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Bond Cinematography Ranking

tigers99tigers99
in Bond Movies Posts: 582
Okay - rank the Bond films on their cinematography - best looking Bond to least best looking Bond - I didn't find this easy.

1. Roger Deakins - Skyfall
2. Phil Meheux - Casino Royale
3. Freddie Young - You Only Live Twice
4. Phil Meheux - GoldenEye
5. Michael Reed - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6. Ted Moore - Thunderball
7. Robert Elswit - Tomorrow Never Dies
8. Ted Moore - Goldfinger
9. Ted Moore - From Russia with Love
10. Jean Tournier - Moonraker
11. Claude Renoir - The Spy Who Loved Me
12. Ted Moore - Dr. No
13. Alec Mills - The Living Daylights
14. Alec Mills - Licence to Kill
15. David Tattersall - Die Another Day
16. Ted Moore - Diamonds Are Forever
17. Ted Moore & Oswald Morris - The Man with the Golden Gun
18. Adrian Biddle - The World is Not Enough
19. Roberto Schaeffer - Quantum of Solace
20. Ted Moore - Live and Let Die
21. Alan Hume - Octopussy
22. Alan Hume - A View to a Kill
23. Alan Hume - For Your Eyes Only
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Comments

  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    edited October 2015 Posts: 2,252
    I'm not an expert on the subject so can't make a list.

    Your list scenes about right but I think QoS looked quite good, but we never got to appreciate the beauty of most of the scenes
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    1. Michael Reed - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    2. Claude Renoir - The Spy Who Loved Me
    3. Jean Tournier - Moonraker
    4. Ted Moore - Thunderball
    5. Ted Moore - From Russia with Love
    6. Roger Deakins - Skyfall
    7. Freddie Young - You Only Live Twice
    8. Phil Meheux - Casino Royale
    9. Alan Hume - For Your Eyes Only
    10. Robert Elswit - Tomorrow Never Dies
    11. Roberto Schaeffer - Quantum of Solace
    12. Alan Hume - Octopussy
    13. Ted Moore - Dr. No
    14. Ted Moore - Goldfinger
    15. Phil Meheux - GoldenEye
    16. Ted Moore & Oswald Morris - The Man with the Golden Gun
    17. Alec Mills - The Living Daylights
    18. Alec Mills - Licence to Kill
    19. David Tattersall - Die Another Day
    20. Alan Hume - A View to a Kill
    21. Ted Moore - Live and Let Die
    22. Ted Moore - Diamonds Are Forever
    23. Adrian Biddle - The World is Not Enough
  • tigers99tigers99
    Posts: 582
    Birdleson wrote: »
    The stand-outs -

    1. SKYFALL - Stylistic and breathtaking. Maybe too so at times, but a beautiful looking film. Richard Deakins, of Coen Brothers fame, certainly earned his pay.
    2. DR. NO - The best of Ted Moore's impressive run (though a certain sameness, followed by a bit of the mundane would begin to seep into his later films). This warm, pastel world certainly benefits the most from the remastered Blu-Ray process.
    3. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN - Not in terms of interesting color choices or lighting, but focus on the shots and compositions next time you watch it, quite impressive. Photographed by Douglas Slocombe, better known for his work on the Indiana Jones franchise.
    4. TOMORROW NEVER DIES - Far (FAR) from one of my favorite Bond films, but this striking and unique predominately red, white and black palatte is a treat for the eyes.
    Robert Elswit.

    Yeah agree with you about Skyfall - I was blown away by it, those shots in Scotland and of London are fantastic. And agree about TND, pretty average Bond film but Elswit's cinematography is great.

