The Glorious Thing That Is Cinematography

In my high school media production class, I remember watching a documentary called Visions of Light (1992). It took my breath away. I watched it again in one of my college classes when I majored in film. Visions of Light is about the various uses of cinematography – the way movies use visual tools to inspire certain emotions in their viewers.

Cinematography is one of the aspects of filmmaking that I love the most, and one of the things I pay the most attention to while watching a movie. When a film’s cinematography deviates from the expected, it pulls the audience into the story in a way words never could. I admire directors and cinematographers who enhance the look of a film, rather than just “point and shoot.”

Let’s look at some of my favorite uses and techniques of cinematography. Each one is different in its way.

Nicholas Ray’s masterpiece In a Lonely Place (1950) focuses on the dark side of human nature. The film’s protagonist Dixon “Dix” Steele (Humphrey Bogart) is a down-on-his-luck Hollywood screenwriter with a violent temper. A woman is murdered, and Dix is a suspect. Though he denies committing the murder, his friends suspect otherwise.

This suspicion becomes apparent when Dix has dinner with his friend Brub (who happens to be the detective investigating the murder) and Brub’s wife Sylvia. They talk about the murder, and Dix gives Brub his theory on what happened. He asks Brub and Sylvia to sit side-by-side, pretending they’re riding in a car. Dix has Brub put his arm around Sylvia, but with his arm close to Sylvia’s neck. Dix tells Brub to squeeze to the point where he is almost strangling Sylvia. She stops the whole thing in an attempt to breathe.

As Dix’s instructions become increasingly more sinister, the lighting around his face changes. This makes the scene feel much more chilling. The viewer begins to see Dix as more dangerous than he originally seemed. It also gives the idea that Dix may be enjoying the scenario. I’ve always wondered if this effect was Ray’s brainstorm, or that of the film’s cinematographer, Burnett Guffey.

Blue Velvet (1986) is a film that relies heavily on cinematography. I wouldn’t call this one of my favorite films, but I consider it one of the most beautifully shot films I’ve ever seen. Director David Lynch and cinematographer Frederick Elmes combined their talents to create something incredibly unique.

While the film contains awe-inspiring imagery, the plot is about the underworld of a small American town. Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) is an average college student who finds himself tangled up in a web of mystery. This mystery involves a run-in with criminals, led by Frank (Dennis Hopper), and a sympathetic lounge singer named Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini).

The rich colors are mesmerizing during the daytime scenes, but the nighttime scenes (while beautifully lit) have a different feel. I think the goal for this change in cinematography is to represent the dichotomy of human life – the light and dark that Star Wars emphasizes so strongly. That’s what I love the most about Blue Velvet: the cinematography plays a key role throughout the film.

The post-production processing of film, even if the result deviates from the original shot, also fascinates me. One prime example is Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998). Throughout the film, the viewer can see a change in contrast to the film, with a “grainy” look like you’d expect from older footage.

I think this effect emerged from a desire to give the viewer a sense of unease, given that they are witnessing World War II battles. Perhaps Spielberg came up with this idea to show the audience how hellish war can be. Of course, Spielberg’s cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, always gets major kudos for how he makes Spielberg’s films look (notably Schindler’s List [1993] and Minority Report [2002]).

The saturation effect could also be meant to show that the movie is shown through the lens of James Ryan’s memories. The colors were still rich in the opening scenes with an elderly Ryan, but less saturated in the battle scenes. Perhaps the color losing its richness also represents a distant memory fading away. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these films, and cinematography in general, in the comments below.

Happy watching!