Top 10 Best Cinematography Oscar Nominations Ever

[00:00:00]So, what do I think are the top 10 greatest Oscar nominations ever for best cinematography? Hey, it's Brian. Welcome to the awards contender. It's time to talk my favorite technical category at the Academy Awards. Best cinematography going back almost 100 years of this category. What do I think are the top 10 very best Oscar nominations and best cinematography that did not win? I'm not talking about the winners here. We'll get to that down the road. I'm just talking about the cinematography nominations that I think are freaking amazing. Let's start with number 10, W-Ally Fister, The Dark Knights. So, I was happy to see Wally Fister win best cinematography at the Oscars 2 years later for Inception, but he didn't win for the Dark Knights. Isn't that crazy?

[00:00:48]I mean, just the opening sequence, like with the Joker at the beginning, I think that was deserving of an Oscar win in cinematography. You have all of the action scenes. You have that amazing shot of the Joker walking out of the exploding building and you have big scenes of scope. You have quieter, more intimate scenes like between the Joker and Batman and that holding cell.

[00:01:10]There's so much great cinematography in The Dark Knights. You have the IMAX element of that movie. Like it really pops off the screen when you see the Dark Knight in an IMAX theater. And it just seems like it should have been the big winner in this category for 2008.

[00:01:25]Slum Dog Millionaire won. That was the year's big winner for best picture and best director. And the cinematography in Slum Dog Millionaire is pretty amazing.

[00:01:34]So, I don't hate that win. I just think The Dark Knight would have been an alltimer. Number nine, Owen Roysman, The Exorcist. So, I had to include a horror film here. Horror movies don't typically get into best cinematography. It happens here and there. Psycho got in. I thought about including Psycho. I mean, we just had Nos Ferratu get into cinematography and that was amazing. But yeah, throughout the decades, you don't see this genre reflected in cinematography at the Oscars very much. Maybe my favorite nomination in this category at the Oscars for a scary movie is 1973's The Exorcist, which did get into best picture and best director, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress.

[00:02:18]The Exorcist did extremely well at the Oscars that year and it got into cinematography. I think that's really inspired. It wouldn't be the most obvious nomination because a lot of the movie is set in a room, but the cinematography of The Exorcist is outstanding. It really creates a mood.

[00:02:36]The way the camera tracks around that bedroom as little Reagan is slowly like descending into this demon. It's It's so chilling. You have that opening prologue sequence that looks amazing. The shot composition there. You have that iconic shot of the exorcist showing up to the house. I mean, just that shot, right?

[00:02:55]That's one of the most memorable images in horror movie history. And I do think that last 40 minutes, the way it's shot, the way it's all put together, it is absolutely incredible. And so, yeah, I think this would have made a really good winner in best cinematography. It lost to Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers.

[00:03:14]That makes sense. The use of the color red in that movie is very memorable. So that win can stay. I like that one. But The Exorcist would have been a deserving winner in cinematography as well. Number eight, John Tol, The Thin Red Line. So I had to put a Terrence Malik movie in here. I thought about the new world. I thought about Tree of Life. I got very close to including the tree of life, but I thought, you know, the thin red line from 1998, what extraordinary cinematography you have all throughout that movie. It looks like it's shot for like multiple years. You know, the look of the thin red line is so grand, so complex. If there hadn't have been another beautifully shot World War II movie that same year, 1998, Saving Private Ryan, of course, which has an opening sequence for the ages, of course, Saving Private Ryan was going to win cinematography that year. But you also have The Thin Red Line, and I do think if that movie had come out in 97 or 99, it probably win cinematography.

[00:04:17]All of those moments of the soldiers on the move, the way the camera tracks through the tall grass and all of those amazing shots of like the majesty of the location, like the way he captures that place. It's really quite something. I do think the thin red line is one of the greatest examples of cinematography we had in the '90s. So yeah, unfortunately it had to come out in '98, lose to Steven Spielberg, saving Private Ryan.

[00:04:44]This was a matter of really bad timing sadly for the thin red line. Number seven, John F. Sites Sunset Boulevard.

[00:04:53]So, you knew I was going to include my favorite film of all time in this list.

