When someone mentions “visually stunning films”, it’s easy to associate this with films that lack real content, and instead are based mainly on images without portraying anything truly significant. The fact that these films are so relevant visually doesn’t mean that they don’t still tell a great story.
In fact, most of the films here are also considered some of the best from the last four years, and with reason. The wonderful collaborations between these directors, cinematographers, production, art and costume designers, colourists, etc., are most often built around a story, working towards the best ways to capture and express it in order to make fantastic and overwhelming visual experiences.
Over the last few years, a lot of filmmakers have been coming up with completely distinct storytelling formats, experimenting and toying with unusual mediums and styles. Featuring some of the most awe-inspiring American Indies and Hollywood films, and a few foreign films and collaborations, here are the 10 most visually stunning films from 2000 to 2021 – in no specific order.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
Cinematographer: Janusz Kamiński
Ever since “Schindler’s List” Janusz Kaminski has been known as Spielberg’s go-to DP, but it was on this far smaller film by painter Julian Schnabel that the great Polish cinematographer created his most emotionally resonant and powerful images. The film is small in scope, told from the point-of-view of a man in the prime of his life who, after a stroke, is left completely paralyzed except for his left eyelid.
Kaminski uses a wide variety of different techniques – playing with shutter angles, frame rates and digital effects – to make the images feel as if they are the product of the protagonist’s obscured vision. But the film is more than visual gimmickry; while Schnabel is best known as a painter, on “Diving Bell,” it was Kaminski holding the brush. Each image carries with it the heightened emotional state of a character clinging to his humanity – each glimpse or memory tinged with a powerful glimpse of hope, desperation and loss. Never has cinematography been used to express subjectivity with subtle touches, transforming a nifty visual conceit into a remarkable piece of art. — CO
Moonlight (2016)
Cinematographer: James Laxton
Moonlight tells a coming of age story in three parts: a boy (Little), a teenager (Chiron), and a man (Black), each navigating the inner confusions of his sexuality, living in the impoverished Miami suburb of Liberty City. Moonlight is widely considered one of the 21st century's best films, picking up Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards. But that's not why we think you should watch it.
The script is based on a play written by Tarell Alvin McCraney titled In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.
Director Barry Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton tried bringing that visual to life, contrasting the rich complexities of their character's skin tones with the surprising depth of vibrant colours throughout the film. It's this contrast throughout the film's colour scheme that makes it so aesthetically unique. Liberty City is saturated with greens in grass and trees, yellows of public housing, white walls striped with dark blues in school, neon pink in the darkness of Chiron's home, and the endlessly colourful Florida backdrop. Our focus is continuously drawn to newly introduced colours as the story progresses, both in the daylight and in the darkness of night—Moonlight is unrelenting in its beauty.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Cinematographer: Roger Deakins
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford marked Roger Deakin’s foray into Westerns. His stunning work helps us immerse ourselves into a world that Roger Hansen envisioned in his historical novel. Creating this distinctive look required extensive scouting for locations. Since the plot required snow for certain scenes, Roger’s team had to keep revising their schedules. In fact, an entire town was built up in the Rockies for some scenes towards the end of the film.
One of the most memorable sequences of the film is the train robbery that happens towards the beginning of the film. Andrew Dominik wanted to shoot it in a large train, but budgetary constraints meant that they needed to improvise. A remote town in Edmonton with a smaller train and a little loop of railway was used instead. Roger uses only a single light held in the front of the train to light up the entire frame. Additional lighting came only in the form of lanterns held by the characters within the shot. His camera work lends the train a much larger presence visually.
Interstellar (2014)
Cinematographer: Hoyte van Hoytema
Along the same line as Gravity, Interstellar boasts a celebrity cast against an exceedingly powerful, outer-space backdrop. Starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, this space film follows a group of explorers who must go beyond our solar system to find a planet that can sustain life due to the rapidly deteriorating conditions on Earth.
The past few years have brought multiple outer space films to the silver screen, but this is arguably the most stunning of them all. The contrast between the isolation of space and the bustling, worsening conditions on Earth is breathtaking, heartbreaking and everything in between. Plus, the film brought home an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Cinematographer: Robert Elswit
This isn't only visually stunning in the sense that it stars the incredibly handsome Daniel Day-Lewis, we all know he's visually stunning. The movie itself depicts a landscape from the early 20th century and makes the hyper-realism increase when depicting aspects of violence, mortality and methods in which oil was extracted. In order to really appreciate this film, I think, you have to watch it quite a few times because there are so many things you'd want to see that you may have accidentally missed.
Often called the greatest film of the 21st century, and in my opinion one of the greatest films ever made - it is an experience of modern cinema that we have never seen before and will possibly never see again. As you can tell, I was dying to put this at number one, but I didn't want to make the classic cinema fans angry, you know how they get...
