Ten Films All Students Should See

Published : 11th October 2007

I have the task of showing ten films to a class of film studentsthe course is 'ci
nematography'.
The students all want to be directors and writers, so my task is not so much to
teach them to be cinematographers but at the very least to try to show them the
importance of the visual image, and to help them appreciate the difference that
good cinematography can make to the entire mood, feel, and emotional strength of
a film.
They are a young group, most of whom have probably never watched a black and whi
te film (I kid you not).
So, I want to show a few black and white classics, but also produce a varied lis
t with some more contemporary films.
It needn't be the list of 'best ever cinematography' films. But it should be a l
ist of films with varied themes, genres, budgets and looks.
Would anyone like to share their ideas on the ten films they would show?
I'm currently thinking :
Manhattan
The Third Man
Se7en
Lawrence of Arabia
Raise the Red Lantern
Taxi Driver
Baraka
Empire of The Sun
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Hero
Streetwise
Oh dear...That's 11.
Paul Spurrier
Show them "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Great Black and White Cinematography by Haskell Wexler and REALLY GREAT acting w
ith direction by Mike Nichols
This a must see movie for wannabe writers and directors. A story by Edward Albee
and a screenplay by Ernest Lehman cannot be topped. And also a music score by A
lex North.
Regards,
Bill Hogan
It would be hard to limit the list to ten -- I can think of a hundred...
A good mix might be (and this is more than 10):
B&W :
Sunrise
Citizen Kane
Night of the Hunter
Out of the Past
Battle of Algiers
The Man Who Wasn't There
Dr. Strangelove
COLOR :
Black Narcissus
Lawrence of Arabia
2001
The Godfather, Part II
The Conformist (not on DVD though...nor is "Reds")
Some other Storaro work, maybe "Apocalypse Now"
The French Connection
Days of Heaven
Blade Runner

JFK (for mixing of formats)

Snow Falling on Cedars or Sleepy Hollow (monochromatic design)
The Constant Gardener or City of God (mix of Super-16 and 35mm is interesting)
Collateral or The Celebration (development of a digital aesthetic)
And show the documentary "Visions of Light" and see clips from most of these, an
d more.
David Mullen, ASC
Los Angeles
Hi Paul,
as an introduction to the cinematography class, I screen "Visions of light" to m
y students. It's a great 1h30 documentary about great cinematography and great c
inematographers, and really a good intro for students (well, that's what my stud
ents think after they've seen it...)
Good luck.
--------------------------------------------------------*
Always look on the bright side of life !
--------------------------------------------------------*
Frdric ANSALDO
Instructor
Toronto Film College
36 Eglinton West, Ste 707
Toronto, ON M4R 1A1
Tel (416) 484 - 1577
Fax (416) 484 - 1567
www.torontofilmcollege.ca
The best way to predict your futureis to create it!
I would VERY HIGHLY recommend
M
Dr. Strangelove
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
I would complete the list with:
City of God
Audition
Memento
Casablanca
Good Night and Good Luck
Amelie
City of Lost Children
Ian J. MacLeod
Film Student
Director, Producer, DOP, Writer
Kelowna, BC, CANADA
> Streetwise
If you want to show them an amazingly photographed documentary, this is not a go
od choice.
William Klein's Muhammed Ali -- The Greatest (skip part 3, added on several year
s later) is amazing and beautifully shot, in B&W. On DVD easily found.
Jeff Kreines
Hello
How about showing your students some films that they probably would never see wi
thout a little bit of "encouragement"
My picks are:
-Stalker
-Mirror
(Both films by Andrei Tarkovsky - Both films full of visual and directorial feat
ures to discuss with the students they could make a mind-blowing impression on s

ome of the students they did for me filmmaking at its best)

