Chillos

Malick is known for grabbing the camera and shooting stuff on his own. Freaking out actors in the process. So not everything in his movies is the cinematographer.

I'll have to add a German Clssic to the list: Die Brücke (1959). Very well done

Apone

The Thin Red Line

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Kingdom of Heaven

Ran

...from glancing over my collection.

lordwow

United 93's Cinematography really impressed me as far as recent movies, but it was by no means the best Cinematography ever.

kitkat

That's interesting. I love his work, but I don't know much about the making of. I thought there were a lot of similarities in the cinematography of The Thin Red Line and New World, so I was surprised when I found out they were shot by different DPs.

Yeti4623

The cinematograhpy for Rambo III, Cliffhanger, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, should've gotten oscar nominated.

Fincher Fan

I just didn't like a lot of his choices. The night lighting was especially horrible for someone of his calibre.

Mr. Cinema

most of Janusz Kaminski's work, which includes Munich, War of the Worlds, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, etc.

also:

Master and Commander
Black Hawk Down
Sleepy Hollow
LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring
Terminator 2
Glory
Raging Bull
King Kong

rand_hobart

Black Narcissus. Jack Cardiff's cinematography is astounding; creating the foothills of the Hymalayas on a studio backlot

Bobby Shalom

I have always thought of Paths of Glory as being a breakthrough film for its cinematography. Those narrow tracking shots in the trenches.

Also I think Robby Müller is one of the best contemporary B&W cinematographers. Dead Man, blew me away!!!

Another recent film I had much respect for was Three Kings, shot by Newton Thomas Sigel, the use of reversal stock really added a lot to the movie.

And as for Gregg Toland, Grapes of Wrath, while not as revolutionary as Kane, is a damn good looking film.

whynotsmile

Baraka

Giles

this film takes a certain amount of patience, but the cinematography alone is staggering and the highlight of the film:

The Pointsmen

Other films:

Excaliber
Sex and Zen
Pumpkinhead
The Elephant Man
Moulin Rouge (cinematography, set design, costumes, lighting, sound design - this had a lot going for it).
Suspiria
Arabian Nights (Pasolini)
The Others
The Omen
Zombie (Fulci)
Strange Days
Session 9
The King of New York
Seabiscuit
The River
West Side Story
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Road Warrior
Rabbit Proof Fence

Bertolucci's films have exceptionable cinematography
- 1900
- The Last Emperor
- The Conformist
- Little Buddha

As does Peter Greenaway films
- Prospero's Books
- The Pillow Book
- A Zed and Two Noughts

James Cameron
- The Abyss
- Aliens
- Terminator 2

Ridley Scott
- Black Rain
- Legend
- Blade Runner
- 1492

inri222

Have to add the films of Michaelangelo Antonioni & David Cronenberg

GoldenJCJ

I've seen a lot of love for The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

But I'll throw out Once upon a time in the West as my personal fave.

jchamoun

And Down by Law!

MASAMUNE2

2046

NewYorkRipper

Manahattan and Godfather I/II Apocalypse Now, Anything from Won Kar-Wei.

starseed1981

I would say the combo of "Chung-King Express" & "Fallen Angels".
Gotta love any cinematographer to works drunk.

Bobby Shalom

Forgot about Kwaidan, along with The Red Shoes, possibly the most gorgeous color cinematography I've ever seen.

dvd_luver

Hands down I think this is still Ridley Scott's most visually stunning film among many, with very little CGI and special effects used this film may not be everybodys favorite film because it's got some slow moments (I'm sure The New World is a New Bore to many), but it is a visual treat and a DVD with a high bit-rate is a must to totally capture it's true cinematic beauty. Probably one of my favorite films shot and when Scott finishes the rumored 4 hour cut to premiere on HBO one day, it may even be better.

Mercury&Solace

The Patriot
The Englist Patient
The Last Samurai

story

Great question. Five, off the top of my head:
- City of God.
- Unbreakable.
- Citizen Kane.
- North By Northwest.
- Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Jackson_Browne

I've never really thought of this film as being a breakthrough film. Elaborate tracking shots had been done before (see Touch of Evil for a really impressive and famous one). Great film though.

Bobby Shalom

Well I guess, since Touch of Evil was made a year after Paths of Glory, I don't understand your point. Touch of Evil has a great long extended tracking shot, but it's a much different type of cinematography.

Paths of Glory, has a doom filled, close quartered tracking shot that I felt was groundbreaking. To me it seemed to epitomize the anxiety of warfare. It seems very contemporary for a 50's film. There's been dollies, and cranes in films since the early days. But those shots in the trenches still feel very novel and exciting.

Of course some of this has to do with the blocking of the scene, the music, and what the film is about, but that's what good cinematography should do, build on and add to everything.

Decker

I just watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind on Blu Ray (for the first time on blu) last night and was blown away by Vilmos Zsigmond's work. Glad to see he won an Oscar for it. The way he uses light, especially in the child abduction scene is amazing. It's foreboding, strange, a character in and of itself. So many shots are SO gorgeous - it makes you appreciate the semi-lost art of cinematography. You wouldn't make a film look like that today because you can fake and correct so much digitally. This, I think, stands with Laurence and Godfather and Kane as an all-time great example of cinematography.
I'm a little surprised it wasn't mentioned previously in this thread -- but not terribly since the movie itself is sort-of forgotten as lesser Spielberg.

Hazel Motes

Surprised no one mentioned it, but i'll add McCabe & Mrs Miller.