    Wasn't Douglas Slocombe also the DoP on the Italian Job? I haven't watched NSNA in years to be honest, I don't own it or CR '67. And I confess I've never watched CR '67 the whole way through.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    And the winner is:

    S K Y F A L L



    I still can't believe those Academy imbeciles didn't give the Oscar to Deakins bloody hell !!!!
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    I thought LALD looked beautiful too :(
  • Crazysoul95Crazysoul95
    Posts: 3,336
    The ones that stands out to me are: OHMSS, CR, and SF

    Also Quantum has pretty solid cinematography, just look at the opening shot.

  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    Crazysoul95 wrote: »
    The ones that stands out to me are: OHMSS, CR, and SF

    Also Quantum has pretty solid cinematography, just look at the opening shot.


    I don't see any cinematography except for the first 5 seconds :)
  • MalloryMallory
    edited October 2015 Posts: 2,165
    Having been to the Bond in Motion exhibition and seen Bond films side by side at the same time, for the first time, it struck me just how bloody excellent Roger Deakins cinematography is. On its own it is outstanding, when compared to the other films, its just epic.

    Should have won the Oscar...
  • SatoriousSatorious Brushing up on a little Danish
    Posts: 233
    Top dogs for me:

    1. Michael Reed - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    2. Roger Deakins - Skyfall
    3. Freddie Young - You Only Live Twice
    4. Jean Tournier - Moonraker
    5. Claude Renoir - The Spy Who Loved Me
    6. Roberto Schaeffer - Quantum of Solace (the editing on the other hand...)
    7. Robert Elswit - Tomorrow Never Dies

    I like what I've seen from Hoyte Van Hoytema so far (in terms of composition/lighting/camera movement), but have to be honest - the grading feels heavy-handed and dare I say somewhat amateur. It has the appearance of footage which has had a Red Giant Magic Bullet filter slapped over it to make things appear either hot or cold.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    I could get all analytical & technical here (the lush colour palette of Young; the smooth precision of Deakins, etc.) but instead I'll just list the two top faviourites of mine that I just thrill to look at each & every time:

    Robert Elswit - Tomorrow Never Dies (I love the wide shots juxtaposed to the tight ones)
    Alec Mills - The Living Daylights (I love the gritty glamorous look)
  • CowleyCowley
    edited October 2015 Posts: 486
    It's a funny old list because some of the stalwarts had their good and bad moments. In general I just go for the films that best displayed the scope of the action and locations.

    I find when Skyfall is ablaze and Bond is running on the lake to be the most visually arresting scene for me but as I love the sheen and crispness of QOS I've nudged that to the top.

    1. Roberto Schaeffer - Quantum of Solace
    2. Roger Deakins – Skyfall
    3. Phil Meheux - Casino Royale
    4. Michael Reed - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    5. Ted Moore – Thunderball
    6. Jean Tournier - Moonraker
    7. Alec Mills - The Living Daylights
    8. Alan Hume – Octopussy
    9. Alec Mills - Licence to Kill
    10. Claude Renoir - The Spy Who Loved Me
    11. Alan Hume - For Your Eyes Only
    12. Ted Moore & Oswald Morris - The Man with the Golden Gun
    13. Ted Moore - Goldfinger
    14. Robert Elswit - Tomorrow Never Dies
    15. Ted Moore - Live and Let Die
    16. Phil Meheux - GoldenEye
    17. Ted Moore - Diamonds Are Forever
    18. Ted Moore - Dr. No
    19. Freddie Young - You Only Live Twice
    20. Ted Moore - From Russia with Love
    21. David Tattersall - Die Another Day
    22. Alan Hume - A View to a Kill
    23. Adrian Biddle - The World is Not Enough
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited October 2015 Posts: 17,795
    Cowley wrote: »
    23. Adrian Biddle - The World is Not Enough
    Just a comment here @Cowley-
    Adrian Biddle is a freakin' artist. But when I saw TWINE I'd figured he'd seriously dropped the ball. Recently I got the Blu Ray of it and oh my stars & garters it was like seeing it for the first time! The VHS & DVD's looked to be a muddy mess, but the BD shows what he actually did with that movie. Still not my favourite look for a Bond movie, however not at ALL the visual loss I had been used to. Lots of great subtle stuff...

