Re: Best Cinematography 1983
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 1:26 pm
I'm not joking, I'm pretty sure Flashdance got this nomination because of that one backlit sequence where Jennifer Beals is posing on the chair and the water is being dumped on her. (Google "Flashdance images" and see how often shots of this come up.) I guess that was striking enough to impress the cinematographers branch. For me, this rates down there with some of the most inexplicable nominees of the '70s.
I rate WarGames a pretty solid summer movie, and its modesty is one aspect of its appeal. (No doubt the 2017 version of that movie would have climaxed with a huge blow-em-up action sequence.) But in terms of cinematography prizes, it's too modest -- I can't remember much in the way of visual distinction, though I would agree it's not the most outrageous Fraker nomination.
I'll tow the party line here on Zelig. I'm glad Willis FINALLY got a nomination, and think the newsreel look of Zelig is a fun enough pastiche. It's also probably worth pointing out that the blend between archival and new footage is pretty seamless, in an era when that wasn't even as easily accomplished as when Forrest Gump did it a decade later. But it's such a minor movie, and pales in visual scope to Willis's achievements photographing some of the best movies ever in the '70s, to say nothing of the remaining nominees.
Honestly, I'd be fine calling it a draw between Fanny and Alexander and The Right Stuff, because I think both are excellent choices.
Fanny's use of natural light -- particularly the candle lights which so often illuminate the images -- is full of warmth, and contributes immeasurably to the movie's sense of magic. And the compositions have such an artful beauty to them, you feel as if you're watching paintings come to life. I think this movie's visual textures are ravishing, with lights and shadows that bring out the sense of theatricality infused in the film's story, and find its prize here to be an absolutely praise-worthy choice.
As for The Right Stuff, it's a work of exceptional visual dynamism -- everything from Yeager's speed racing sequences to the segments in space have you constantly marveling at the inventive places Deschanel puts his camera to grip the audience. And it, too, is a film of great visual beauty, with tons of gorgeous shots -- Shepard in the desert while his plane smolders behind him, the astronauts marching up the hallway, the funeral at sunset, the Clair de Lune fan dance. It's hard to imagine photography that better sells the wonder of the space program than in this movie.
Ultimately, I'm persuaded by the case that Nykvist has other equally impressive opportunities for which he can be rewarded, but that this is Deschanel's finest hour, and I give the edge to The Right Stuff.
I rate WarGames a pretty solid summer movie, and its modesty is one aspect of its appeal. (No doubt the 2017 version of that movie would have climaxed with a huge blow-em-up action sequence.) But in terms of cinematography prizes, it's too modest -- I can't remember much in the way of visual distinction, though I would agree it's not the most outrageous Fraker nomination.
I'll tow the party line here on Zelig. I'm glad Willis FINALLY got a nomination, and think the newsreel look of Zelig is a fun enough pastiche. It's also probably worth pointing out that the blend between archival and new footage is pretty seamless, in an era when that wasn't even as easily accomplished as when Forrest Gump did it a decade later. But it's such a minor movie, and pales in visual scope to Willis's achievements photographing some of the best movies ever in the '70s, to say nothing of the remaining nominees.
Honestly, I'd be fine calling it a draw between Fanny and Alexander and The Right Stuff, because I think both are excellent choices.
Fanny's use of natural light -- particularly the candle lights which so often illuminate the images -- is full of warmth, and contributes immeasurably to the movie's sense of magic. And the compositions have such an artful beauty to them, you feel as if you're watching paintings come to life. I think this movie's visual textures are ravishing, with lights and shadows that bring out the sense of theatricality infused in the film's story, and find its prize here to be an absolutely praise-worthy choice.
As for The Right Stuff, it's a work of exceptional visual dynamism -- everything from Yeager's speed racing sequences to the segments in space have you constantly marveling at the inventive places Deschanel puts his camera to grip the audience. And it, too, is a film of great visual beauty, with tons of gorgeous shots -- Shepard in the desert while his plane smolders behind him, the astronauts marching up the hallway, the funeral at sunset, the Clair de Lune fan dance. It's hard to imagine photography that better sells the wonder of the space program than in this movie.
Ultimately, I'm persuaded by the case that Nykvist has other equally impressive opportunities for which he can be rewarded, but that this is Deschanel's finest hour, and I give the edge to The Right Stuff.