-Come and See
(An absolute work of art that I think everyone on this earth should see)
-Mother and Son
(A film of pure emotional/visual filmmaking)
-Signs of Life
(Werner Herzog's first feature film He was in his mid 20s when he made it - Beau
tifully shot in black & white - Most probably shot with very little money, light
s, and crew - an incredibly controlled and restrained bit of filmmaking it has th
e good stuff that I feel is lacking in most films being made by young people toda
y - well... any age group for that matter)
-The Parallax View
(Drop dead gorgeous cinematography of course - this film never stops amazing me
- I feel the same way about "The Game" which has some roots in this film)
-Days of Heaven
(Obviously)
-Flowers of Shanghai
(A great film by Hou Hsiao-hsien shot by Mark Ping-bin Lee - two of the most tal
ented people working in film today - the film is shot almost exclusively under r
ed light)
-The Black Stallion
(I can't think of many films better then this one to showcase a story told mostl
y through images - much like Days of Heaven - it's a film you can just feel )
-Mishima
(I think its one of the best films ever made - incredibly shot - lots of differe
nt visual styles)
I know thats already 10 - oh well...
-A Little Princess
(I just love this film - I can never get enough of it)
Hope to hear that your screenings go well with the students - or at least a few
of them
Have a nice day
Joe Zovko
AC
LA, CA
B&W :
Antonioni s L Avventura(There s a beautiful sunrise scene)
DR.Strangelove
Psycho
Night of the Living Dead
Vidas Secas
The Apartment
Orson Welles:
Citizen Kane, and "It s All True"- the uncompleted film about Brazilian fisherme
n, finished 52 years
later, shot in Brazil (RKO fired him for it) I only saw part of it on cable(I d
like to find it)
And Woody Allen s "Zelig"
John Babl
DP
Miami
Citizen Kane
Touch of Evil
Dracula (Coppola s)
Apocalypse now
Ciao Federico (the documentary on Fellini during the making of Satiricon
- The line "Its a movie if the cow moves it is alive" is perfect)

-Steven Gladstone
New York Based Cinematographer
Gladstone Films
www.gladstonefilms.com
Lots of great suggestions.
I second the suggestion of "Visions of Light".
It is perfect for your class as you describe it.
Another doc, from Martin Scorcese s Century of Cinema series, "The
Director as Illusionist".
The students really get a lot out of these, and it motivates them to go check ou
t all the great films that are excerpted within.
Steven Bradford
Film HD Program Chair
Collins College
Tempe Arizona
Films for students...
What about for mood "Snow Falling On Cedars". For visual story telling Fritz Lan
g s "M" and for a bit of variety "Festen" (Which I think is called The Celebrati
on in USA), a really underrated film in terms of photography in my opinion.
Ruairi O Brien,
Cameraman,
Ireland.
I usually find the best way to illustrate what you are trying to say is to show
something that is not so good. We can all say what is nice about an image. But b
eing able to look at something that is badly shot and analysing that is probably
more beneficial, IMHO.
When I teach martial arts I get the students to learn from what they are doing w
rong, not what they are doing right. Same when I get them to look at other peopl
e doing martial arts. I get them to look at what is wrong or could be done bette
r. They tend to gain a better understanding of what they are doing that way. By
analysing things that are right a person can become locked into doing things a c
ertain way, or trying to blindly copy what they are shown without fully understa
nding it or having the information sink in.
So I think that by looking at bad cinematography students get to think for thems
elves more and get to work out why things work or don t work on a deeper level t
han had they just been shown lots of eye candy.
Simon Wyndham
Video producer, UK
Paul,
I m very much opposed to the idea that there exists a film that "everyone" shoul
d see, or even a film that all cinematography students should see (as implied by
the title of the thread), but I d like to add two questions about your initial
list of ten films:
1/. Wouldn t it be valuable to have a film or two in your list that you think ar
e somewhat or fairly ineffective in its use of cinematography, so that you have
a point of comparison? I bring this up particularly as you are instructing direc
tors- and writers-to-be, so that they have some idea of what they risk by not br
inging cinematography to the table as part of the construction of the film.
2/. What were the reasons for the films you chose? Because the audience is direc
tors and writers, I also think it would be valuable to have films where the cine
matography is vital to underscoring the rhetorical point of the film, rather tha
n films that bask in some sort of mood or saturate the film in aesthetic glory.
While I wouldn t go so far as to say that the cinematography in the films in you
r list all fall into that category, most of them do strike me as, in a sense, "c
inematographer s" films.

