Saturday, November 30, 2019

Girl Week 2019: 10 Gorgeous Movies Shot by Women


Welcome to Day 6 of Girl Week. If you're not a cinephile, and even if you are, you might not ever think about who the cinematographer is while watching a movie. Lord knows how many times I've been watching a film and remarked to myself how great a shot is, or even a bunch of shots, but never bother finding out who is responsible for it. Combine that with my very basic knowledge that year after year the Oscar nominees for cinematography are almost always men and it doesn't always occur to me that a woman might be the provider of the great imagery I'm seeing. Well, I did a bit of research. Below are a number of aesthetically pleasing movies that had female director of photographer (DP). No, I won't comment on them. I'm not technically advanced enough to do that. As Mama Dell used to tell me, "It's better to be quiet and thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it." I just know what I like, so let's get to it.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
(2004)
DP: Ellen Kuras

Hustle & Flow
(2005)
DP: Amy Vincent


Girlhood
(2014)
DP: Crystel Fournier

Beyond the Lights
(2014)
DP: Tami Reiker


Creed
(2015)
DP: Maryse Alberti

The Neon Demon
(2016)
DP: Natasha Braier


Hidden Figures
(2016)
DP: Mandy Walker

Catfight
(2016)
DP: Zoe White


Mudbound
(2017)
DP: Rachel Morrison

A Quiet Place
(2018)
DP: Charlotte Bruus Christensen


Day 5 Entries

11 comments:

  1. I haven't seen some of these films but I do like what I'm seeing in the cinematography department. It's proof that there's women in that field that are doing a better job than some of the men who are shooting films with bigger budget.

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  2. I haven't seen all of these but Hidden Figures does have some lovely imagery. I loathed Neon Demon but have to admit that the look of the film was the single highlight.

    In the rough and tumble early days of silents women were just as likely to be cinematographers, though they didn't have such a lofty title at the time, as well as directors, writers (scenarist in the parlance of the day) and pretty much anything else that needed doing as men. But as the studios formed and coalesced into a male dominated culture women's power, outside of actresses and what were seen as "women's departments such as costume & production design, diminished in all but the writers room and weirdly enough considering how vital it is to a film's ultimate outcome, editing.

    Even in the so-called New Hollywood of the late 60's & 70's women were rarely entrusted with the look of the film and incredibly Rachel Morrison is the first woman EVER to be nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar for Mudbound!

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    1. The Neon Demon is certainly a polarizing film. No shame in hating it. I meant to make not of Morrison's achievement. Thanks for recovering my fumble.

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  3. Great post! I love this idea. I forgot Neon Demon was shot by a woman, that's such a gorgeous film. So many of these are.

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    1. Love or hate The Neon Demon, one thing you can't take away from it is that it has some jaw-dropping visuals.

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  4. Whilst I'm still clueless when it comes to predictions at awards times, in the last couple of years I've finally come to notice and appreciate cinematography.
    I know we all either loved or hated The Neon Demon (I'm kind of in the hate camp) noone can deny how beautiful it is.

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  5. I like you're giving the females some appreciation for Girl Week. Of the ones I've seen, Eternal Sunshine and Neon Demon were especially striking for the cinematography. You encouraged me to (as I type) look up the other projects by those ladies.

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  6. Great picks, I love the look of so many of these films. The Neon Demon really knew how to stretch a buck. That does not look like a $7 million movie.

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