Category: Best Cinematography

Posted on 2022-04-15 | No Comments |

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

Ever since I first learned about the HMS Bounty, I’ve been fascinated by the story and how this group of mutineers changed the history of Pitcairn Island. In this version of one of the most famous mutinies ever, Captain Trevor Howard is so domineering and abusive that eventually even Marlon Brando has had enough and provokes a mutiny. While it does have some beautiful views of the expansive sea, this film is just way too long. It takes over half of its three plus hour runtime to even get to the actual mutiny. I was having a hard time getting into Brando’s portrayal (he has a very strange accent and various affectations), especially when compared to Clark Gable in the 1935 version, but I eventually warmed up as it makes sense that he’s rather sniveling and pompous until Howard’s callousness is even too much for him. For such a stupid long movie, the ending comes rather abruptly and doesn’t seem to have any connection to reality.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Film Editing; Best Effects, Special Effects; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Score – Substantially Original

Posted on 2022-04-12 | No Comments |

The Grandmaster (2013)

Kung fu grandmaster Ip Man reflects on his life after his fortieth birthday and the connection he had to Gong Er, the daughter and holder of the secrets of another grandmaster. Apparently there were a number of changes made from the original Chinese cut of the film to what was released for American audiences, including about 22 less minutes of runtime. The latter version is the one I watched and the editing made for a confusing product with a very choppy flow. It’s a beautiful looking film with some gorgeous fight choreography, but I’m not sure I got much from the film beyond that.

Oscar Nominations: Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Costume Design

Posted on 2022-04-09 | No Comments |

West Side Story (2021)

When this remake of West Side Story was announced, I wondered what purpose it could possibly serve. The 1961 version has received high acclaim since it was made and seems better situated to exemplify the preceding decade. After watching this film, my misgivings weren’t allayed. In this take on Romeo and Juliet, Rachel Zegler, whose brother David Alvarez is a leader among the Sharks, spontaneously falls in love with Ansel Elgort, a former member of rival gang the Jets. While the film doesn’t establish their ages, the actors look as if there is about a fifteen year difference. It also doesn’t help that Elgort is rather weak in the role, particularly when he’s singing with the much talented Zegler. Overall there are some bad (constantly overpowering the view of the actors with light sources), neutral (changing the tomboy character to a trans man and the Jewish doc to Rita Moreno), and some great changes (little bits of added backstory and casting Latinx actors who intersperse more Spanish into their dialogue) but as a whole don’t give enough difference in vision to explain why anyone wanted to make this version happen.

Oscar Win: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Sound; Best Achievement in Costume Design; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Directing

Posted on 2022-04-05 | No Comments |

The Great Waltz (1938)

The life of Johann Strauss II is told through a generic love triangle between him, his wife Luise Rainer, and opera singer Milizas Korjus. The music is beautiful though Korjus’s singing is overwhelming and featured too frequently. Outside the musical scenes, the rest of the film is rather bland and unmemorable.

Oscar Win: Best Cinematography

Oscar Nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Film Editing

Posted on 2022-04-02 | No Comments |

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

When boxer and amateur pilot Robert Montgomery’s plane crashes, he’s prematurely pulled into the afterlife before his time by Edward Everett Horton. Horton’s boss Claude Rains finds Montgomery a new body to inhabit and he falls in love with Evelyn Keyes when he’s resurrected. I long ago saw Warren Beatty’s 1978 remake of the story, but this version is particularly adorable. Rains steals the show as the bemused and ever-patient Mr. Jordan. Honorable mention is given to James Gleason portraying Montgomery’s manager who is dragged in to the whole changed body scenario.

Oscar Wins: Best Writing, Original Story; Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Director; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White

Posted on 2022-03-22 | No Comments |

Hawaii (1966)

In this big-budget epic based on the James Michener novel, Max von Syndow is a Christian zealot who drags his young wife to Hawaii to educate the heathens after an appeal by one of their converted princes. It takes the film a long time to even get to this point in the story and it’s quite a drag before they get to the islands. From there, it’s endlessly frustrating watching von Syndow’s fanaticism beat against everyone else he meets, especially the native population and his wife, even when they are on his side. The performances are rather good with strong appearances from Richard Harris, Gene Hackman, and Jocelyne LaGarde.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Sound; Best Effects, Special Visual Effects; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Original Music Score

Posted on 2022-03-18 | No Comments |

The Power of the Dog (2021)

In 1920s Montana, ranchers Jesse Plemons meets and marries widowed inn owner Kirsten Dunst, much to the chagrin of his abusive brother Benedict Cumberbatch. During the summer, Dunst’s son Kodi Smit-McPhee visits the ranch and also endures Cumberbatch’s abuse but overtime finds common ground with the rancher. Not being a fan of Jane Campion nor really of Westerns, I didn’t have high expectations of going in, but I came away quite impressed. There’s a long interwoven tale here of shifting power dynamics, sexuality, and gender roles that slowly reveals itself and doesn’t become clear until its final moments, and maybe not even then. The performances are strong across the board and play against each other in incredible ways.

Oscar Win: Best Achievement in Directing

Oscar Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (2); Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Sound; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)

Posted on 2022-03-17 | No Comments |

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

This musical follows the life of Molly Brown, a Colorado socialite best known for her assistance during the evacuation of the Titanic. Debbie Reynolds plays the spunky title character. In the first scenes, she comes across as an over-the-top, goofy, backwoods yokel, similar to Betty Hutton’s hammy portrayal in Annie Get Gun. Luckily the story quickly moves on for the character and presents her steely, determination to getting what she wants out of life. The gorgeous costumes and Reynolds’s energetic portrayal are the best parts of the films. The writing and the music on the other hand leave a bit to be desired. The big event is only given a few minutes toward the end, with Molly’s bravery presented as a quick montage of her rallying her lifeboat-mates. There are more scenes of the character on the ship in 1997’s Titanic than in this one.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Sound; Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment

Posted on 2022-03-09 | No Comments |

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

On the verge of retirement, captain John Wayne is ordered to have his men escort two women, Mildred Natwick and Joanna Dru, to a stagecoach travelling back East while also being on the lookout for Cheyenne and Arapaho, riled after Custer’s defeat. This is very standard Western fare that took me quite a long time to get through. The various young men, two vying for the affections of Dru, all came across as interchangeable to me. Victor McLaglen does provide some welcome comic relief from the dull proceedings. I also enjoyed the small presence of Natwick, though wish more had been done with her role.

Oscar Win: Best Cinematography, Color

Posted on 2022-03-07 | No Comments |

Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

Two chiefs of the Cheyenne nation endeavor to lead three hundred members of their tribe from an Oklahoma reservation back to their traditional Wyoming home. This angers the US government and they seek to prevent the group from accomplishing their mission. Ostensibly a John Ford Western that is sympathetic to the plight of Native Americans, it is nevertheless told from the perspective of a white narrator, Richard Widmark, and the major Native roles are played by Mexican Americans. Typical of Ford, it’s beautifully filmed, but it’s also drawn out and inexplicably throws a bit of comedy relief just at its midpoint.

Oscar Nomination: Best Cinematography, Color