpiece).

I would have picked Black Narcissus for color cinematography and the Pumpkin Eater for framing. And obviously Barry Lyndon over all. The more think about it the more I can think of.

Add every Tarkovsky film as well.

sleeping beauty has a lot of silence and reminds me a lot of fantasia. doesn't get enough credit

Appreciate you making the list Angus! I just wish Tree of Life made it on there

I would add some kurosawa and johnnie to films also

Drive (2011). Nicholas Winding Refn, Newton Thomas Sigel.

I will recommend Millennium Mambo by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

This video is way too short - I was hoping to get my teeth into some analysis of these great works! This just teased me!

It really depends on the filmmaker. For me it was Following, Eraserhead, 2001 and V For Vendetta. Don’t know why but they get my cinematography and director senses tingling.

One eyed jacks directed by Marlon Brando if you get a good quality file of it (not the amazon prime one) I think youtube has a HD rip of it. One of the most amazing films as far as beautiful cinematography. The shots of the california coast look like they were filmed today despite being 70 years ago.

Netflix: "Use whatever you like we just de-sat it anyway"

The original Blade Runner & Road To Perdition too

I wish I could relive the experience of watching 12 Angry Men for the first time again

Off topic, but does anyone know what is the font of “watch these films” on the video picture?

check out Parajanov, The Color of Pomgranates

Seems a shame to not include a Haskell Wexler ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"). And all the movies mentioned look great, but I also think there's always too much focus on "postcard" cinematography. Crisp, colorful vistas and mega-sets ("..Arabia" and "...Lyndon"). Esp for the post 1970 movies...no one mentions the more subtle, portrait (like you mention Joan of Arc) work that propels the stories and emotions. sooo...I'd offer "The Verdict", "Fresh", "Philomena",

Cant believe you didnt include Ida.

Le Mepris - it's a good looking film, not sure it's the most interesting though. It just accelerates wildly at the end. I thought I'd see some Godard in here. In fact, European and Asian cinema make some of the best looking films onscreen. I love Tokyo Story and where is Ran? I'd like to see you talk about the use of colour in film to convey messages etc.

Hero.

Darjeeling limited!

whats the name of the film 4:41 ?

What about Once upon a time in america

The Duellists by Ridley Scott

I recommend HERO starring Jet Li.

Yeah, the Rider is incredible. Nomadland, not so much.

Make more similar lists

The Good The Bad And The Ugly, Jaws, Blade Runner, and West Side Story.

Mallick's Badlands

Thank you Angus. No Tree of Life? No Revenant?

*Correction* 1:18 Pardon me, but that scene is not from The Godfather.

You forgot the concequences of love.

The Conformist (DoP Vittorio Storaro)

Maybe instead of two Kubrick films, you could include one film by Kubrick and one by Tarkovsky.

Sunset Boulevard.

🍎

Hostiles (2017) is one of the most beautiful films I have seen. Also check out Spielberg's West Side Story, La La Land and The Revenant.