  • CowleyCowley
    Posts: 486
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Cowley wrote: »
    23. Adrian Biddle - The World is Not Enough
    Just a comment here @Cowley-
    Adrian Biddle is a freakin' artist. But when I saw TWINE I'd figured he'd seriously dropped the ball. Recently I got the Blu Ray of it and oh my stars & garters it was like seeing it for the first time! The VHS & DVD's looked to be a muddy mess, but the BD shows what he actually did with that movie. Still not my favourite look for a Bond movie, however not at ALL the visual loss I had been used to. Lots of great subtle stuff...

    Well it's due up soon on m Bond marathon so I'll have a few strong coffees to stay awake and see if I can appreciate it better!

    I thought TWINE was terrific when I saw it at the cinema but on the small screen it does seem a little duller. To be fair it's the Vic Armstrong sequences which are the excruciating stuff.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    2. Skyfall
    3. Casino Royale
    4. The Spy Who Loved Me
    5. Moonraker
    6. Dr. No
    7. From Russia With Love
    8. Goldfinger
    9. Quantum of Solace
    10. The Man with the Golden Gun
    11. You Only Live Twice
    12. For Your Eyes Only
    13. Thunderball
    14. Live and Let Die
    15. Octopussy
    16. Tomorrow Never Dies
    17. Diamonds Are Forever
    18. Goldeneye
    19. The Living Daylights
    20. Die Another Day
    21. Licence to Kill
    22. A View to a Kill
    23. The World is not Enough
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    edited October 2015 Posts: 4,423
    Yes @chrisisall, I too was most impressed by the Blu-Ray transfer of TWINE. On the VHSs and DVDs it looked very bland. Looks better with Blu-Ray. (Although I feel the Brosnan's films got shafted on the move to Blu-Ray. Compared to the rest of the canon, they look positively meh).


    1. Michael Reed - On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Majesty's is an epic film, which is aided enormously by Reed; his work on capturing the Swizz scenery is nothing short of majestical.

    2. Roberto Schaeffer - Quantum of Solace. I just dig his colour palette, and the contrast between the blacks and whites in the Opera sequence, or the blue and browns at the Atacama Desert Hotel scene. As @Cowley said very, very crisp, suiting the bleak ambience of the film.

    3. Roger Deakins – Skyfall. Can I say more about Deakins' amazing work that already has been said?

    4. Jean Tournier – Moonraker. Cubby always boasted that one can “see every dollar up on screen”, and in the case of Moonraker it was no idle boast. The extensive location shooting, the breathtaking cinematography are just superb.

    5. Freddie Young - You Only Live Twice. Young's work is rich and beautiful, evoking the exotic nature of the Far East.

    6. Claude Renoir - The Spy Who Loved Me 
    7. Phil Meheux - Casino Royale
    8. Ted Moore – Thunderball
    9. Ted Moore & Oswald Morris - The Man with the Golden Gun
    10. Ted Moore - Dr. No
    11. Alan Hume - For Your Eyes Only
    12. Alan Hume – Octopussy
    13. Robert Elswit - Tomorrow Never Dies
    14. Alec Mills - The Living Daylights 

    15. David Tattersall - Die Another Day. This is an interesting one, the sequences in N. Korea are desaturated, and throughout the film, the colours get brighter and brighter, till its very over saturated, fitting the ever increasing fantasy, comic book vibes.