Hero (2002)
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle
Early 2000s were the golden era of Asian cinema sailing through the international waters. The fascination with majestic landscapes, and exotic costumes opened doors for many stories shipped from China, Japan and other Asian countries. However, among titles like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), House of Flying Daggers (2004) and Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), it was Hero (2002) which offered the most astonishing cinematography.
Hero (2002) found actor Jet Li play Nameless, an officer who is called for an audience in King of Qin’s palace. The story unveils a mind-game of chess played between the head of state and an ordinary soldier, alas the chances of winning aren’t exactly equal. Yimou Zhang, the man behind the camera of Hero (2002), has an unhurried manner of directing, but that slow cinema vibe pays off with the monumental, multifaceted work of Christopher Doyle.
Not a single shot in Hero (2002) feels out of the bigger picture. Doyle culls inspiration from Chinese tales and stories to conjure a world of rich cultural context that feels incredibly authentic. Whether it’s an exhilarating dance or a fight sequence or even a stoic freeze, Doyle has the right composure to pull it all off without hesitation. Therefore, Hero (2002) remains one of the most visually stunning movies of all time.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013)
Cinematographer: Sofian El Fani
In this film, it was essential that the visuals reflected the various stages of falling in and out of love. The continuous hand held shots follow the characters around like a documentary piece, and the constant use of close up shots are not only used to get the audience’s attention, but to better portray emotions – which on its own is wonderful to watch.
Light is very natural, as mostly windows and doors are used as sources. The English translation of the title has a bigger motif: it’s common sense that blue is usually a “cold” color, and never used as a representation of love. There’s a deep connection between this fact and how the narrative plays out, when it’s used in so many elements involving the two main characters. We see this colour – primarily associated with positive things in the beginning – vanish as the mood of the film becomes darker and problems and doubts arise. Loaded with symbolism and powerful cinematography, it is one of the most visually singular films in recent memory.
La La Land (2016)
Cinematography: Linus Sandgren
One gets the feeling that Linus Sandgren’s impeccable work was overlooked amidst the battle between La La Land and Moonlight for Best Picture. Director Damien Chazelle particularly liked Linus’s camera work in American Hustle which often swirled around its characters, mirroring their frantic internal state. Sandgren revealed in an interview that one of the things they talked about was how they wanted the camera to tell the story in an interactive way.
In La La Land, Linus Sandgren treats his camera like a musical instrument with a rhythm of its own, lending the songs a heightened, almost magical feel. This lines up perfectly with the idea of musicals long being seen as an escape from reality. The aesthetic that mimics the technicolor of Old Hollywood makes us feel instantly nostalgic. Damien and Linus use colors to signify character development. When we first see Mia, there’s eye-popping color everywhere indicating her desire to be associated with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Meanwhile, Sebastian’s room is shown in monochrome, indicating his intentions of staying true to his art. This play of colors continues throughout the film giving us a clear idea of their identities.
Linus would spot the light on a character as the camera moved in on them to give us the sense that they were performing on stage. He uses long continuous shots to reinforce that all of this is happening for real despite the dream-like backdrop. These artistic decisions had me convinced that this is Linus’ best work yet.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Cinematographer: Roger Deakins
After a slew of nominations, (13 to be precise) Roger Deakins finally won an Oscar for Best Cinematography for his ground-breaking work in Blade Runner 2049. This was Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to the beloved Ridley Scott sci-fi classic.With the script picking up the story from the original, Roger had to meticulously recreate the visual language of the 1982 film. His take on the distinctive world of Blade Runner would involve the use of organic lighting and idiosyncratic geometric patterns. Roger uses darkness not just for the sake of it, but intelligently to play around with our knowledge. Take the storm scene towards the end of the film. We know that they’re on the sea, but we’re only revealed much later about how deep the water body is.
Yet another talking point of Blade Runner 2049 is its unique visual palette. Think of the intense red, dusty atmosphere surrounding the Las Vegas sequence. Denis and Deakins worked together and storyboarded the whole film before shooting was slated to commence. They dissected every scene and talked about the kind of colors that could be used in each scene.
Waves (2019)
Cinematography: Drew Daniels
If this list has shown anything, it's that sometimes the saddest and darkest stories are told in starkly contrasted beauty. That fact is not lost on writer-director Trey Edward Shults and his 2019 romance drama, Waves. The film, told in two separate stories, follows a South Florida suburban family's journey before and through an unthinkable moment of horror, as well as their struggle to stay together in its aftermath.
Waves is a visual collaboration of intriguing camera work, natural lighting, and striking settings. The movie feels most genuine because it draws from Shults' real life and family, but it also gives a sense that the lens is capturing reality and improvisation. It's like the camera is gliding through the scenes rather than shooting them. That feel also comes in large part thanks to the thoughtful and emotional performances of the entire cast. Finally, the film's soundtrack, including the likes of Frank Ocean, Tame Impala, Kendrick Lamar, and Chance the Rapper, was embedded by Shults into the script and feels as important for scene-setting as the dialogue itself.
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