Best Cinematography 1960

1927/28 through 1997
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What was the best B&W and oClor Cinematography from amongst the 1960 Oscar nominees?

The Apartment (Joseph LaShelle)
0
No votes
The Facts of Life (Charles Lang)
0
No votes
Inherit the Wind (Ernest Laszlo)
0
No votes
Psycho (John L. Russell)
9
41%
Sons and Lovers (Freddie Francis)
3
14%
The Alamo (William H. Clothier)
0
No votes
BUtterfield 8 (Joseph Ruttenberg, Charles Harten)
0
No votes
Exodus (Sam Leavitt)
1
5%
Pepe (Joseph MacDonald)
0
No votes
Spartacus (Russell Metty)
9
41%
 
Total votes: 22

The Original BJ
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Re: Best Cinematography 1960

Post by The Original BJ »

The cinematographers often filled out the black-and-white category in this era with mid-tier Oscar contenders that generally got a handful of nominations, regardless of whether or not the photography was notable. Ergo, the nomination for The Facts of Life, despite little in the way of visual distinction.

Inherit the Wind is a bit more understandable -- I can recall some torch-lit nighttime exteriors that popped out -- but on the whole it's mostly filmed play territory, without the level of invention that made something like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? so striking.

I'd say The Apartment is definitely a more elegantly shot comedy than many of its era -- the lighting and compositions in the office sets, for instance, give a real sense of the mundanity and oppressiveness of mid-century work life. I don't think it's quite enough of a visual wow to get my vote, but it's a worthy nominee.

Like most, I debated between the remaining two, and I do think the Academy made a perfectly admirable choice with Sons and Lovers. The comparatively brief period of film history when widescreen black-and-white was prominent left behind a group of films that often used the larger screen to capture some really impressive landscapes, as this film does, with its detailed portrait of an English mining community and its nearby countryside. It's artful, evocative work.

But Psycho has just too many all-time legendary shots to pass up: the headlights following Marion on her drive out of town, Marion looking through the rain-soaked windshield to see the lights of the Bates Motel, the imposing house on the hill, Norman staring through the peep hole, the final close-up in the shower scene, the overhead shot of the stairway murder, the single overhead bulb that illuminates the reveal of Norman's mother, the final shot with Norman surrounded by stark white light. The film is a master class in the use of lighting and framing to create suspense, and gets my vote as the finest photographic achievement of the year.
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Re: Best Cinematography 1960

Post by Big Magilla »

I guess this as good a place as any to stop and put these surveys on hiatus for the busy holiday and awards seasons.

We'll pick up again with 1959 after the Oscars.
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Re: Best Cinematography 1960

Post by Reza »

B/W
1. Sons and Lovers
2. The Apartment
3. Psycho
4. Inherit the Wind
5. The Facts of Life

Colour
1. Spartacus
2. Exodus
3. The Alamo
4. BUtterfield 8
5. Pepe
Big Magilla
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Re: Best Cinematography 1960

Post by Big Magilla »

Precious Doll wrote:
Big Magilla wrote:Night and Fog in Japan[/i] was not released in the U.S. until 1985 when the post-Limelight rule was probably in effect barring nominations for films more than a few years old (is it two or three?) from nominations.
Off topic but does that mean the Welles film won't be up for Academy consideration this year?
Good question. I couldn't find the official rule on Oscars.org but considering the film was just completed and not previously released, it may qualify outside that rule but it's ineligible for a different reason, anyway.

Question on Oscars.org:
Can my film have nontheatrical distribution (broadcast and cable television, PPV/VOD, DVD distribution, Internet transmission, streaming) and still be eligible for Academy Award consideration?

Answer:
Yes, but not before the first day of the qualifying theatrical release. If the film has previously received nontheatrical distribution before its qualifying theatrical release then it cannot qualify for Academy consideration.

Netflix released it on the internet on November 2nd prior to any theatrical showing in L.A. or anywhere else in the U.S.
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Re: Best Cinematography 1960

Post by Precious Doll »

Big Magilla wrote:Night and Fog in Japan[/i] was not released in the U.S. until 1985 when the post-Limelight rule was probably in effect barring nominations for films more than a few years old (is it two or three?) from nominations.
Off topic but does that mean the Welles film won't be up for Academy consideration this year?
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Re: Best Cinematography 1960

Post by Big Magilla »

You beat me to the punch! I just checked on Wild River. It did include archival footage in black-and-white, but yes, it was a color film that should have been under consideration in that category.

Substitute The Virgin Spring, Hiroshima, Mon Amour, Never on Sunday or Conspiracy of Hearts.

Purple Noon and La Dolce Vita were eligible in 1961, Peeping Tom and Black Cross aka Knights of the Teutonic Order in 1962 and When a Woman Ascends the Stairs in 1963. Night and Fog in Japan was not released in the U.S. until 1985 when the post-Limelight rule was probably in effect barring nominations for films more than a few years old (is it two or three?) from nominations.
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Re: Best Cinematography 1960

Post by Precious Doll »

Big Magilla wrote:Black-and-White

Ellsworth Fredericks should have gotten that slot for Wild River.
No he should not have because Wild River is in colour, though a nomination in the colour category would have been very worthy.

Black & White

I've seen four of these nominees on the big screen and they to varying degrees worthy of their nominations. My choice is between Psycho & Sons and Lovers and I selected Psycho. I've only seen The Facts of Life on the small screen and it is indeed a baffling nominee.

Colour

Spartacus was a no brainer for me but it is the only nominee I have seen on the big screen. I have watched Butterfield 8 on DVD and like the film its nomination (as well as Taylor's Best Actress win) is a joke. I have no desire to endure The Alamo or Pepe again and can't really remember what they looked like. I don't remember what Exodus looked like either but I have a Blu Ray I hope to get to sometime soon to reassess.

Omissions (a number probably not even eligible for 1960):

Purple Noon, La Dolce Vita, Peeping Tom, Knights of the Teutonic Order, Night and Fog in Japan, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs,The Sundowners & Wild River.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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Best Cinematography 1960

Post by Big Magilla »

Black-and-White

I have no idea how the silly, half-baked Bob Hope-Lucille Ball comedy, The Facts of Life earned Charles Lang a nomination alongside the four great films it was up against. Ellsworth Fredericks should have gotten that slot for Wild River.

Inherit the Wind with its beautifully shot interior scenes made a fine nominee, but the real choice was between The Apartment, Psycho and Sons and Lovers, making the win a difficult decision. In the end, I think the Academy may the right choice with the great Freddie Francis for Sons and Lovers under the supervision of Jack Cardiff who directed with his cinematographer's eye.

Color

Home from the Hill, Elmer Gantry, Sunrise at Campobello, Tunes of Glory, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Bells Are Ringing and The Sundowners would all have been better choices than the ludicrous BUtterfield 8 and Pepe but Spartacus, Exodus and The Alamo were all decent nominees and Spartacus deserved its win.
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