When I first saw Pink Floyd: The Wall, it hit me like a ton of bricks (pun absolutely intended). Why does one frame feel “fine” while another feels like a punch to the gut? Directed by Alan Parker and written by… Read More »Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills
Let’s talk about the opening of Carlito’s Way. We start at the end a 45-second, desaturated, nearly black-and-white sequence on a stretcher. As a colorist, that choice hits me immediately. It’s a visual spoiler that sets the tone for everything that… Read More »Carlito’s Way (1993) – Cinematography Analysis
The film that delivers the ultimate emotional gut punch through sheer visual artistry is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997). Quentin Tarantino once noted that PTA’s film knowledge “makes me look like an amateur.” He’s right to champion Boogie Nights as a 90s… Read More »Boogie Nights (1997) – Cinematography Analysis
When I think of films that manage to be visually sumptuous yet narratively potent, Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987) is usually the first one that comes to mind. Siskel and Ebert famously called it “a great looking movie,” noting the… Read More »The Untouchables (1987) – Cinematography Analysis
Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai is one of those rare 2003 epics that hasn’t aged a day. Lensed by John Toll, this isn’t just a “Tom Cruise movie”, it’s a masterstroke in how cinematography can articulate the soul of a culture standing… Read More »The Last Samurai (2003) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills
The first time I sat down to watch The Straight Story (1999),I kept waiting for the “Lynch” of it all to kick in. I was looking for the jump scares, the red curtains, or the industrial humming. Instead, I got an… Read More »The Straight Story (1999) – Cinematography Analysis
There are those rare masterworks that resonate because every single frame feels like it was dragged out of a deeper truth. Stuart Rosenberg’s Cool Hand Luke (1967) is exactly that. It’s a classic, sure, and the movie that turned Paul Newman into… Read More »Cool Hand Luke (1967) – Cinematography Analysis