# Technically Amazing Movies?



## NeverGlassImaging (Mar 14, 2010)

I'm posting this on a photo forum because I am tired of noobs who have no idea what I am talking about.  

As a photographer, I see right away when movies have incredible production values, like great lighting, sharpness, frame composition, post production, etc.  Adversely, I see when movies are terribly lit, exposed, processed and directed.

*So like I said, my definition of a technically amazing movie is one with superb lighting, exposure, sharpness, composition, post processing, and directing.
NOT JUST YOUR 'FAVOURITE MOVIE'.
* 
A perfect example of a technically magnificent movie is Requiem for a Dream, or Sin City, The Game, 2001 Odyssey, The Machinist.

I am looking to find more movies that have amazing technical values and knew that if anyone could recognize it, it would be fellow photo-philes.


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## manicmike (Mar 14, 2010)

Citizen Kane
 /thread.


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## Josh66 (Mar 14, 2010)

Anything by Stanley Kubrick, lol.

2001 will give you a new appreciation for 'sharpness' (and it was filmed in 1967 - I think).

The _entire movie_ was filmed on 70mm film...  Which is pretty much unheard of.  I think you could count the other '70mm movies' on one hand...
Just think - 70mm, that's roughly 4 times the resolution of most other movies.  (4 times the surface area of the film anyway...)

Do your self a favor and watch the blu-ray on an HD TV.  Mind blowing sharpness.  Makes everything else look like it was filmed on an iPhone.
Not to mention that _all_ of the special effects were done _in camera_...!

Barry Lyndon - well, he had to invent a lens to film that.
Untitled Document


...I can't think of anything else that tops that.


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## usayit (Mar 14, 2010)

I'm a noob when it comes to the technical aspects of movies but the first one that came to my mind was "Apocalypse Now".


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## Josh66 (Mar 14, 2010)

usayit said:


> I'm a noob when it comes to the technical aspects of movies but the first one that came to my mind was "Apocalypse Now".



We used to always use that to 'op check' the entertainment system on business jets, lol.  Particularly the beach raid scene with the Ride of the Valkyries playing, lol.


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## Mendoza (Mar 15, 2010)

_2001_, naturally
_Blade Runner_
_Baraka _~ Must-see art film/world documentary 
_Stalker_ (1979) Obscure Russian film.  Pretty damn impressive cinematography/locations/set design given very limited resources.


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## ann (Mar 15, 2010)

how about Orlanda

the images were like one magnificant still after the other


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## NeverGlassImaging (Mar 15, 2010)

ann said:


> how about Orlanda
> 
> the images were like one magnificant still after the other



That's just like Requiem for a Dream.  

this torrent is a great quality HD of it... such incredible post and composition and directing 
Requiem For A Dream Director's Cut 2000 BDRip H264 AAC-SecretMyth (Kingdom-Release) ? Requiem For A Dream Director's Cut ? isoHunt ? the BitTorrent & P2P search engine

I did watch the bluray of 2001, not on an HDTV, mind you, but you're right, man that's 720pHD 30 years ago!  I could hardly believe it!

Great suggestions.  From my own favs, I might suggest The Machinist, Sin City, Memento, The Game.

Keep the suggestions coming!   :mrgreen:


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## Josh66 (Mar 15, 2010)

NeverGlassImaging said:


> From my own favs, I might suggest The Machinist, Sin City, Memento, *The Game*.
> 
> Keep the suggestions coming!   :mrgreen:



I loved The Game!  Great movie - especially the first time seeing it.


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## NeverGlassImaging (Mar 15, 2010)

O|||||||O said:


> The _entire movie_ was filmed on 70mm film...  that's roughly 4 times the resolution of most other movies.  (4 times the surface area of the film anyway...)





I'm no film buff, but wouldn't that be 2x the resolution?  35mm x2 = 70mm?


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## Josh66 (Mar 15, 2010)

NeverGlassImaging said:


> O|||||||O said:
> 
> 
> > The _entire movie_ was filmed on 70mm film...  that's roughly 4 times the resolution of most other movies.  (4 times the surface area of the film anyway...)
> ...



It's wider and taller.  It would be like 4 35mm frames arranged in a 2x2 grid.

Edit
I may be wrong on that - not sure now.

It was filmed on Super Panavision 70 though.  I don't know the exact dimensions of that.
And, I guess after a little googling, there are a lot more movies filmed on 70mm film than I thought, lol!


