Best Cinematography 1961

1927/28 through 1997
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What was the best b&w and color cinmatography among the 1961 Oscar nominees?

The Absent-Minded Professor (Edward Colman)
0
No votes
The Children's Hour (Franz Planer)
2
8%
The Hustler (Eugen Schufftan)
8
31%
Judgment at Nuremberg (Ernst Laszlo)
3
12%
One, Two, Three (Daniel L. Fapp)
1
4%
Fanny (Jack Cardiff)
2
8%
Flower Drum Song (Russell Metty)
1
4%
A Majority of One (Harry Stradling Sr.)
1
4%
One-Eyed Jacks (Charles Lang)
3
12%
West Side Story (Jack L. Fapp)
5
19%
 
Total votes: 26

Mister Tee
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Re: Best Cinematography 1961

Post by Mister Tee »

What an effort I had to put in to be able to comment on this group (since I'm determined to be the sort of honest "saw 'em all" voter I'd be in real time). The black and white crew wasn't at issue, as I'd seen all of them, including one in a theatre (points if you can spot which one a 9-year old would have been likely to see that way). But the color nominees included three -- count 'em, three -- movies I'd managed to avoid for most of my long life.

On the black and white side, La Dolce Vita and Rocco and His Brothers are glaring omissions; both would have contended for my win had they been listed.

And somehow The Absent-Minded Professor was deemed more worthy of inclusion, likely because it was a monster hit (and, yes, the one I saw in theatre). The cinematography in Disney movies was nearly always cheesy (people in 1976 said parts of Hitchcock's Family Plot looked like a Disney movie, and that was not meant as compliment); this film is no exception, even if I have fond childhood memories of it. (Though The Shaggy Dog was dearer to my heart.)

One, Two, Three has nothing to visually distinguish it. Wilder had made many films that used B&W artfully (Double Indemnity, Stalag 17, Some Like It Hot), but here there was nothing worth noting.

The Children's Hour makes decent use of its mostly interior sets, but its nomination feels like "we have to nominate something here". (B&W films were on their way to oblivion, and many 60s nominations in this category point to that trend.)

If the cinematographer had anything to do with encouraging Kramer to do those irritating 360-degree pans of the courtroom, he ought to be eliminated on that basis alone.

The Hustler is the clear achievement of this group -- from the smoky pool rooms to the desolation of the early morning cafeteria, it captures an atmosphere that makes its story feel more lived-in than an other film on the list.

So, on to color. Breakfast at Tiffany's is the clear missing film of merit. I'm just glad they didn't nominate El Cid, sparing me having to endure the full three hours of that.

Somehow, I'd managed to go through life without ever seeing any version of Flower Drum Song (and only knowing a few of the songs, like Grant Avenue and I Enjoy Being a Girl). My take on it was (1) it's pretty close to generic plot (compared to the rest of Rodgers & Hammerstein, which had more complex stories) and (2) it's amazing that Crazy Rich Asians, five-plus decades later, is still using that "parents disapprove of who I marry" thing as the central conflict. Is this the only plot Hollywood thinks of when Asians are involved? The movie's look is okay, but pales beside the year's other ethnic musical.

A Majority of One is deeply hobbled by ridiculous casting -- not just using Guinness as a Japanese man (a ludicrousness also seen in the Broadway run, where Cedric Hardwicke played the role), but doubling down by asking Rosalind Russell to play a part fashioned around Gertrude Berg. Yet...I kind of enjoyed the movie -- not in any significant way, but as a reminder of the times when Broadway produced crowd-pleasing but semi-intelligent human comedies. As a cinematography nominee, though, it's rather a joke.

Though I worked hard to get all the nominees under my belt, I'm still a bit uneasy about voting, because, based on what Precious Doll wrote here, I'm afraid I saw an unrepresentative print of One-Eyed Jacks. It's the most current one Netflix has available (only watched it this week), but it matches the description Precious gave of his earlier viewing. In fact, watching it, I was thinking, there's no way a studio would have let something so washed-out-looking be released under its banner, so I must conclude it's an old, faded print, and that a viewing of a restored version would change my outlook. However (1) I've already put more effort into this 1961 race than it's worth and (2) I doubt I could push myself to watch the film a second time (I've seen too much Karl Malden as it is). So, a perhaps unfair pass from me.

