I like to watch movies that have great cinematography and great art direction even if they're not that great at everything else. Examples of movies that are visually great are: Atonement, Moulin Rouge, Memoirs of a Geisha and House of flying Daggers. A beautiful musical Score is also a great addition, which the movies i mentioned also have.
What other movies also have great visuals and a beautiful score?
Hero, of course, which you probably already considered since you mentioned House/Daggers. I think the dark and atmospheric stuff is always fun to simply watch. Like the Harry Potter and Batman movies (minus the Schumacher two). Obviously the Zach Snyder two, 300 and Watchmen. The Leone westerns, anything lensed by Janusz Kaminski. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Tim Burton stuff is a specific favorite of mine for their visual qualities. I could go on but I have to get to work! Score, score....ummm, Thomas Newman is always wonderful, especially his Series of Unfortunate Events score. There so much more to mention, I listen to so much movie music but I gotta run!
shareThanks, I'll check out some of the Leone westerns. I already have Hero and 300 but haven't seen them yet but I've seen the rest of your recommendations. I also have some of Thomas Newman's film scores (Wall-e, Revolutionary Road). Do you have any other recommendations?
shareLuhrmann's Romeo + Juliet is one of my favorite's visually, but I'm guessing you've seen it. The soundtrack is also amazing, Radiohead, Garbage, Butthole Surfers, etc. Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula is very classicly done and is on my top ten favs list in terms of production design and make-up. Pan's Labyrinth, alright movie, great visuals. No Country for Old Men has some of the best nighttime photography I have ever seen. Amelie. F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu. is classic.
Music:
Alan Silvestri does some of my favorite work - Forrest Gump, Cast Away
Hans Zimmer - Batman Begins, Pirates of the Caribbean
Henry Mancini - The Godfather
James Horner - The Land Before Time, Casper, Braveheart
James Newton Howard - King Kong, Signs
Howard Shore - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
John Williams (Of course)
I really enjoy Steve Jablonsky's score for Transformers
Ummm, Jerry Goldsmith - Rudy
Ennio Morricone
Well, i have seen Romeo + Juliet, Pan's Labyrinth and Amelie and they're great. Dracula, No country for Old Men and Nosferatu(never seen a silent film before) look interesting. I'll listen to the scores too.
Thanks again.
Chinatown is a pretty lush film to look at.
The Last of the Mohicans with the awesome soundtrack.
Any Terrence Malick film, not so much Badlands, but all the others are BEAUTIFUL.
m. night shyamalan's films are beautiful, and so are the scores, despite most people hating his writing
"we are the music-makers and we are the dreamers of dreams" -- O'Shaughnessy
Nino Rota did the music for THE GODFATHER
shareChinatown recreated Depression-era (but with moneyed people) Los Angeles better than any other film I'm aware of.
Everything worked so well, photographed by John Alonzo and Stanley Cortez. IIRC, the eminent Haskell Wexler claims to have done uncredited hand-held camera scenes (the "bathroom", and overlooking Jake's shoulder as he gazes at that crucial fish pond).
"I love it when a plan comes together.."