What are visually the most beautiful movies you've seen?

[Fatal9]

Whether it's the landscape, the lighting, the use of colors, overall cinematography...what are the most aesthetically pleasing films you've seen?

Post screenshots of scenes (don't post ones that would spoil the movie!) that really stick out in your memory (don't stretch the page though).


I'll start with a couple though there's so many of them:

Contempt - Everything from the use of colors, the actress (bridgette bardot), the locations make this easily one of the top 5 most beautiful films I've seen. I wish I had this movie on my computer right now, I'd take the screens myself because it's beautiful how certain colors (red/white/blue) are used over the course of the film.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqctx4og5X1qzzf25o1_500.png
http://i51.tinypic.com/el605s.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/14lsutt.jpg
http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/chicago/2-14-08contempt9.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d31LiYabcI4/TZc8-Z3ic1I/AAAAAAAADa8/YD0vauPe5pk/s1600/contempt.jpg


Days of Heaven - stunning landscapes

http://www.rachelhulin.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/daysofheaven-7.jpg
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews33/a%20days%20of%20heaven/days%20of%20heaven%20PDVD_013.jpg


Black Narcissus - again wish I had this on my computer right now to capture specific scenes but you'll get the point. film was made in 1947, so they didn't actually go to the himalayas to make it, used paintings for the mountain landscapes, you can tell but it looks great in the movie.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/5/warn.jpg
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews38/black%20narcissus%20blu-ray/large/corrected/640%20black%20narcissus%20color%20correctedtrial4. jpg
http://m00ch.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/blacknarcissus-14.jpg

[Fudge]

Troy is probably up there for me.

[Waking_Life]

The Fountain and Badlands.

[Riddler]

Days of Heaven - stunning landscapes

http://www.rachelhulin.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/daysofheaven-7.jpg




I haven't seen this Terrance Malick film (78')... or Badlands (73')...

So I'm guessing you really liked it?



Terrance Malick is 'kinda' a friend to the family... or at least his brother was...

When he was filming Tree of Life, his brother killed himself (Chris)... which is sad because that movie was about his other brother that committed suicide (Larry)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrence_Malick


Malick had two younger brothers: Chris and Larry. Larry Malick was a guitarist who went to study in Spain with Segovia in the late 1960s. In 1968, Larry intentionally broke his own hands due to pressure over his musical studies. Emil went to Spain to help Larry, but Larry died shortly after, apparently commiting suicide.

[Riddler]

Badlands.


So with that said... I'll go ahead and add The New World to the list...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XvD3rCyKR0M/TiewFJ7Ym-I/AAAAAAAAA1A/w0Dp6oU1AyI/s1600/new+world.jpg

[Fatal9]

So with that said... I'll go ahead and add The New World to the list...

[img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XvD3rCyKR0M/TiewFJ7Ym-I/AAAAAAAAA1A/w0Dp6oU1AyI/s1600/new+world.jpg[/img
Funny you added this because the reason I made this thread is because I watched this today. Was too lazy to do screenshots though.

Landscape wise, Lawrence of Arabia is probably the most beautiful I've see. All David Lean epics are stunning though. Zhivago, Passage to India, Kwai... cinematography is always top notch in his films, he always went to the best locations, no matter how inconvenient. That's the only thing I have against modern movies visually, the lighting and CGI nowadays manipulate the movie into looking a little too unnatural.

[Meticode]

Shawshanke Redemption - Nothing but the free world and two friends to enjoy it.
http://kingdomofgravy.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/download-blog.jpeg

[Riddler]

Funny you added this because the reason I made this thread is because I watched this today. Was too lazy to do screenshots though.


Very Good Film... Very Sad ending... (wasn't ever familiar with the story of Pocahontas until I watched this movie)

But yea... something about that last scene really stuck with me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fXO7KjdNcI
(spoiler)

[Nick Young]

the secret of kells

the fountain
thin red line

also the shit at the end of evangelion rebuild 2.2 the disturbing imagery combined with the neon lights and childrens choir was pretty beautiful

[DonDadda59]

Two immediately jump out at me...

The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford. The movie was like a master class of cinematography. There was a lot of sweeping, wide open landscapes and they added a unique look in spots with use of a wide angle fish eye. The lighting and tone was impeccable. Two prime examples:

The Opening Scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2gY_e1ZKD8)

The train robbery scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNBfcnVUahY)

Hero (starring Jet Li) had some fantastic visuals as well. There was a lot of vivid color schemes, especially costume design. The landscapes stretched from deserts to lakes to palaces, all filmed beautifully. The battle scenes were epic and well choreographed and served the story well, it was more like poetic wire-fu:

Arrow Rain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6EknwERf3o)

Fight on the Lake (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGq6FXcpxtY&feature=related)

Couldn't find any screen caps that would do any of the scenes justice, video definitely works better.

