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Spielberg's cinematographer


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Spielberg's cinematographers (movies only)  

32 members have voted

  1. 1. You decide

    • Janusz Kaminski
      8
    • Dean Cundey
      1
    • Mikael Salomon
      0
    • Allen Daviau
      4
    • Douglas Slocombe
      9
    • William A. Fraker
      0
    • Vilmos Zsigmond
      10
    • Bill Butler
      0


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Then how come you don't know any of them?? Surely you've seen the movies that are associated with these DPs??

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I voted Janusz Kaminski as I usually think he does a terrific job.

As far as Indy 4 goes, however, I think he failed completely at trying to capture the look of the previous three movies. I really can't stand the "glow" in any of the brighter scenes (

the wedding nearly blinds me

).

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Anyone whose seen Close Encounters knows who to chose(Sugarland isn't a pushoever either), Slocombe is 2nd for TOD all by itself

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I'm not familiar with them at all. I only know is that Slocombe did the original Indy films and Kaminski did Indy 4. Based on that, I vote for Slocombe.

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then you shouldn't have voted. If you've not seen all of Spielberg films then why would you vote, it certainly not an informed vote, just an ignorant one.

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Just for the record.

Kaminski has shot Schindler's List, The Lost World, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan, AI, Catch Me If You Can, Terminal, War of the Worlds, Munich, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Cundey shot Hook, and Jurassic Park

Salomon shot Always

Daviau shot E.T., Twilight Zone Seg. 2, The Color Purple, and Empire of the Sun

Slocombe shot Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Fraker shot 1941

Butler shot Jaws

Zsigmond shot The Sugarland Express and Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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I voted for Zsigmond but Butler and Slocombe would be next. I think Kaminski's style is good for some of Spielberg's films but not all.

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The only thing that bothers me about Kaminski's style is the large amount of glowing that goes on, as was mentioned before.

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then you shouldn't have voted. If you've not seen all of Spielberg films then why would you vote, it certainly not an informed vote, just an ignorant one.

You're probably right about that.

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I choose Kaminski then. He may over do it sometimes, perfect example with Indy 4, but his style works perfectly in Schindler's List.

that would still at best be only the 3rd best shot Steven Speilberg film.

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I choose Kaminski then. He may over do it sometimes, perfect example with Indy 4, but his style works perfectly in Schindler's List.

that would still at best be only the 3rd best shot Steven Speilberg film.

And apparently not even storyboarded, apparently to create a more raw and documentary-like look. It worked.

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For me it's a tossup between Douglas Slocombe and Vilmos Zsigmond. Certainly not Kaminski.

I really like the Janusz Kaminski cinematography. I notice in Indiana Jones 4 that the lighting was really good (forshadowing, anyone?) and I liked it in War of the Worlds and The Terminal too.

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1) Vilmos Zsigmond - his work on CEO3K was unbelivable.

2) Kamiński and Daviau (tied) - they both contributed to some of the most beautifully shot Spielberg's movies.

3) Douglas Slocombe - he defined the Indy look.

The cinematographer I like the least is Cundey. I was rather unimpressed with his work compared to his colleagues.

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I voted Slocombe, but Kaminski's work is beautiful at times, ugly at others. I think Schindler's List, Private Ryan, AI, Minority Report, Munich and Catch Me If You Can are Spielberg's best shot films in decades. However, Lost World, War of the Worlds and Amistad didn't set the world on fire with their bleached out, colourless 'style'. I'm undecided on Indy 4, but my gut reaction was that he ultimately failed to achieve what he was supposed to, for the very reason that I spent a lot of time noticing his trademark light blooms.

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I voted Slocombe, but Kaminski's work is beautiful at times, ugly at others. I think Schindler's List, Private Ryan, AI, Minority Report, Munich and Catch Me If You Can are Spielberg's best shot films in decades. However, Lost World, War of the Worlds and Amistad didn't set the world on fire with their bleached out, colourless 'style'. I'm undecided on Indy 4, but my gut reaction was that he ultimately failed to achieve what he was supposed to, for the very reason that I spent a lot of time noticing his trademark light blooms.

I don't agree about Minority Report. I think it has uglier cinematography than WotW. It's mostly cold blue or just off-colour. I know it was done like this on purpose and I find certain shots terrific, but watching most of them is very unpleasant. While many shots in WotW are off-colour too, there are much more interesting ones.

As for Lost World I like its cinematography more than in the original JP. I also like it in Terminal (especially evening shots).

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I voted Janusz Kaminski as I usually think he does a terrific job.

As far as Indy 4 goes, however, I think he failed completely at trying to capture the look of the previous three movies.

Thats harsh. There were a few Kaminski-esque shots, but to deem it complete failure?

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Why am I the first to mention Allen Daviau? Is his flashiness that hideous?

I'm the second. The Color Purlple and Empire Of The Sun look so grand.

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Why am I the first to mention Allen Daviau? Is his flashiness that hideous?

I'm the second. The Color Purlple and Empire Of The Sun look so grand.

Yes, I love the cinematography in the latter. I also cherish the one in ET - fantastic job.