While it will be clear to your audience (I hope) why cinematography was valuable
for those films, it won t necessarily be clear to your audience why cinematogra
phy should be vital for the films that they make (especially narrative-driven or
acting-driven films). Surely you agree that cinematography can supply more than
just the "mood, feel, and emotional strength" of a film?
Without taking my first point into account (any film that you feel is lacking in
cinematographic input would do), here s a list of ten (thirteen) titles that I
think could make an effective series of films to relate the value of cinematogra
phy to writers or directors :
1. Playtime
This film, more than any other I ve seen, explores how story and comedy can be r
elated almost entirely with visual (and non-dialog audio) effects. While it migh
t not be the sort of film any of your dialog-oriented students would consider ma
king, at least it has the possibility of opening their mind to taking some of th
e story out of the dialog itself and into the mise-en-scene. Instead of this, yo
u could substitute some of the better silent films, though I ve already included
one below.
2. L Avventura
Like Playtime, the cinematography in L Avventura contributes to the film in nontraditional ways. Certainly there are other cases where the camera almost takes
on a role in the film, and the cinematography reveals a lot about what s going o
n that isn t otherwise supplied, but this seems to be regarded as something of a
landmark in that area.
3. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
I haven t seen a film where I felt the cinematography was more effectively explo
ited to underscore the psychology of the characters and situations.
4. Citizen Kane
Because this film has been so long argued for as the perfect film by film teache
rs and buffs. It is about as canonical as could be. It certainly does show how m
uch cinematography (and editing) can contribute to a film, even when it s very m
uch narrative-driven. As an exercise, you should get the students to try to imag
ine the film shown in chronological order with sitcom-style cinematography. The
cinematography really is crucial.
5. My Life to Live
Cinema verite is as much a conscious cinematographic style as any other, and it
seems valuable to me to include a good example of it being employed to great eff
ect. This happens to be my favourite, but certainly other films could stand in f
or this one: Bicycle Thieves, Band of Outsiders, Stromboli. The cinematographic
style of these films isn t exactly subtle, but it s entirely appropriate to the
subject matter. Compare with Visconti, whose style remains realistic in the acti
ng and dialog, but who has given the camera, framing, lighting, etc., a strong r
ole of its own with its slickness in La Terra Trema and Ossessione.
6. Tokyo Story
Any of Ozu s better films could substitute for this one. I think it would be imp
ortant to show a film whose effect is greatly increased by cinematographic restr
aint. It s a very beautiful film, and the cinematography in no small part contri
butes to that, but if it drew any more attention to itself, it would begin to de
tract from the beauty of the film, I think. The subtlety of the acting and dialo
g requires subtlety in the cinematography as well (the music, on the other hand,
is not subtle).
7. Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Here s a film with very attention-drawing cinematography that is still very much
acting- and story-driven. It s a good example of the opposite of the above: jus
t because the cinematography draws attention to itself doesn t mean that the oth
er qualities have to suffer. On the other hand, if you gave the film very flat a
nd boring cinematography, while it would appeal to me much less, you d still hav
e an excellent and watchable film, that would probably have found its way into f
ilm history. My point, I guess, is that the cinematography is not really crucial
to the film, even though it s such a huge part of it. You could substitute a nu
mber of other acting-driven films, I think: On the Waterfront is a good one.

