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Izicmo's TOP PRETTIEST MOVIES
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (Michael Mann, 1992) DP: Dante Spinotti A heavily pre-digested French and Indian War is the backdrop for a cheesy love story ("Stay alive no matter what occurs! I will find you!") and lots of kinetic battle scenes. Sure the dialogue is trite and the characters are two-dimensional, but it's worth seeing for Spinotti's breathtaking landscapes of the American frontier, well-edited battles and for the sight of Daniel Day-Lewis brandishing a tomahawk and two guns, a la John Woo. Come one come all and marvel at this, THE PRETTIEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME! WINGS OF DESIRE (Wim Wenders, 1987) DP: Henri Alekan A beautiful tale told half in black and white and half in color. Shot by veteran Director of Photography Henri Alekan, this is a luminous story of unseen angels existing in Berlin. All is silent, except for the whispered thoughts of the humans they attempt to comfort. We follow our hero, Damiel, an angel who wonders what it is to be human, to be able to touch and smell and taste...and love. He falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist and decides to take the plunge and become human. Somber, yet heart-warming and hopeful. THE THREE COLORS TRILOGY: BLUE/WHITE/RED (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993-4) DP: Slavomir Idziak (Blue), Edward Klosinski (White), Piotr Sobocinski (Red) ALL THE PRETTY HORSES (Billy Bob Thornton, 2000) DP: Barry Markowitz) The landscape is breathtaking, as are all the shots of the luminous Penelope Cruz. The camera and lighting perfectly capture the dusty, faded feeling of Texas and Mexico in the 1920's. Even great buddy acting by Matt Damon and Henry Thomas and good performances by Cruz and Lucas Black can't really save the silly story and even sillier dialogue. Worth seeing for the visuals. THE NAVIGATOR: A MEDIEVAL ODYSSEY (Vincent Ward, 1988) DP: Geoffrey Simpson This is one of those medieval-black plague-fantasy-adventure-mission-save-the-village-black-and-white-and-color-time-travel-fish-out-of-water deals. The usual. And pretty. RUSHMORE (Wes Anderson, 1998) DP: Robert Yeoman A very unique looking film. It was shot mostly with a 27mm lens, lending everything a slightly surreal look, to the true benefit of the story. The close-ups of the luminous Miss Cross spring to mind. Anderson has given us Max Fischer, a truly original and almost inexplicably likeable character. You know, a lot of pretty movies have little to recommend themselves but their visuals but here the writing and dirction are superb as well as the unique cinematography. THE PIANO (Jane Campion, 1993) DP: Stuart Dryburgh Campion and Dryburgh create a blue within blue world in which beauty and cruelty coexist. She's mute and plays the piano, he's tatooed and mysterious. Love, jealously, betrayal and mutilation ensue. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME (Errol Morris, 1992) DP: John Bailey, Stefan Czapsky I'm not sure how Errol Morris manages to make his documentaries so darn pretty. And I think this is the prettiest. This no easy task given that Stephen Hawking isn't the most handsome guy on earth. But that being said, we all know he has a brilliant mind and is wonderfully articulate. Morris tells us about Hawking's early life and the onset of his illness, and intertwines it with Hawking himself "talking" about the origins and future of the universe in a way which we lay people can understand and even be enthralled by. DAYS OF HEAVEN (Terence Malick, 1978) DP: Nestor Almendros) It's always sunrise or sunset on that farm... AMERICAN BEAUTY (Sam Mendes, 1999) DP: Conrad L. Hall) Pretty: The rose petals, two teens strolling along the street, the plastic bag, the spreading pool of blood... Other pretty-fests: The Thin Red Line, What Dreams May Come, All About My Mother, anything by Pixar (the Toy Story series, A Bug's Life), Elizabeth. |
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