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Why am I the first to mention Allen Daviau? Is his flashiness that hideous?

I'm the second. The Color Purlple and Empire Of The Sun look so grand.

Many say that's the main problem of The Color Purple. I personally couldn't choose in this thread. At least five of the DPs on the list are fantastic.

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Why am I the first to mention Allen Daviau? Is his flashiness that hideous?

I'm the second. The Color Purlple and Empire Of The Sun look so grand.

Many say that's the main problem of The Color Purple.

Well, you are not "the many", Morlock.

Consider that a compliment :rolleyes: .

Alex

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Why am I the first to mention Allen Daviau? Is his flashiness that hideous?

I'm the second. The Color Purlple and Empire Of The Sun look so grand.

Many say that's the main problem of The Color Purple.

Well, you are not "the many", Morlock.

Consider that a compliment :rolleyes: .

Alex

I'm not quite sure what that means. But thank you for the compliment.

Morlock- who did not find The Color Purple to be a very memorable film

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well 8 people have foolishly chosen a lesser DP(kaminski) so far.

Morlock continues to crush he credibility, the Color Purple is a beautifully shot film, GORGEOUS. And the film is haunting, its one of the few movies I've seen grown men walk out of crying. SL didn't do that.

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well 8 people have foolishly chosen a lesser DP(kaminski) so far.

Morlock continues to crush he credibility, the Color Purple is a beautifully shot film, GORGEOUS.

I agree. The mailbox shot is printed in my mind forever.

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I'm sure it does. I really don't remember. I was merely presenting a prominant opinion amongst detractors of the film, that the film's gorgeous look did not complement the film's story-line. I was presenting the opinion, not siding with it.

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Why am I the first to mention Allen Daviau? Is his flashiness that hideous?

I'm the second. The Color Purlple and Empire Of The Sun look so grand.

Empire of the Sun has some of my favorite cinematography in any movie.

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Why am I the first to mention Allen Daviau? Is his flashiness that hideous?

I'm the second. The Color Purlple and Empire Of The Sun look so grand.

Empire of the Sun has some of my favorite cinematography in any movie.

it too features an atomic bomb blast.

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Too bad Bill Butler didn't work with Spielberg more. Jaws is a such a beautifully shot film. If he had done more work with SS I probably would have picked him first.

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Too bad Bill Butler didn't work with Spielberg more. Jaws is a such a beautifully shot film. If he had done more work with SS I probably would have picked him first.

I really like Dean Cundey's work on Jurassic Park (and also Back to the Future). Hook looked lovely during the England scenes. I despise everything that had to do with the Neverland sequences. Koray chose Kaminski based on Schindler's List alone; his work on Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, and the Terminal are very nice. But his work on other Spielberg projects led me not to choose him, especially Minority Report, War of the Worlds, and A.I.

How can one not be a fan of opening and ending credits?

Close Encounters and Jaws were great.

This is a hard decision. I'll have to think about it some more.

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I was merely presenting a prominant opinion amongst detractors of the film, that the film's gorgeous look did not complement the film's story-line.

Whose opinion is that?

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I voted Janusz Kaminski as I usually think he does a terrific job.

As far as Indy 4 goes, however, I think he failed completely at trying to capture the look of the previous three movies.

Thats harsh. There were a few Kaminski-esque shots, but to deem it complete failure?

I don't mean to say that he was a complete failure for the movie. The only shots that bother me are when the bloom is in full effect. But in trying to copy Slocombe's style . . . I think he failed in that regard.

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I was merely presenting a prominant opinion amongst detractors of the film, that the film's gorgeous look did not complement the film's story-line.

Whose opinion is that?

The only one that I could immediately find was David Denby's comment, from his review of Saving Private Ryan (http://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/3332/):

In such films as Empire of the Sun and The Color Purple, Spielberg hyped everything into airily beautiful images that often left us baffled. All those people gamboling about in the broiling southern sun in The Color Purple -- was he crazy? There seemed to be something deficient and Disneyfied in his sense of reality

Roger Ebert made a passing reference to it in his review:

"There is a tendency to demand perfection even at the cost of effect. "The Color Purple" was rightly criticized for Spielberg's postcard landscapes, his broad characterizations and the convolutions of his plot. "
Ebert does add, though
"But what he made was a movie of great mass appeal with a powerful truth at its center.".

I'm sure I've heard about elsewhere, but I can't locate it at the moment. Still- I am not backing this argument, merely presenting it. I do not recall being the least bit troubled by the cinematography.

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I think one of the points of the Color Purple was the ugliness amongst all the beauty.

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I voted for Zsigmond just on the basis of Close Encounters, which is surely one of the best-looking movies to ever be made. I'd forgotten he also shot The Sugarland Express, which is a gorgeous film in its own right; I remember one magic-hour shot of police cruisers gliding down the highway being especially lovely, and the scene in which Lou Jean and Clovis watch the cartoon from the drive-in and make their own sounds is one of the highlights of Speilberg's career, for my money. And coming from me, that's high praise.

Daviau and Slcombe also did great work, but I guess my second-place spot would go to Kaminski. They've done some awfully good work together.

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