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## PatrickCheung (Mar 15, 2010)

NeverGlassImaging said:


> Great suggestions.  From my own favs, I might suggest The Machinist, Sin City, Memento, The Game.



stole my suggestions.  memento is a great movie by the way.  I watched Shutter Island last night, it kind of reminded me of memento,  anyone else agree? 

kinda off topic, but i thought Shutter Island had some pretty interesting lighting.  'cept it was done horribly.  you could tell that some scenes were composed of two shots 'cause the lighting wasn't very consistent... or maybe it's just me.

Ninja Assassin! horrible horrible horrible movie, watched it 'cause my friend told me it'd give me a few good laughs... from the bad acting, ultraviolence (gotta love the ultraviolence, right, alex?), and lack of plot, had some pretty nice shallow depth of field scenes though.


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## Sw1tchFX (Mar 15, 2010)

off the top of my head, in the movie Australia (not really that great of a flick), there's the scene where you first see Hugh Jackman sitting in a bar and he's looking over his shoulder. There's this really cool gridded or snooted light on his face and the whole frame is just lit perfectly. I't s a great still.


Max Payne had some pretty cool lighting. 



I'm trying to think of movies where it's not overloaded with CGI..


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## usayit (Mar 15, 2010)

O|||||||O said:


> We used to always use that to 'op check' the entertainment system on business jets, lol.  Particularly the beach raid scene with the Ride of the Valkyries playing, lol.



"I love the smell of napalm in the morning... The smell, you know that gasoline smell... Smells like, victory"



Can some movie nut please try to explain what is meant by "Amazing Technical Value"?   Thread seems to beg a listing of people's favorite movies which may or may not be "Technically Amazing".


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## Josh66 (Mar 15, 2010)

usayit said:


> O|||||||O said:
> 
> 
> > We used to always use that to 'op check' the entertainment system on business jets, lol.  Particularly the beach raid scene with the Ride of the Valkyries playing, lol.
> ...



...Sometimes my job can be quite fun.  

I don't work on 'those' planes anymore, but I swear - you wouldn't believe how much money some people dump into a business jet.

Customers have been anything from 'some rich guy' or CEO's of large corporations to Presidents or Royalty.  Sports teams, banks, you name it.

Exotic wood, gold everything.  lol.


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## Joves (Mar 15, 2010)

usayit said:


> Can some movie nut please try to explain what is meant by "Amazing Technical Value"? Thread seems to beg a listing of people's favorite movies which may or may not be "Technically Amazing".


 
Well how about movies that are like moving photos or have photo moments in them? I think that would be more on the technical side. In that case the opening credits of To Kill a Mockingbird is a moving photo. Then there are films where they freeze on the main subject for a short time or, do so on an object with nice empty space while the character leaves the scene.


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## NeverGlassImaging (Mar 15, 2010)

usayit said:


> Can some movie nut please try to explain what is meant by "Amazing Technical Value"?   Thread seems to beg a listing of people's favorite movies which may or may not be "Technically Amazing".



That's true.  For the record, my definition of a technically amazing movie is one with superb lighting, exposure, sharpness, composition, post processing, and directing.

Napalm or explosions are moot.


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## craig (Mar 16, 2010)

Besides the obvious; Kubrick and Copolla I would like to add 

The Sandpit on Vimeo

Not really a movie but it is technically years ahead of it's time.

Love & Bass


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## NeverGlassImaging (Mar 16, 2010)

craig said:


> Besides the obvious; Kubrick and Copolla I would like to add
> 
> The Sandpit on Vimeo
> 
> ...



::O

THAT'S ****ING INCREDIBLE!

At first I thought it was using miniaturized figurines, mislead by the opening text, and I wondered how they did the people.  I didnt think it was real because it was all so crisp!  But when you have over 35,000 raw stills, I guess so!

Thanks for this!


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## craig (Mar 16, 2010)

)'(


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## Actor (Mar 16, 2010)

manicmike said:


> Citizen Kane
> /thread.


Technically perfect but boring!

A technically perfect movie generally means a BIG budget movie, which means you can hire top talent on both sides of the lens.  If a big budget movie does not have technical perfection it's on purpose.  They want it that way to achieve some sort of artistic effect.

