The best widescreen director?
 

Cinemascope, Cinerama, Panavision, Todd AO, 70mm etc. It has been over 40 years since widescreen cinematography has been in wide use in the movies. Certain films over the years have utilized the full potential of the widescreen better then others. The framing of the shot, the position of the actors within frame and the flow of action during the scene can be greatly enhanced in widescreen. But, there are quite a few films made today that just don't seem to take full advantage of that widescreen. It seems some directors may be shooting in widescreen, but are thinking in smallscreen, dare I say it fullscreen. Just which current or past Director makes or made the best use of the wide film?

Ridley Scott does a good job, Gladiator is a great example.

Fincher. Watching his in pan & scan is icky.

I think wes anderson does the best widescreen job. The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore really showcase this as he always manages to fill the entirety of the 2.35:1 ratio with information and detail.

David Lean, IMO end of story!

Bobby Shalom beat me to it. When I saw the thread title My first thought was David Lean!

My first thought was Terrence Malik.

My second thought was David Lean...

Paul Thomas Anderson. As far as I'm concerned, Punch Drunk Love wouldn't be the same if it were shown in full-screen.

I'm with you, but lets give props to Sergio Leone.

And I'd like to cast a personal props for John Carpenter who made it priority to shoot in 2:35 from Assualt on Precinct 13 when the whole world was in 1:85 land

Just what about I'm going to write just after I read the thread title. :up:

Kurosawa, obviously!

Franklin Schaffner
I don't know if he's the best but while watching Planet of the Apes on TCM last night I was pleasantly surprised. IMO the cinematography was more interesting than the movie. [misinformation deleted]

The only director I thought of when I saw the thread title. See Lawrence of Arabia for a perfect example of why he's the best.

The first Cinemascope release was <b>The Robe</b> in 1953, directed by Henry Koster.

Schaffner didn't even start directing theatrical films until ten years later.

But yes, Schaffner had a good eye for using the scope.

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His use of the format in Boogie Nights is very impressive as well.

Sergio Leone, anyone?

Carpenter is often credited best ws director. Michael Mann is awesome too.

I can't argue with that, even though Sergio Leone is the person I thought of first (I guess Sergio can be second).

I totally agree, the guy practically invented widescreen framing with his fifties classics. Check out the famous riot on the stairs from "The Hidden Fortress", the rioters sweep down out of the extreme left side of the screen while the guards trying to restrain them cower far down on the right side of the screen. It's like Eisenstein's epoch-making "Battleship Potempkin"riot, but better and more exciting. The shot perfectly captures the energy of the rioters and the fear of the guards while filling the screen to the bursting point with information.

Honorable mention: Jacques Tati's "Playtime". Every shot in this film is in deep focus widescreen. The camera remains fixed most of the time and allows character and prop movement within the frame to tell the story. This movie is almost silent, all of the sound effects and minimal dialogue were added later. The fact that Tati makes it so visually revolutionary (no overtstament there, believe me) and funny is a tribute to his cimatographic vision.

Ridley Scott was the first director I thought of.

David Lean, without a doubt. Go watch "Lawrence of Arabia" sometime and tell me he didn't write the book on widescreen for the ages.

Ridley Scott? Gimme a break. If the cluttered CGI confusion of "Gladiator" is the best example we can come up with, I say "thumbs down". A decent director but not a widescreen master scenarist by any means.

John Carpenter. Hands down.

John Carpenter is my pick. I'll give credit to George Lucas too. He makes good use of the enire frame.

Blade Runner is pretty impressive, but I wouldn't put Scott at the top. Obviously Lean (and Kurosawa!) are better. As are Leone, Carpenter, and others mentioned here.

Actually, my thinking was just the opposite - an average director, but one that knows how to compose a widescreen frame...I wasn't thinking of Gladiator, I was thinking of Blade Runner, Black Rain and 1492...average movies, but visually stunning.