[00:04:57]I mean, I guess cinematography wouldn't be your go-to in Sunset Boulevard. At the Oscars, you would talk about best actress, of course, for Gloria Swanson first. maybe the screenplay, the direction by Billy Wilder and stuff, but I do think that luscious black and white cinematography of Sunset Boulevard is absolutely a character in the film. The way it brings that dilapidated mansion to life and all of its like eerie elements, that fadedness of what it used to be, how it no longer is that grand estate where all of like the big Hollywood superstars would come and have fun over the weekend. Now it's like this haunted palace filled with ghosts. And the way the camera tracks around that space and shows off its dark side. I've always loved that. You have the scene where Norma goes to Paramount Studios, goes into that set and talks to Cesile Deill. The way like the light hits her face in all of its intensity. That's a memorable moment. And how about the end where she descends the stairs and walks toward the camera, but before she can have her closeup, her face loses focus in the frame. There are so many wildly creative things done in the cinematography of Sunset Boulevard that keeps me coming back time and time again. It really ratchets up the film noir elements of that story, of the locations, of the performances. It's just so integral to the success of that movie. Sunset Boulevard was never winning best cinematography that year because it lost to the third man. That is an amazing all-time win for cinematography. I wouldn't take that out, but Sunset Boulevard, that would have been an incredible win, too. Number six, Douglas Sloum, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Another director I had to include on this list was Steven Spielberg. I love the cinematography of his movies.

[00:06:46]The ones that got nominated, some of them didn't. Like Jaws did not get nominated for best cinematography, which is wild to me. In the 1980s, many of his films get into cinematography. Empire of the Sun and The Color Purple and ET. But if I had to choose my favorite cinematography Oscar nomination for a Spielberg film that did not win, it's Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981. I think the cinematography in that movie really makes that action adventure what it is.

[00:07:16]from that incredibly memorable opening scene with the boulder rolling towards Indiana Jones. The way that's shot, it really feels like you're right up there with him, like you're about to be crushed along with Indiana Jones. There are so many wonderful flourishes visually in that movie that go beyond just like where the camera needs to point to certain things and, you know, show the action taking place. Every shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark has been meticulously planned out. So much precision, so much beauty, so many moments of humor that come to life not just through the Harrison Ford performance, but also through the cinematography. You have that amazing finale, which is very supernatural. It's got special effects, but the cinematography there, too. It just blows your mind. I love everything about the look of Raiders of the Lost Arc, even more so than the other Indiana Jones adventures. There's something about the first one I really love with my full heart. It absolutely captures the essence of those old style cals and so yeah I think it would have made a great winner. It lost to Reds 1981's Reds directed by Warren Batty. That's a more kind of epic drama. Like that makes sense. I guess cinematography often especially in the 80s will go to like the biggest grand epic of the of the five. It wasn't ever going to Raiders of the Lost Arc. I don't think that was going to happen. But what if it had?

[00:08:42]That would have been freaking amazing.

[00:08:44]Number five, Robert Certise, The Graduate. So, something I tried to do in this list is pick a film from every decade where there's been a full decade of Oscar nominations and best cinematography. I thought about the 1960s. What could I pick from that decade? And The Graduate just popped right out at me. I was like, "Oh my god, The Graduate in Best Cinematography. I'm so happy it got nominated. It could have been overlooked. You know, it's kind of a quiet movie, but you look at the shot compositions and the graduates, and it is unbelievable at times. I mean, I remember studying the shots of the graduate in film school. The way shots are framed in that movie, often to make Benjamin feel like alone and feel like separated from everyone else. He's often very small in the frame, like that famous shot of Mrs. Robinson with her leg up, Benjamin really tiny near the bottom of the frame. all of the moments really when Mrs. Robinson is seducing him in a variety of scenes. Like the way that is captured visually is really interesting. You can tell you're in very good hands with the cinematographer of that movie with the direction by Mike Nichols. The way they put this movie together visually is incredible. So, I had to include it in my top five. It lost to Bonnie and Clyde for 1967. That makes sense. the cinematography in Bonnie and Clyde, which was a movie that really kickstarted that new era of cinema, how violent Bonnie and Clyde was, and what the cinematography showed audiences in that movie. It was definitely ahead of its time. So, Bonnie and Clyde winning best cinematography for 67, that makes sense. But The Graduates, that's another incredible Oscar nomination in this category, not just for 67, but for all time. Number four, John Seal. Mad Max Fury Road. I wasn't going to forget about MadMax Fury Road directed by George Miller from 2015. This is the most recent pick on my list. I thought, what was the best example of a cinematography Oscar nomination of the last 15 years that did not win? It's Mad Max Fury Road. Like I I thought about The Lighthouse. I thought about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. There have been some amazing examples of best cinematography Oscar nominations going back the last 15 years, but I do think the best one is Mad Max Fury Road. If that film had come out a different year, it probably wins, but that was also the year of The Revenant, 2015. And the cinematography in The Revenant. Think what you want of that movie. It is absolutely brilliant.