On the opposite end of this spectrum are the opening scenes of _Dirty Harry._  There's no fill light, nor does the lack of fill seem to serve any artistic purpose.  It seems they just did not want to bother lugging the equipment up to the roof of the building.  No big deal since the scene only lasts about a minute.  I suspect the movie was not considered big-budget.


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## Actor (Mar 16, 2010)

O|||||||O said:


> NeverGlassImaging said:
> 
> 
> > O|||||||O said:
> ...


The area of the image on 35mm movie film is approximately 24mm x 18mm.  The wide screen effect is accomplished with an anamorphic lens.  The area is 432sq mm.

Most 70mm formats (actually 65mm in camera) use the Todd-A-O format which is 5 perfs per frame (35mm is 4 perfs) with an aspect ratio of 2.20:1.  If the perf pitch is the same as 35mm (I suspect it is) then the image is 22.5mm x 49.5mm, and area of 1113.75.  However, this is usually cropped vertically to the cinemascope ratio of 2.35:1, so the effective area is 1043 sq cm.  This is 2.4 times the area of 35mm film.

These are in-camera numbers.  Distribution prints have to make room for the soundtrack.  Todd-A-O uses 65mm film in-camera and 70mm film for projection leaving 5mm for sound track.  35mm makes room for the sound track by "blowing down" the image, i.e., making the image smaller than 24mm x 18mm.


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## JohnMF (Mar 16, 2010)

not sure about the sharpness thing, but...

besides for some already mentioned, a few that stand out for me are...

the Godfather (prob a bit obvious)
Leon (think it was called The Professional in the US)
Jean De Florette _and_ Manon Des Sources (French film/s, probably my favourite film/s of all time)

On a side note, I love to see New York on film, I never tire of it. In the right hands, a shot of New York can leave me in awe.


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## kundalini (Mar 16, 2010)

manicmike said:


> Citizen Kane
> /thread.


 Got it in one!  :thumbup:  The opening scence is wonderful.


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## fast eddie (Mar 16, 2010)

Another amazing example is the 'Dekalog' by _Krzysztof Kie&#347;lowski. _Director Stanley Kubrick described 'Dekalog' as the only masterpiece he could name in his lifetime.

It's not the sharpness of the films (they are not), but the style and composition contribute so much to the mood of the films, that they are almost another character.


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## Alpha (Mar 20, 2010)

The Fall, hands down.


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## dhilberg (Mar 20, 2010)

Besides the already mentioned excellent films like 2001, Blade Runner,  Jean De Florette/Manon of the Spring, etc., check out The Good,  The Bad, and The Ugly. The compositions and camera work are excellent  and many of the scenes are quite simply exhilarating. Particularly the opening scene, the scene where The Bad visits his first victim (second scene I think), and the scene near the end where The Ugly is running through the graveyard (the panning work in this scene is phenomenal). I recently picked  up the Blu-ray...wow, awesome film. Best viewed on an HD TV for sure. So  sharp I thought it was going to cut my TV. Don't be put off by the fact  that it's a Spaghetti Western. It's pure art, without a doubt. However, be patient with this one: It's long (3 hours), and many scenes are very, very slow. Totally worth it though.

Also, another film to check out is Delicatessen. It's a French film with  English subtitles available. Great camera work. See this one multiple  times.

If you've never seen Planet Earth or Galapagos, also highly recommended.  Excellent camera work. The Blu-ray versions are awesome.

Dark City: Director's cut is another good one (if you like Sci-Fi). The scenes are very dark. The indoor shots are great, lots of long hallways and big rooms.

There's just so many it's hard to think of them all off-hand. I would  love to get Blade Runner, 2001, and Dark City on Blu-ray.


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## --ares-- (Mar 20, 2010)

A scanner darkly is one I think is over looked a lot. The defining aspect of that movie was that it was entirely rotoscoped. If you look at the original scenes they look bleak and boring, but once the post production was taken care of it looked like a brand new movie.


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## Josh66 (Mar 20, 2010)

Actor said:


> The wide screen effect is accomplished with an anamorphic lens.



Yes, I know - but the film (both the actual film and the movie) in question was shot with spherical lenses - not anamorphic.

Not 100% sure what the 'image area' would have been with the spherical/anamorphic differences...



...Anyway, I guess it doesn't really matter much.


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## matteahmb (Mar 30, 2010)

So when I started thinking of movies...I realized most seem to be either indie type movies or foreign.  