[$LakerGold]

Journey to the center of the earth

[DonDadda59]

Blade Runner. It probably wouldn't even be that great of a movie if not for how beautiful it ended up being. I really hadn't ever watched it before a couple months ago, and it made me wish that somebody would dump the CGI special effects for a movie and go back to what Blade Runner did.

completely agree. The atmosphere felt real even though it was set in a fictional future. They didn't over do it with the cgi but it was still extremely effective. One of my favorite scenes of any film is the rooftop 'time to die' speech the rutger hauer's android gives.

[Fatal9]

Hero had some really memorable scenes.


The Conformist - great use of lighting throughout, lots of scenes that have just stuck in my memory since I watched it, entire film is beautiful.

http://i44.tinypic.com/317b19k.jpg
http://oi39.tinypic.com/10pdkt2.jpg
http://i2.tinypic.com/6tp3zgw.png
http://oi41.tinypic.com/npf3g4.jpg
http://oi39.tinypic.com/dwp740.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/35bcqhk.jpg

[mrpuente]

Any Zhang Yimou film.

He also directed the Beijing 2008 olympic games opening ceremony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUy9OgRRXnw

[Velocirap31]

Big Fish

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTBVni5RbP7flfm0ZsEWLJwZfdj3kbzy Fgbo5yZ-ZhROqUrLoQ4xw

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS6SxmlZpjvvwGidoy5T8MnSw5m6liQ1 ttnqaVU925TnqW4YExYC8_WDNq14w

[blablabla]

a single man

[Alan]

Avatar was pretty extraordinary.

[CAAIDN]

The Fall

http://i41.tinypic.com/73ndlf.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/3476zpu.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/11awrux.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/1h2mc5.jpg

Raise The Red Lantern

http://i39.tinypic.com/33mwlsw.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2usy25t.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/nvzewh.jpg

[heyhey]

Raise The Red Lantern

http://i39.tinypic.com/33mwlsw.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2usy25t.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/nvzewh.jpg

dang I had forgotten about this film Zhang yimo always uses color effectively

I think First Desires should get a mention. spotty film but Hamilton is a very good photographer

http://www.8weekly.nl/images/art/8691_premiers_a.jpg


many scenes not safe for work

[rufuspaul]

A Passage To India
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/passagetoIndia.jpg

Barry Lyndon
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/barry_lyndon_reverse.jpg

Kundun
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/kundun.jpg

[Nick Young]

Avatar was pretty extraordinary.
i saw this move just the other day on my family's HD TV and it looked like a goddamn x-box game, didn't translate at all well when it's not on a cinema with 3D glasses to hide the fakeness. It just looks like a fancy version of Halo-unoriginal bullshit, I dunno about you guys but I was rooting for the humans as they mowed down they giant blue giraffe people:bowdown:

and the susan sarandon alien looked like a joke, goddamn dont know how this shitty movie made so much money looking back

[ROCSteady]

i saw this move just the other day on my family's HD TV and it looked like a goddamn x-box game, didn't translate at all well when it's not on a cinema with 3D glasses to hide the fakeness. It just looks like a fancy version of Halo-unoriginal bullshit, I dunno about you guys but I was rooting for the humans as they mowed down they giant blue giraffe people:bowdown:

and the susan sarandon alien looked like a joke, goddamn dont know how this shitty movie made so much money looking back


:no: That's Sigourney ni99a

[AboveTheRim.]

Avatar was pretty extraordinary.

I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned earlier, I thought the main reason for it's popularity was how beautiful Pandora looked.

http://modernpensees.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/avatar-pandora.jpg

[Jackass18]

Kagemusha comes to mind

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews10/kagemsuha_/kagemusha_Kagemusha005criterion_.jpg
http://i2.listal.com/image/1223189/600full.jpg

Or, pretty much any Kurosawa movie

[TheMan]

The Shining by Kubrick, his use of both scenery and musical background of the Overlook Hotel is haunting...anything by Mallick.

[embersyc]

http://www.myconfinedspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/1177459771894.gif

http://drkronner.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/celebrity-blog-natalie-portman.gif

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luosplkC241r1sr8w.gif

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luosv6BQrn1r1sr8w.gif

Umm, just kidding I mean 2001, I mean the movie is like a screensaver.

[StroShow4]

Meicode posted the one I came in to post.

[KevinNYC]

I haven't seen this Terrance Malick film (78')... or Badlands (73')...
So I'm guessing you really liked it?
Terrance Malick is 'kinda' a friend to the family... or at least his brother was...
When he was filming Tree of Life, his brother killed himself (Chris)... which is sad because that movie was about his other brother that committed suicide Larry)

You should definitely check out Badlands and Day's of Heaven. All his movies are interesting, but those two are the best. Any one who is serious about movies should see those two. His style of filmmaking is different from standard movies. The narrative/drama is secondary to the imagery, so it feels more like a poem or myth than a play.