[00:11:18]Like the way that film is composed visually. So, it makes sense Mad Max Fury Road had to settle for second place, I guess. But, I mean, talk about one of the most incredibly shot action movies of all time. George Miller had years, decades to think about Fury Road.

[00:11:37]And by the time he got on set, he knew exactly what he wanted to capture with the camera in the very exciting, intense action scenes. There is a kinetic energy to the way the camera moves through the space past characters as things are exploding in the frame. I remember watching that movie opening night in the theater. My jaw was on the floor. I could not believe what I was watching.

[00:12:04]And what's so cool about Mad Max Fury Road is that a lot of what you're seeing on the screen is actually there. It's actually happening. You're not just watching a bunch of things, you know, existing in front of a green screen.

[00:12:17]Like, they really went out there in that wasteland and shot this movie. And wow, this is one of the most incredible examples of movie cinematography of the 21st century, certainly of an action movie. And what really puts this in the top five of this video is the quiet moments are also lovely, spectacular to look at. That moment when Furiosa drops to the ground and cries and screams. The cinematography of that moment is also very memorable and something I think about all the time. Everything about the cinematography of this movie is absolutely brilliant. Mad Max Fury Road is a film I love for a variety of reasons, but the cinematography, holy freaking [ __ ] just amazing. Number three, Arthur Edison All Quiet on the Western Front. So, I'm not talking about the recent adaptation of All Quite on the Western Front, 2022, which won best cinematography. I'm going all the way back to 1930s All Quite on the Western Front, which won best picture, but not cinematography. Weirdly enough, I think this is one of the prime examples of great cinematography in an early talking film. All Quiet on the Western Front is my favorite of the early best picture winners. I think it's so captivating, so dazzling, so well directed and acted.

[00:13:41]It's really quite something. It holds up really well. Almost 100 years now since it came out. And the cinematography of this movie, I mean, talk about ahead of its time. The way these battle scenes are shot, I mean, they just pop off the screen. and you're watching this like this movie came out almost 10 decades ago and it still has a power and electricity that works well on modern audiences. I've never seen it projected in a theater. I think that would be really stunning actually because visually it is a stunner through and through the battle scenes, the quiet character moments, a scene of a character dying. what the camera does in some of these quieter intimate scenes.

[00:14:27]It's really well thought out and it's beautifully realized. I think the cinematography of 1930s All Quiet on the Western Front is A+, man. It gets an A+ and it's like, okay, well, that movie won best picture. It won best director.

[00:14:44]Why didn't it win best cinematography?

[00:14:47]It's a mystery to me, guys. I don't know. Because the winner in cinematography that year at the Oscars is something called With Bird at the South Pole. With Bird at the South Pole.

[00:14:59]Is that a movie anybody talks about anymore? Is that a movie that anybody remembers? Anybody? I had never heard of it until I looked this up a few hours ago. I'm like, what? Like, why did that win over the year's best picture winner, which has stunning cinematography all the way through? I don't know. Go figure. Number two, Emanuel Lubeski, Children of Men. So, I don't know about you, but my favorite Oscar nomination and best cinematography so far in the 21st century that did not win is Children of Men from 2006, directed by Alfonso Quiron. I mean, talk about taking my breath away watching that movie opening weekend. I mean, I could not believe what I was seeing in that film. Like some of those long shots in Children of Men, they have never been replicated in a movie since. It's been nearly 20 years since this film came out, and I still think it has some of the most spectacular cinematography of any movie ever made. And these incredible long shots that we all remember, the shot in the car that spins around leading up to Julianne Moore's death and the bullets going through the windshield, that motorcycle spinning out of the frame. It's not there just to like show off, you know? Alonso Coron and Emanuel Lubeski, they're not doing these stylized long takes just to say, "Hey, look at us. Look at how cool we are." All of those long shots in the movie, they are there to serve the story in the best way possible and they really do heighten the tension every step of the way. That moment toward the end where Clive Owen is walking through that building and guns are going off and they're moving slowly at times and then they're running at other times like they could be killed at any moments. And it's just so compelling. And because the camera is not cutting, you are with them as they go along this very treacherous journey. You are just like white knuckling it in the audience. And a lot of it has to do with the cinematography.