2046 -This is a foreign sci fi. To be honest, it's a hard movie to get through, but anywhere you pause the movie, would make an amazing photograph.  Composition was well thought through.

City of Lost Children - Nice with a dark tone.

Lost in translation/Virgin Suicides -depending on your taste, I appreciated the look of both of these (sofia coppala seems to be off to a good start)

High Art - ok, so I can't say if the actual movie fits what you were looking for, but it's note worthy for some amazing photographs.  The movie follows a photographer who shoots amazing candid style shots.


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## mdith4him (Mar 31, 2010)

How has no one mentioned "Lawrence of Arabia??????"  Freddie Young's beautiful 70 mm masterpiece has crisp desert scenes and incredible details.  I pretty much wanted to live in the desert after I saw it as a 12 year old.


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## bif (Apr 3, 2010)

Mendoza said:


> _Baraka _~ Must-see art film/world documentary



Picked the Blu-ray of this up on sale for $7.95 right after buying a BD player.  Put the disk in and was absolutely STUNNED.

Crisp, CRISP detail, beautiful compositions, breathtaking visuals.


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## Amari Swann (Dec 17, 2010)

the fall directed by tarsem singh 
this is one of the most breathtakingly made films i have ever seen, the visuals and colours are absolutely amazing, the locations and cinematography is beyond this world, watch it, AMAZING!
Also the imaginarium of dr. Parnassus is great, an absolute visual delight! 
hope this helps


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## RauschPhotography (Dec 17, 2010)

The Fountain and There Will Be Blood. Both visuals are really great, though very different from one another.


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## skyy38 (Dec 18, 2010)

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.

Timeless camera work by the great Conrad Hall but NOT just for cinematographers!


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## Infidel (Dec 20, 2010)

craig said:


> Besides the obvious; Kubrick and Copolla...




There's a great Hitchcock movie, with one of the most beautifully filmed scenes I've ever seen...Topaz (1969 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



			
				Wikipedia said:
			
		

> _In one of the film's most memorable shots, Juanita is seen from overhead, her dress spreading out on the floor like a bloodstain (although it is purple not red) on the big black-and-white pavement tiles, as she collapses._


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## Infidel (Dec 20, 2010)

Here's the clip; start watching at 3:20 or so until the end.


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## altitude604 (Dec 20, 2010)

Saving Private Ryan

Some pretty good shots (of various sorts hah hah) in that one. Nice and sharp and amazing in HD.


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## c.cloudwalker (Dec 20, 2010)

usayit said:


> I'm a noob when it comes to the technical aspects of movies but the first one that came to my mind was "Apocalypse Now".





usayit said:


> O|||||||O said:
> 
> 
> > We used to always use that to 'op check' the entertainment system on business jets, lol.  Particularly the beach raid scene with the Ride of the Valkyries playing, lol.
> ...



You may be a noob where movies are concerned but you picked a great one.

The opening scene is an absolute masterpiece. The shot of the ceiling fan with the sound of the choppers mixed in with "The End", wow! Very powerful intro.

But overall, it has amazing dialogs, some amazing photography, very good story, amazing acting and amazing soundtrack. Not just the music that was picked but the quality of the sound. When I put together my first home theater, it was the DVD I used to check out the speakers because the surround is so good.

Last but not least is the feeling that comes across. The insanity that was the Vietnam War comes at you loud and clear. 


I do agree though that some of the films mentioned are more favorites than technically amazing. And I am surprised that no one has yet mentioned "The Seven Samurai." As noted in the review linked below: "Akira Kurosawa is such a complete master of technical filmmaking that his technique rarely calls attention to itself.  Every subtle lighting choice, every camera position or movement, every use of deep focus, wide angle lenses, or extreme close up so tightly serves the narrative of his story, you dont tend to consider until afterwards what a cinematic marvel the picture is."

This movie has had an enormous influence on my photography. What an amazing use of DOF, what an amazing attention to detail. To the point that some people thought he had goofed when, in fact, he was correct. This from the imdb write up: "Audio/visual unsynchronized: When samurai or bandits are shot with muskets, the bullet strikes before the sound of the distant gunshot is heard. This is technically correct and it is a feature of other Kurosawa films, such as Kagemusha, although it gives the false impression that people are being shot before the guns are discharged."

Seven Samurai Review


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## pwrstrk02 (Dec 20, 2010)

I've been hesitant to post because this isn't a movie.  Hawaii 50 has the most amazing colors in their shows.


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