Fanny I've seen a few times over the years, and, while it pales next to the original French trilogy, lack of prettiness is not one of its flaws.

But why take the prize away from West Side Story, which is still (given its age) rather impressive visually -- from the landmark opening prologue, through the gaudy dance at the gym, to the delicately lit fire escape/balcony, and the final schoolyard tragedy? My fond childhood memories of the film (yep: saw this one in a theatre, as well) have not faded enough for me to deny it my vote.
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Re: Best Cinematography 1961

Post by Precious Doll »

What a mish mash of nominee's. To be honest aside from The Hustler I don't think any of them really standout.

B&W

I've seen The Hustler, One Two Three & The Children's Hour on the big screen as well as Blu Ray/DVD. The Children's Hour is my favourite film of 1961 and though well shot there is nothing really special about that aspect of the film. The Hustler on the other hand makes great use of the widescreen for not only it's pool shots but the intimacy of the piece as well. One, Two, Three is perfectly serviceable but nothing special.

Having only seeing Judgement at Nuremberg on the VHS I recall it looking fairly impressive but must confess that having only viewed it in that format has probably done judging its photography a disservice. I really can't recall much about The Absent-Minded Professor (better than the Robin Williams remake decades later though) but to be honest if you had asked me before seeing the poll if it was shot in B&W or Colour, I would have said colour. :oops:

The Hustler easily gets my vote.

Colour

I voted for One-Eyed Jack. I first saw it in a faded bootleg VHS print decades ago, however, recently saw the restoration on Blu Ray and what a stunning difference that makes to the visuals. Absolutely gorgeous looking film, even if Brando's pacing is some what off. I voted for it.

I saw West Side Story on the big screen over 30 years ago and it certainly looked good from what I can recall. No doubt my second choice. The remaining three were all seen on VHS. Flower Drum Story was probably the best looking. I didn't care for Fanny in any respect so it looses points here and to be honest I don't recall A Majority of One.

Omissions abound this year: The Innocents, La Notte, Pigs and Battleships, The End of Summer (Ozu film that has several English titles), Through a Glass Darkly, Two Women, The Misfits, Virdiana, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Leon Morin Pretre, Mother Jean of the Angels & Antigone. As usual foreign language films get short-shifted.
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Reza
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Re: Best Cinematography 1961

Post by Reza »

B/W
1. The Hustler
2. Judgement at Nuremberg
3. One, Two, Three
4. The Children's Hour
5. The Absent-Minded Professor

Colour
1. Fanny
2. Flower Drum Song
3. West Side Story
4. One-Eyed Jacks
5. A Majority of One
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Best Cinematography 1961

Post by Big Magilla »

Black-and-White

The obvious omissions are the year's eligible non-Hollywood films, La Dolce Vita, L'Avventura,Two Women and Rocco and His Brothers from Italy, Breathless from France, Ballad of a Soldier from the U.S.S.R. and The Bridge from West Germany to cite the most obvious.

Certainly, there should have been room for La Dolce Vita, if nothing else, over the box-office hit The Absent-Minded Professor.

The Children's Hour doesn't rise to the level of some of the other foreign films mentioned above, but would be a perfectly decent nominee if it weren't for those that were overlooked. The Hustler, Judgment at Nuremberg and One, Two, Three are all terrific nominees with Judgment at Nuremberg the one I would give it to in the absence of La Dolce Vita.

Color

I recently re-watched all four Best Picture Oscar winning musicals of the decade and found My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and Oliver! to be as splendid as ever. On the other hand, I found West Side Story to be something of a bore from its opening credits to just about all the scenes with the Jets. Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno, on the other hand, stand up to the test of time. Richard Beymer now seems terribly bland and Russ Tamblyn way too old for his character. George Chakiris really doesn't have enough screen time to make much of an impression. His Oscar win remains one of the biggest head-scratchers. While I might still nominate it in many of the categories it won, including this one, I certainly wouldn't support the boatload it took home.

One-Eyed Jacks and A Majority of One are OK nominees, but Breakfast at Tiffany's, Splendor in the Grass andSummer and Smoke would all have been better.

Flower Drum Song may not be as good a musical overall as West Side Story but its cinematography holds up very well, thank you.

My choice for the win, however, is the film that should have been a musical, but thanks to its director retains its Broadway score but omits its vocals. That, of course, is Fanny photographed by the incomparable Jack Cardiff.
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