Re: Best Cinematography 1988
Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:47 pm
I don't know why it's taken me so long to get around to commenting on this batch. Maybe because lots of people have already said whatever I was going to say.
In addition to other alternatives people have thrown around, I'd mention A Cry in the Dark -- the shots of people doing a candlelight search have stuck in my brain. Gorillas n the Mist would seem to also be in general Academy range.
So, as noted previously: the branch was still clannish, but they upped their game a bit by singling out minor work by better practitioners. Tequila Sunrise is a disposable film (disappointing for those of us who hoped Robert Towne had another Chinatown in him), but it looks pretty good (I disagree with BJ here). It was clearly the Conrad Hall signature, though, that got it nominated, and, god help us, enabled it to win the Guild award that year.
Rain Man's citation was clearly part of the overall best picture campaign. It wasn't bad-looking, but a less-touted contender with the same achievement would never have made the cut.
I see Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as mostly a production design/visual effects effort, but the overall look of the film was seamless enough that I guess you can't dismiss the nomination.
Because this year's field was on the whole lackluster, I'd held out hope my long-shot favorite might slip through, so Mississippi Burning's victory was one of my bigger disappointments that night. But I can see how, if you're limiting yourself to highest-profile contenders -- i.e., best picture nominees -- the film would seem an acceptable winner. However shrill the film's narrative might be, the visuals capture the hazy feel of Southern small-towns pretty well.
But The Unbearable Lightness of Being is in another league, as both a film and a work of cinematography. There are so many great images n the film -- the scenes in the pool, the peek-a-boo game in Sabina's studio, the extraordinary crushing of the Prague rebellion. This is truly the only real choice.
In addition to other alternatives people have thrown around, I'd mention A Cry in the Dark -- the shots of people doing a candlelight search have stuck in my brain. Gorillas n the Mist would seem to also be in general Academy range.
So, as noted previously: the branch was still clannish, but they upped their game a bit by singling out minor work by better practitioners. Tequila Sunrise is a disposable film (disappointing for those of us who hoped Robert Towne had another Chinatown in him), but it looks pretty good (I disagree with BJ here). It was clearly the Conrad Hall signature, though, that got it nominated, and, god help us, enabled it to win the Guild award that year.
Rain Man's citation was clearly part of the overall best picture campaign. It wasn't bad-looking, but a less-touted contender with the same achievement would never have made the cut.
I see Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as mostly a production design/visual effects effort, but the overall look of the film was seamless enough that I guess you can't dismiss the nomination.
Because this year's field was on the whole lackluster, I'd held out hope my long-shot favorite might slip through, so Mississippi Burning's victory was one of my bigger disappointments that night. But I can see how, if you're limiting yourself to highest-profile contenders -- i.e., best picture nominees -- the film would seem an acceptable winner. However shrill the film's narrative might be, the visuals capture the hazy feel of Southern small-towns pretty well.
But The Unbearable Lightness of Being is in another league, as both a film and a work of cinematography. There are so many great images n the film -- the scenes in the pool, the peek-a-boo game in Sabina's studio, the extraordinary crushing of the Prague rebellion. This is truly the only real choice.