Film Canon | Best Cinematography
In Order of Excellence
1. Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
Cinematography - Gregg Toland
Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance.
2. I Am Cuba - Mikhail Kalatozov (1964)
Cinematography - Sergei Urusevsky
This study of Cuba--partially written by renowned poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko -
captures the island just before it made the transition to a post-revolutionary society.
captures the island just before it made the transition to a post-revolutionary society.
3. The Conformist - Bernardo Bertolucci (1970)
Cinematography - Vittorio Storaro
A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky
who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
4. Touch of Evil - Orson Welles (1958)
Cinematography - Russell Metty
Stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in Mexican border town.
5. L'Avventura - Michelangelo Antonioni (1960)
Cinematography - Aldo Scavarda
A woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip.
But during the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other.
But during the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other.
6. In the Mood for Love - Wong Kar Wai (2000)
Cinematography - Christopher Doyle, Pung-Leung Kwan, Ping Bin Lee
A man and a woman move in to neighboring Hong Kong apartments and form a bond
when they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital activities.
when they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital activities.
7. Children of Men - Alfonso Cuaron (2006)
Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate,
a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea,
where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea,
where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
8. The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)
Cinematography - Rudolph Mate
A chronicle of the trial of Jeanne d'Arc on charges of heresy,
and the efforts of her ecclesiastical jurists to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
and the efforts of her ecclesiastical jurists to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
9. Othello - Orson Welles (1952)
Cinematography - G.R. Aldo, Anchise Brizzi, George Fanto
Desdemona, daughter of a Venetian aristocrat, elopes with Moorish military hero Othello,
to the great resentment of Othello's envious underling Iago.
to the great resentment of Othello's envious underling Iago.
10. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Ang Lee (2000)
Cinematography - Peter Pau
Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled,
teenage nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.
teenage nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.
11. The Cranes are Flying - Mikhail Kalatozov (1957)
Cinematography - Sergei Urusevsky
Veronica plans a rendezvous with her lover, Boris, at the bank of river,
only for him to be drafted into World War II shortly thereafter.
only for him to be drafted into World War II shortly thereafter.
12. The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
Cinematography - Gordon Willis
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
13. Beauty and the Beast - Jean Cocteau (1946)
Cinematography - Henri Alekan
Adélaïde, Belle, Félicie and Ludovic are young adult siblings who once lived in grandeur
until their father's merchant ships were lost at sea.
until their father's merchant ships were lost at sea.
14. Ashes and Snow - Gregory Colbert (2005)
Cinematography - Acacio Almeido, Giorgos Arvanitis, Gregory Colbert, Koji Nakemura, Philippe Vene
Exploring the shared language and poetic sensibilities of all animals.
15. JFK - Oliver Stone (1991)
Cinematography - Robert Richardson
A New Orleans DA discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
16. Amores Perros - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (2000)
Cinematography - Rodrigo Prieto
A horrific car accident connects three stories, each involving characters dealing with loss,
regret, and life's harsh realities, all in the name of love.
regret, and life's harsh realities, all in the name of love.
17. Dracula - Francis Ford Coppola (1992)
Cinematography - Michael Ballhaus
The vampire comes to England to seduce a visitor's fiancée and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
18. Rashomon - Akira Kurosawa (1950)
Cinematography - Kazuo Miyagawa
A heinous crime and its aftermath are recalled from differing points of view
19. Triumph of the Will - Leni Riefenstahl (1935)
Cinematography - Sepp Allgeier
The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.
20. Pastoral: To Die in the Country - Shuji Terayama (1974)
Cinematographer - Tatsuo Suzuki
A young boys' coming of age tale set in a strange, carnivalesque village becomes the recreation of a memory that the director has twenty years later.
21. Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Cinematography - Robert Burks
Retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's much-younger wife,
all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.