[00:17:05]all of the choices made for how this movie looks visually, not just in those very long shots that are very famous, but all throughout the dialogue scenes, the moments when a character is just sitting and thinking, everything visually in this movie is off thecharts incredible.

[00:17:24]Why didn't Children of Men win the Oscar for best cinematography?

[00:17:29]Well, it lost to Pan's Labyrinth, and that makes sense. if it was going to lose to something for 06. Pans Labyrinth also has incredible cinematography. So fine, okay, you know, I I can't be mad about it. That one can stay. But come on, Children of Men. That is a landmark film in the history of cinematography at the Oscars, especially in the 21st century. This is an alltimer. And finally, that takes me to the number one choice. What do I think is the greatest example of a best cinematography Oscar nomination in the history of the award show that did not win? This was a very easy call to make if I have to be honest. Very, very easy. My number one pick is Greg Toland, Citizen Kain. You heard that right. Citizen freaking Kane did not win the Oscar for best cinematography.

[00:18:24]I cannot believe that. I understand it wasn't like warmly received by everyone when it opened in theaters in 1941. I get that. But it got a bunch of Oscar nominations. It's in best picture, best director, best actor. It won best screenplay. So, they appreciated the movie enough to nominate it everywhere.

[00:18:46]It's like, okay, don't give it best picture, best director. Fine, I guess.

[00:18:51]How Green Was My Valley can win there.

[00:18:54]I've said before in this channel, I don't hate those top two wins for How Green Was My Valley. I think that's a very good film from the year. But one place How Green Was My Valley did not need to win at the Oscars, it was best cinematography. How did that beat Citizen Canain in this category? That is baffling to me because the very impressive and landmark cinematography of Citizen Canain is some of the best in cinema history. The composition of the shots in just the opening scene should have made this movie the front runner to win best cinematography at the Oscars.

[00:19:31]Just those first few shots in like a 2-hour plus movie. There's a reason Citizen Kain is considered by many the greatest movie ever made. There's a reason Citizen Kain has been taught in film schools decade after decade. So much of that is the look of the movie.

[00:19:48]so ahead of its time. The way Orson Wells and his cinematographer Greg Tolen used the camera not just to advance the story, which it does of course, but also to show Kane's like mental well-being, where he is in his head from scene to scene. Is he at a good place in his life? Is he kind of spiraling downward?

[00:20:09]The cinematography tells you what you need to know often without any dialogue being spoken. Just where the camera is, how it moves, if it doesn't move, like where Kane is visually in the frame. Is he really small? Is he really big? The cinematography in Citizen Cane is so specific that you can often just turn off the soundtrack and know what's happening, know where all of the characters are mentally based on the cinematography. And going beyond that, it's also very inventive all the way through. There's that very famous shot earlier in the film at that house where you see a young cane on his sled in the snow in the distance and then the camera tracks back. It goes like through a table and the way they compose that shot on the day like on the set. It's incredible how they were able to get that shot in the can on the day and then how it reflects everything that's happening and the narrative in that moment. It's just so brilliantly done.

[00:21:10]And that's the case of the cinematography all throughout the movie.

[00:21:14]Every single scene in Citizen Canain has been so meticulously crafted in terms of its look, the visualization of the characters of the sets. Everything was so clearly thought out and what they were able to capture on the screen. For 1941, it's just truly amazing. Citizen Can 100% should have won the Oscar for best cinematography. This film by Orson Wells is easily my number one choice for the greatest best cinematography Oscar nomination of all time that did not win.

[00:21:54][Music]