1. Her (2013)
In a film with such a strong idea and narrative, cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema had the task of making the visual storytelling almost as important. The color scheme is one of the most interesting features he brought to the film. Being set in the future and so relevant in terms of portraying technology, the color blue would be an obvious choice. Instead, Van Hoytema dismissed sad color completely and created a warm environment, underlining the fact that Her surpasses such genres, and used minimal lighting and LEDs to add color to certain scenes.
2. The Great Beauty (2013)
What differentiates this work from so many other visual poems is that it really bothers to reward the audience with rich context, achieving more by complementing image with contemporary Rome in a timeless style. Considered a reinvention of Fellini’s 'La Dolce Vita', it captures the city like it hasn’t been done in recent memory. The details help making it unique, too, and the near three-hour film gives just enough time for the audience to fully comprehend how meticulously it was done, especially in the hands of cinematographer Luca Bigazzi.
3. The Tree of Life (2011)
Terrence Malick is a known artist, a philosopher turned filmmaker that focuses on style and turns into substance. Over the years, his work has become an inspiration for young filmmakers, though most fail miserably in achieving the same. The chosen director of photography was cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who used very little lighting besides natural light. He even mentioned that if they were inside a house and the lighting wasn’t working, Terrence would rewrite it and make it outside or shoot it another day when it was sunnier.
4. Nebraska (2013)
From the beginning of production on this film, cinematographer Phedon Papamichael wanted it to be in black and white. Being a character-driven film, there was a need to make it as visually unique and interesting as possible, so at first he thought of shooting in B&W 35mm film. This didn’t work out because, as wonderfully as it would look, shooting in black-and-white is still seen in several markets as antiquated. He skirted this by first testing color stocks and digital cameras with the help of his colorist, in order to make it as similar as possible to the Kodak film aesthetic.
5. Life of Pi (2012)
This technical marvel considered by many the most beautiful film of 2012 does very little in terms of actual pure cinematography. While it was unfilmable, Ang Lee made sure it only appeared so, with overwhelming achievements in computer animation and making it a visually stunning film to say the least. The entire experience is more of a visual wonder than anything else, so it’s a natural contender here. The film’s most unique creation, the tiger, was completely brought by computer-generated effects.
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
The first thing anyone notices about this film, in a way that surely distinguishes itself from all other films on this list, is its truly unique color palette, a washed out effect plastered in the entire film. Thanks to Bruno Delbonnel, the visuals tell the story of exactly how Llewyn sees the world. The representation of loneliness and helplessness is in the lack of light, and everything else seems as if folk music was a picture. The acclaimed cinematographer, personally wanted to have something sad throughout the film, so he chose to use the same light to light both the actor and the set, making it constantly fall off to darkness, keeping the fill levels at a minimum.
7. The Master (2012)
Paul Thomas Anderson has admitted his wish to recreate the look of classic films such as 'Vertigo' and 'North by Northwest', therefore testing some Panavision equipment, the 65mm cameras for this film, when eventually it all started coming together very clearly to him. The format fit the story, and it seems the film was shot in a 'let’s keep trying' way. For longer, more intimate sequences, Anderson and cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. confirmed filming in 35mm, trying to delicately juggle between formats without being too noticeable.
8. Gravity (2013)
Instead of the usual film stock, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki opted by the digital and proved himself again as one of the best in the business. Even though almost everything on screen is fake, the CGI and everything about it is impressive. The complex junction of paradox realism and animation techniques made the director, Alfonso Cuarón, and his team pre-visualize the film shot-for-shot way before starting to film. Lubezki, and his talent for lighting, made being in space seem natural through the use of sun as main light source, with deep shadows and high contrasts. Contributing to the sucessful visuals was also the fact that he created a box with a LED screen, and the actors were shot inside it while projecting the backgrounds of the scenes and giving them visual references for acting.
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Director Wes Anderson stylistically combines theatre and cinema with complex tales, while being compositionally specific about every shot. Obviously, he could also mention other recent work, such as 'Moonrise Kingdom' (2011), but The Grand Budapest Hotel deals with a whole different set of visual experimentations. The main use of a single camera only brings more relevance to the long dolly moves and swish pans so familiar in Anderson’s work and, of course, you can’t miss the unbelievable color palette.
10. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
This perverse vampire film is unlike any other, and the cinematography is haunting, making it a visual delight. Being one of the most celebrated cinematographers in the world, Le Saux brings power through guitars, as Tom Hiddleston plays a dead rock star, and manages to make Tilda Swinton look as fashionably dark as possible. The director, Jim Jarmusch, usually goes for self-indulgent throws at society, making fun of it, while still being tender and spooky at the same time. Adding music and art to the equation only makes it more visually alluring, while still featuring a cynical tone.