Days of Heaven is just incredibly beautiful.

His images stay in your mind. I can close my eyes right and see the Natives discovering the English settlers in The New World or the soldiers climbing through the tall grass in The Thin Red Line.

[glidedrxlr22]

Quest for Fire

[andgar923]

*insert Asian film name here*

Seriously..... Asian movies are a work of art, even in the horror genres. The colors, angles, lighting, just brilliant and beautiful.

Even bad Asians films usually have great visuals. Imo they're steps ahead of us in this aspect.

[andgar923]

Big Wet Assess:roll:
:applause:

[andgar923]

This 30 minute episode of Masters of Horror>>>> most American movies (yes even art house films).

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

Almost every frame of this episode can be a portrait.

[Fatal9]

*insert Asian film name here*

Seriously..... Asian movies are a work of art, even in the horror genres. The colors, angles, lighting, just brilliant and beautiful.

Even bad Asians films usually have great visuals. Imo they're steps ahead of us in this aspect.
Chungking Express brah.

[Draz]

All of the SAW movies.. Iron door... buried...

[sick_brah07]

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luosplkC241r1sr8w.gif

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luosv6BQrn1r1sr8w.gif

Umm, just kidding I mean 2001, I mean the movie is like a screensaver.


oh my sweet god what is this from???????????

[Timmy D for MVP]

Warhorse. Like I said in my review of in in the rate thread it was a masterpiece of a movie in terms of putting it together.

Unfortunately screenshots of this one are still in the baby stages since it's still "only" available in theaters.

[entropy35]

The Talented Mr Ripley staring Matt Damon was pretty good.

[El Kabong]

The American and The Limits of Control both have some beautiful scenery.

[RedBlackAttack]

I came in here to post Thin Red Line, but someone beat me to it.

Others...

Road to Perdition
Motorcycle Diaries
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
American Beauty
Man On Wire
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Shining
Full Metal Jacket
Deer Hunter
Schindler's List
Rosemary's Baby
The Pianist

[andgar923]

I came in here to post Thin Red Line, but someone beat me to it.

Others...

Road to Perdition
Motorcycle Diaries
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
American Beauty
Man On Wire
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Shining
Full Metal Jacket
Deer Hunter
Schindler's List
Rosemary's Baby
The Pianist

That movie rarely gets any props.

Disturbing yet beautiful.

[KevinNYC]

I haven't actually watched it, but I heard it was great and want to. 7 Samurai. Only reason I haven't bought it is that I don't know if it's worth getting a movie that old on Blu Ray.

This is absolutely worth seeing and worth owning. I'll leave it up to you as to what format. The Bluray.com review gave it 4.5 for audio and video (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Seven-Samurai-Blu-ray/7737/)



This is an exceptionally strong high-definition transfer. A lot of work has gone into the restoration of Seven Samurai, and it definitely shows - a lot of the daylight scenes, for instance, look quite remarkable; clarity and contrast levels are without a doubt the best I have ever seen. Furthermore, many of the close-ups which traditionally have been very problematic now look fresh and healthy. The color-scheme is also better balanced; the blacks are richer while the variety of grays and whites are pleasingly stable. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. I noticed some mild background flicker popping up here and there, as well as a few frame transition issues, but both are obviously inherited. Some minor flecks and scratches are also present, but again, due to a variety of different source limitations they have been retained. Specific noise and grain reductions have been applied, but the film's grain structure is very much intact. Lastly, I did not see any serious compression artifacts while projecting the film. All in all, I feel confident in stating that this release will be referred to as the definitive presentation of Mr. Kurosawa's Seven Samurai for a very long time.

[embersyc]

oh my sweet god what is this from???????????

Black Swan

[FatComputerNerd]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned some of the following

-Legends of the Fall
-Last of the Mohicans
-Braveheart
-The Patriot
-Gangs of New York
-Apocalypto
-Enemy at the Gates
-Waterworld (I know, everyone says worst movie ever, but it was amazing visually)

[LBJ 23]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned some of the following

-Legends of the Fall
-Last of the Mohicans
-Braveheart
-The Patriot
-Gangs of New York
-Apocalypto
-Enemy at the Gates

All these had amazing cinematography.


This list :bowdown:

[Thorpesaurous]

For rich, silky, dense black and white, check out The Man Who Wasn't There.

Among the Coens' more overlooked work.

[rufuspaul]

Into The Blue

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f80/rufuspaul/jessica_alaba_into_the_blue_1080p-04.jpg

[ukplayer4]

days of heaven and the fountain spring to mind

[Dictator]

transformers 3/thread

[hoopaddict08]

http://admintell.napco.com/ee/images/uploads/gamertell/lord_of_the_rings_trilogy_blu_ray_photo_07.jpg

Lord of the Ring movies?