8. Celebrity
Not unlike Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Woody Allen s films are an interesti
ng case where the director works with some of the best cinematographers known to
film history, and seems to let them do their thing. In his films, the cinematog
raphy is always appropriate to the subject matter (as in Manhattan, the one you
selected), but at the same time, the visual style of his films seem to be more c
haracteristic to the cinematographer than to him as a director.
Celebrity is kind of the best and worst example of this. On the one hand, I thin
k the cinematography in this film is more entwined with what Woody Allen is doin
g as a director than any of his other films that I ve seen. On the other hand, i
t s also his flashiest film (the cinematography could hardly draw much more atte
ntion to itself). I also happen to think it s his most beautiful (I understand t
his might be something of a controversial point). In any case, Woody Allen is an
excellent case of what I perceive to be a filmmaker taking on excellent cinemat
ographers and trusting them. Not being an insider or having read any behind-thescenes stuff on his films, I have no idea if that s really the case, however.
9. Traffic
I actually dislike this film quite a bit, and in particular I disliked the unsub
tle colour-scheming. That said, it contributes to this list simple because it s
a recent, well-known case of a director taking on his own cinematography. Even i
f the film isn t great (and others will disagree), it s an excellent introductio
n into the point that directors can do more than just think about the cinematogr
aphy, they can take on the role themselves.
10. The Passion of Joan of Arc
Here s a story told almost entirely in close-ups. The Passion of Joan of Arc exp
lores a lot of unconventional cinematographic territory, more than most any film
I can think of that is still a narrative film. Unfortunately, it remains entire
ly unconventional. I ve seen no film that tries in any way to follow in its foot
steps.
That s 10, though there are topics left unexplored. A couple others I would add
:
11. Nashville
As one of the most ambitious films I ve seen that tries with regards to covering
a large number of characters and complicated stories while still make you aware
of who the characters are and care about what happens to them, this film exempl
ifies how cinematography (and editing) can assist in making crucial shortcuts wh
ile still allowing you to get into the characters to a surprising degree. Much o
f the film still takes a second or third viewing to pick up on, but it s amazing
how effective the film is in its first viewing, despite its ambitions.
With crappier or less appropriate cinematography, this film would either make a
lot less sense, or it would be much longer.
12. Blade Runner :
For imaginative filmmaking, cinematography plays the essential role of making a
film feel much more magical, or intensely dreamlike. Blade Runner is certainly a
landmark in this regard, and it remains one of the best examples. You could eas
ily substitute "Lawrence of Arabia" here for "Blade Runner" and "epic" for "imag
inative". Same principle, and these films more than any other represent cinemato
graphy at its most glorious moments in Hollywood.
13. The Big Combo
Or really, almost any other really famous genre film. There s a valuable point t
o be made that cinematography tends to be one of the defining aspects of a filmi
c genre, and that all of the most famous films of a particular genre are also fa
mous for their cinematography, which typifies that genre. This is more true with
noir than for any other genre, and it is especially true for films that come la
ter in the genre s development (or altogether after it has pretty much ended), b
ut you could certainly use My Fair Lady, Butch Cassidy, Shaft, Star Wars, Jaws,
Chinatown, etc.
The point here being that anyone intending to make something that is very much a
genre film should probably try to incorporate cinematography at the most intima
te level. Many of the finest (or most extreme) examples of genre filmmaking prac

tically bleed that genre s style from every frame. Incidentally, this is also ho
w genre films get parodied.

I can t think of a film that exemplifies this point best, but I think it s a rel
evant point that in Hollywood beautiful cinematography seems to be seen as the e
quivalent to beautiful prose in literature. It is something of a shallow point,
but I think it can be seen in a lot of comments by directors and cinematographer
s of major novel adaptations (Lord of the Rings and Ghost World come very quickl
y to mind, though there are countless others). Personally, I really don t like t
his perspective; I think cinematography is a very poor substitute for excellent
prose, and yet it has a lot to offer on its own, but it s very easy to think of
cinematography this way when adapting novels, and it certainly feels like the Ho
llywood norm.
yours,
Jun-Dai
Hi!
I m attending a course at the university of cologne, that quite reminds me of yo
ur topic. I really like the film choices, although most of the students tend to
know at least half of the movies:
A Personal Journey through American Movies with Martin Scorsese (USA 1995, R.: M
artin Scorsese, 227 )
Film 1895-1912 (Brothers Lumire, Melis, Porter, Griffith, ca. 90 )
Le Mpris (Contempt, F/It 1963, Jean-Luc Godard, 99 )
Der Kaiser von Kalifornien (The Emperor of California , Germany 1936, Luis Trenk
er, 93 )
Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal, Sweden 1957, Ingmar Bergman, 92 )
2001: A Space Odyssey (GB 1968, Stanley Kubrick, 134 )
Citizen Kane (USA 1941, Orson Welles, 114 )
Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai, Jap 1954, Akira Kurosawa, 200 )
Otto e mezzo (Eight and a Half, It 1963, Federico Fellini, 131 )
Groundhog Day (USA 1993, Harold Ramis, 99 )
Vertigo (USA 1958, Alfred Hitchcock, 124 )
Remember the Titans (USA 2000, Boaz Yakin, 109 )
Videodrome (Canada 1983, David Cronenberg, 89 )
Best regards,
Anja Habermehl
Vogteistr. 15
50670 Kln
Privat: +49. (0)221. 355 89 12
Mobil: +49. (0)178. 85 70 256
From someone outside of the film creation process, I would be inclined to agree
with Simon Wyndham - include one or two examples of films that failed due to exa
ctly what you are trying to stress. Otherwise, it would be like learning photogr
aphy by only looking at the greats. Yours won t measure up but it won t be clear
why. Learning to be critical involves the why of not measuring up to a standa
rd that you have set, not just recognizing the standard when it is met.
Steve Nordhauser
Silicon Imaging Product Development
Troy, NY
Steve Nordhauser wrote :
>>Otherwise, it would be like learning photography by only looking at the >>grea
ts. Yours won t measure up but it won t be clear why.
The learning comes from the examination. The study, the question of why were cho
ices made, and what was their effect.
So much is made of the techniques without going into the thought process, the ar
tistic process, the why the techniques were used.

