Celebrating the momentary beauty within the best feature films of 2017, according to The Academy.
As we’re celebrating Oscar Week, it wouldn’t be right for us not to celebrate some of the cinematic beauty that exists among this year’s nominees. In true FSR fashion, this means a list of Perfect Shots from the major nominees.
There’s more to a perfect shot than simply good composition, focus, and perspective. A “Perfect Shot” can also be something that simply evokes a memory of how that movie feels. A lot of it is rooted in nostalgia, sure, but it’s even more elemental: it’s about evoking an emotion attached to the experience of having seen that movie. The following 40+ shots serve to remind us of the vibe that each of these films delivered.
Our only disclaimer for this list is that as many of these films are new, some were not easily screenshot’d and thus, we’re using images that aren’t the perfect aspect ratio (someone will undoubtedly mention this). We’re also aware that not all of these movies are perfect and there will inevitably be plenty of people who say “there are no perfect shots in this stupid movie.” To that all we can say is, “there’s someone out there who disagrees. Even in the case of Suicide Squad.”
With all of that said, here are our picks of the Perfect Shots of the 2017 Oscar nominees…
13th ⎢ DP: Hans Charles, Kira Kelly⎢ Director: Ava DuVernay
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi ⎢ DP: Dion Beebe ⎢ Director: Michael Bay
20th Century Women⎢ DP: Sean Porter⎢ Director: Mike Mills
Allied ⎢ DP: Don Burgess ⎢ Director: Robert Zemeckis
A Man Called Ove ⎢ DP: Göran Hallberg ⎢ Director: Hannes Holm
Arrival ⎢ DP: Bradford Young ⎢ Director: Denis Villeneuve
Captain Fantastic ⎢ DP: Stéphane Fontaine ⎢ Director: Matt Ross
Deepwater Horizon ⎢ DP: Enrique Chediak ⎢ Director: Peter Berg
Doctor Strange ⎢ DP: Ben Davis ⎢ Director: Scott Derrickson
Elle ⎢ DP: Stéphane Fontaine ⎢ Director: Paul Verhoeven
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ⎢ DP: Philippe Rousselot ⎢ Director: David Yates
Fences ⎢ DP: Charlotte Bruus Christensen ⎢ Director: Denzel Washington
Fire at Sea⎢ Shot and Directed by Gianfranco Rosi
Florence Foster Jenkins⎢ DP: Danny Cohen⎢ Director: Stephen Frears
Hacksaw Ridge ⎢ DP: Simon Duggan ⎢ Director: Mel Gibson
Hail, Caesar!⎢ DP: Roger Deakins⎢ Director: The Coen Brothers
Hell or High Water ⎢ DP: Giles Nuttgens ⎢ Director: David MacKenzie
Hidden Figures ⎢ DP: Mandy Walker ⎢ Director: Theodore Melfi
I Am Not Your Negro⎢ DP: Henry Abedonojo, Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross⎢ Director: Raoul Peck
Jackie ⎢ DP: Stéphane Fontaine⎢ Director: Pablo Larrain
The Jungle Book ⎢ DP: Bill Pope⎢ Director: Jon Favreau
Kubo and the Two Strings ⎢ DP: Frank Passingham ⎢ Director: Travis Knight
La La Land ⎢ DP: Linus Sandgren ⎢ Director: Damien Chazelle
Life, Animated⎢ DP: Tom Bergmann⎢ Director: Roger Ross Williams
Lion ⎢ DP: Greig Fraser ⎢ Director: Garth Davis
The Lobster ⎢ DP: Thimios Bakatakis ⎢ Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Loving ⎢ DP: Adam Stone ⎢ Director: Jeff Nichols
Manchester by the Sea ⎢ DP: Jody Lee Lipes ⎢ Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Moana ⎢ Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker ⎢ See IMDB for Animators
Moonlight ⎢ DP: James Laxton ⎢ Director: Barry Jenkins
My Life as a Zucchini⎢ DP: David Toutevoix⎢ Director: Claude Barras
Nocturnal Animals ⎢ DP: Seamus McGarvey ⎢ Director: Tom Ford
OJ: Made in America⎢ DP: Nick Higgins⎢ Director: Ezra Edelman
Passengers ⎢ DP: Rodrigo Prieto ⎢ Director: Morten Tyldum
The Red Turtle ⎢ Full Animation Crew here ⎢ Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story⎢ DP: Greig Fraser⎢ Director: Gareth Edwards
The Salesman⎢ DP: Hossein Jafarian⎢ Director: Asghar Farhadi
Silence ⎢ DP: Rodrigo Prieto⎢ Director: Martin Scorsese
Star Trek Beyond⎢ DP: Stephen F. Windon⎢ Director: Justin Lin
Suicide Squad⎢ DP: Roman Yasyanov⎢ Director: David Ayer
Sully ⎢ DP: Tom Stern ⎢ Director: Clint Eastwood
Toni Erdmann⎢ DP: Patrick Orth⎢ Director: Maren Ade
Trolls ⎢ DP: Yong Duk Jhun ⎢ Director: Mike Mitchell
Zootopia ⎢ Directors: Byron Howard, Rich Moore⎢ See IMDB for animators
More Perfect Shots:
- The 50 Most Beautiful Shots of The Star Wars Franchise
- 25 Perfect Shots from the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 25 Perfect Shots
Related Topics: Awards, Cinematography, One Perfect Shot