Well folks, now that the year in moviegoing has nearly come to a close, it’s time to take a look back at some of the most visually memorable movie moments of 2015. This has been a year of great-looking films, on both a large and small scale. “Tangerine,” shot on the iPhone 5s, found a gritty beauty in some of L.A.’s more squalid corners; Roger Deakins turned borderland savagery into bleak poetry with “Sicario;” and the great Ed Lachman transported audiences back to postwar suburban America in the luminous “Carol” (there’s also the lingering promise of a little film called “The Hateful Eight,” whose presentation for select audiences in 70mm Panavision has already caused a great deal of fuss). For those of you curious to relive the year in moving pictures, here’s a brief collection of some of 2015’s most stunning cinematic images.
READ MORE: The Best Cinematography Of 2015
The video opens with voiceover discussing spatial relationships in regards to cinematic framing before delving into some particularly noteworthy visual examples from the year in film. And what a year it’s been: from the merciless winter vistas and godless grandeur conjured by Emmanuel Lubezki in “The Revenant” to the more subdued but equally audacious formalism accomplished by István Borbás and Gergely Pálos in “A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,” this has been a year packed with big, bracing, and unforgettable big-screen visions. It will be interesting to see who is recognized for their work come Awards season (in this writer’s opinion, it would be awesome to see George Miller and D.P. John Seale get their proper dues for the uncompromising hell-on-earth vision that is “Mad Max: Fury Road”), but one thing is for certain: all of the films selected here look great and all are worthy of our admiration and repeated study.
Check out the video, courtesy of Fandor, below.
Short films brim with wonderful cinematography, and usually more interesting ideas. Bum Rap – A Noir Fantasy is one such film.
This makes me wonder if the Cinematography category should be split again as it was when it was Black and White and Color. Are the period piece designs and costume numbers comparable to films with impressive science fiction and action design set pieces? Seems like there should be two categories to appreciate both. This list alone shows the range of design for 50s Carol to late Victorian Crimson Peak and uber spectacle Mad Max and SF for Ex Machina.
This could go into more detail on why they were good.