    16. Ted Moore - From Russia with Love
    17. Phil Meheux - GoldenEye 
    18. Ted Moore – Goldfinger
    19. Ted Moore - Live and Let Die 
    20. Alec Mills - Licence to Kill
    21. Adrian Biddle - The World is Not Enough
    22. Ted Moore - Diamonds Are Forever
    23. Alan Hume - A View to a Kill
  • nobodydoesitbetternobodydoesitbetter
    Posts: 1,021
    Ok. Here goes but only a top 5

    SKYFALL - ROGER DEAKINS
    ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - MICHAEL REED
    YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE - FREDDIE YOUNG
    MOONRAKER - JEAN TOURNIER
    TOMORROW NEVER DIES - ROBERT ELSWIT

    i watched FYEO the other day on Blu-ray and found the cinematography quite good. However what was it about certain Bond films during the 80's where the obvious outside sequences (shot in doors) look like they are shot in a studio. The exterior shots filmed in the studio of the monestery look fake. I think its all down to the lighting/and or film stock. Worse still in Octopussy the shots of Bond running through the streets of India (shot in a studio) look quite obviously like they were shot in a studio. Compare this to the interior shots in SF inside the Skyfall lodge. It looks natural. As if it was shot on location.
  • StrogStrog
    edited September 2017 Posts: 684
    These are the ones that stand out for me, roughly in order.

    1. MOONRAKER, Tournier - There's a certain glow to the characters in MR, which only adds to the exceptionally dreamy quality which Tournier puts light towards throughout, suitable to the film insofar that it functions as both an exotic travelogue and a tale of the fantastic.
    2. QUANTUM OF SOLACE, Schaefer - Schaefer's work captures the flavor of the locales better than anyone's attempts since Tournier. The cinematography does well being stylish enough without calling attention to itself.
    3. SKYFALL, Deakins - Speaking of calling attention to itself -- not a bad thing, if your Deakins and can get away with it. Not much to be otherwise said here that isn't better observed from watching the thing. The nighttime work is best, at the finale certainly but also during the highrise fight.
    4. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, Young - The landscape stuff is incredible, of course, but my favorite shots in the film are from when Bond arrives ashore in Japan through to his meeting Tanaka. I love the way Young shot Tokyo at night.
    5. TOMORROW NEVER DIES, Elswit - Easily the best looking Brosnan picture. There ought to be no surprise that Elswit would eventually pull off something as magnificent as THERE WILL BE BLOOD based on what he turns in here. Brimming with vibrancy and life throughout, the colors do truly pop. The very definition of eye candy.

    From there, probably --

    6. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, Renoir
    7. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, Reed
    8. DR. NO, Ted Moore

    Bond has by and large been blessed with great cinematographers over the years.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    1. Michael Reed - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    2. Roger Deakins - Skyfall
    3. Jean Tournier - Moonraker
    4. Freddie Young - You Only Live Twice
    5. Ted Moore - From Russia with Love
    6. Phil Meheux - Casino Royale
    7. Claude Renoir - The Spy Who Loved Me
    8. Alan Hume - For Your Eyes Only
    9. Ted Moore - Thunderball
    10. Roberto Schaeffer - Quantum of Solace
    11. Hoyte Van Hoytema - Spectre
    12. Ted Moore - Dr. No
    13. Ted Moore - Goldfinger
    14. Robert Elswit - Tomorrow Never Dies
    15. Alec Mills - The Living Daylights
    16. Alan Hume - Octopussy
    17. Ted Moore & Oswald Morris - The Man with the Golden Gun
    18. Ted Moore - Live and Let Die
    19. Phil Meheux - GoldenEye
    20. David Tattersall - Die Another Day
    21. Alan Hume - A View to a Kill
    22. Ted Moore - Diamonds Are Forever
    23. Alec Mills - Licence to Kill
    24. Adrian Biddle - The World is Not Enough
  • shamelordshamelord
    Posts: 157
    Top

    1. Phil Meheux - Casino Royale
    2. Roger Deakins - Skyfall
    3. Alec Mills - The Living Daylights
    4. Alec Mills - Licence to Kill
    5. Jean Tournier - Moonraker

