Cinema extends to more than just a visual medium, but that component keeps us coming back. The sense of awe seeing the completely unexpected is unmatched. Few cinematographers have the skill to deliver it, but this year we have an abundance in beauty. Keep in mind we are taking in account all elements of cinematography from camera movement, composition choices, lighting choices, etc. Before we get to the 15 films that impressed the most, I’d like to note a few specific favorite moments:
The best long take of 2010 goes to the stadium shot in The Secret In Their Eyes. While stitched together digitally, like Children of Men, the sequence is one of the most stunning of the year. Runner-up goes to the Black Swan transformation scene and Let Me In‘s car scene.
Black Swan also takes two more of my arbitrarily made-up awards, the best blink-and-you-miss it shot goes to Mila Kunis seemingly coming out of Natalie Portman‘s body in a mirror shot. It occurs before the much-talked about sex scene. Aronofsky has said that it was completely by chance, and they failed to recapture it every time cinematographer Matthew Libatique tried. It also has the best opening shot of the year, a mesmerizing ballet sequence.
As for best final shot, Dogtooth, The Social Network, Inception are up there thematic wise, but for simply best cinematography coupled with packing the punch, top prize goes to Bong Joon-ho‘s Mother.
On the negative side, The Last Airbender had some of the worst cinematography for a blockbuster this year, while James L. Brooks‘ How Do You Know had the most unfitting cinematography for its genre. Lensed by the one of the best, Janusz Kaminski, the dreamlike quality made the film feel straight out of a Target commercial, losing any sense of reality. Now we can forget about How Do You Know forever and get to get good stuff:
I’ve decided to not put these choices into words, and rather count down the films with striking images from each. If you’ve seen the film, you’ll know why it is on the list and if you haven’t, you should seek it out.
15. The King’s Speech (Danny Cohen)
14. Fish Tank (Robbie Ryan)
13. Winter’s Bone (Michael McDonough)
12. Shutter Island (Robert Richardson)
11. How To Train Your Dragon (visual consultant: Roger Deakins)
10. 127 Hours (Enrique Chediak & Anthony Dod Mantle)
9. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Bill Pope)
8. True Grit (Roger Deakins)
7. Black Swan (Matthew Libatique)
6. Sweetgrass (Lucien Castaing-Taylor)
5. The Social Network (Jeff Cronenweth)
4. I Am Love (Yorick Le Saux)
3. Valhalla Rising (Morten Søborg)
2. The American (Martin Ruhe)
1. Enter The Void (Benoît Debie)
What was your favorite cinematography of 2010? Your favorite scene?