Technique without a clear aesthetic idea behind their use is next to useless. Ju
st my opinion. Discussing any film or art as to whether it "measures up" is . .
. (use your own pejorative here.)
Discussion needs to be about the process, and the choices first, the technique o
f achieving the goals of that process are interesting then, once they have conte
xt.
-Steven Gladstone
New York Based Cinematographer
Gladstone Films
Hi all
These days we are fortunate to have DVDs that give these bonuses and featurettes
(some good some bad). Specifically with behind the scenes and making of.
One in particular I would like to point out and to me by far the best, is the ex
tra stuff provided by the Terminator 2,The Ultimate Edition DVD. It provides in
depth information (Hours I kid you not)on every aspect of filmmaking, from conce
pt to marketing. Just looking at the table of contents alone will give you a bas
ic chronology of how a film is made. This includes the script, story boards, tal
king heads of the Director, writers, editors, composer, cinematographer, etc. In
cluding the techniques used in post.
It s film school in a nut shell (or should I say DVD).
Anyone who sees this will get an idea on how a film is made.
Also other great resources are American Cinematographer Magazine that gives you
insight on the approaches and choices (Stock, lens, post workflow, etc)made by c
inematographers of some of the movies that are out at the time of that particula
r publication (this month, DaVinci Code), and POST also gives insight on current
movies post production techniques. Great "workbooks" to go along with the movi
e itself.
Hope this helps
Willie Bruno
Department of Film, Video and Broadcasting
School of Continuing and Professional Studies
New York University
Many of the films already listed would be on my list of what to screen, but I wo
uld add Kar Wai Wong s In the Mood for
Love to the list.
Cheers,
Patrick Cummings
DoP - Brisbane, Australia.
Patrick Cummings wrote :
>>Many of the films already listed would be on my list of what to screen, >>but
I would add Kar Wai Wong s In the Mood for Love to the list.
I would change that to "2046" actually :-) Not that ITMFL is bad, but 2046 is an
improvement on that (IMHO). Actually the whole trilogy, starting with Days of B
eing Wild, is nice. It is shot by Christopher Doyle, with Mark Lee Ping-bin as s
econd DP on ITMFL.
I also would add the 1973 "Jesus Christ Superstar", shot by Douglas Slocombe. Re
cently saw that again, after 30 years or so, and the desert-footage is shot with
love and passion on 2.35
Cheers
Martin Heffels
/filmmaker/DP/editor/
Maastricht, the Netherlands
Not long finished film studies these are some we were shown
Thelma and Louise --female buddy film
Being John Malkovich - modern surreal

Un chien Andalou and L Age d Or -classic surreal

Baise Moi - traditional role reversal, not well taken by the males in the class
but the girls appreciated it.
Spirited Away - award winning animation
Chicken Run - Parody in this case of prison camp escape films.
My add to list are
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Brasil
Onibaba
Once Were Warriors - social film set in New Zealand also liked sequel What becom
es of the Broken Hearted
Sandy Lacey
Ramsgate
UK
qwertziup