    Great

    6. Michael Reed - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    7. Robert Elswit - Tomorrow Never Dies
    8. Claude Renoir - The Spy Who Loved Me
    9. Freddie Young - You Only Live Twice
    10. Ted Moore - Goldfinger
    11. Ted Moore - Thunderball
    12. Roberto Schaeffer - Quantum of Solace
    13. David Tattersall - Die Another Day
    14. Douglas Slocombe - Never Say Never Again

    Good / nothing special

    15. Ted Moore - Diamonds Are Forever
    16. Alan Hume - A View to a Kill
    17. Ted Moore - Dr. No
    18. Ted Moore - From Russia with Love
    19. Hoyte Van Hoytema - Spectre
    20. Phil Meheux - GoldenEye
    21. Alan Hume - Octopussy
    22. Alan Hume - For Your Eyes Only
    23. Ted Moore & Oswald Morris - The Man with the Golden Gun
    24. Ted Moore - Live and Let Die

    Bad

    25. Adrian Biddle - The World is Not Enough

  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    edited September 2017 Posts: 11,119
    You should all watch this wonderful video of Film School Rejects; a video from cinema lovers, who aren't necessarily Bond fans:


    Here's the link to the Original article:
    https://filmschoolrejects.com/overhaul-cinematography-james-bond-daniel-craig-era/

  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited September 2017 Posts: 23,883
    Gustav_Graves wrote: »
    You should all watch this wonderful video of Film School Rejects; a video from cinema lovers, who aren't necessarily Bond fans:


    Here's the link to the Original article:
    https://filmschoolrejects.com/overhaul-cinematography-james-bond-daniel-craig-era/
    That's a nice video and the article is interesting, but I disagree with them. I believe cinematography has always been an essential element of Bond films, going all the way back to DN. It's a key component of what differentiates James Bond from more mundane fare, and is part of what gave the early films character and resonance. I'm a visual person and that's one of the first things that drew me to Bond films as a kid. I loved the larger than life cinematic aspect of the whole thing.

    In my opinion, that had indeed been lost prior to the Craig era. I believe it started to dissipate during Glen's long run as director. He always seemed more interested in the action (which he was so good at directing) and didn't take sufficient time to capture the atmosphere of the many locations he visited, despite Barry still being on duty to do it musically. The films lacked that larger than life feeling of the films from the 60s and 70s for me. I won't even talk about the Brosnan era, which was a disgrace in this respect (although ironically, DAD has some beautifully framed sequences interspersed with the nonsense, most notably during the Aston/Jag chase) as does GE & TND.

    So yes, the Craig era has brought it back, but I'd argue it was a part of Bond to begin with. Just lost for a while during the 80s/90s.
  • BT3366BT3366
    Posts: 1,917
    This comment - All the earlier efforts were, with due respect, vehicles for action sequences, there was little to nothing dynamic about their cinematography otherwise, and even the action sequences were more dazzling for their production design than for the way they were shot - is unwarranted and unfair. Sure it's easy to compare something modern to something from 50 years ago, especially when anybody with a cell phone can create something that would have qualified as an epic in the previous century.

    First, the early films weren't just action films and given their limited budgets it's amazing what they did with what they had.

    Secondly, they don't take into account how these movies introduced audiences to exotic locations people didn't have easy access to as travel options were more limited and more affordable for the well off. The waters of the Caribbean add to DN and TB, the mystery of eastern Europe in FRWL and Japan looks like another world in YOLT. The snows of Switzerland in OHMSS look beautiful and have hidden dangers.

    And who can say Ted Moore's cinematography in GF doesn't reflect the glitter of its subject matter?


  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    BondJasonBond006 wrote: »
    And the winner is:

    S K Y F A L L



    I still can't believe those Academy imbeciles didn't give the Oscar to Deakins bloody hell !!!!

    Spot on, and he finally got one this year.
  • ThighsOfXeniaThighsOfXenia
    Posts: 1,596
    Daunting undertaking, but I'll be keeping notes on cinematography/cinematographers this time through the films, so I'll try to get a list together.
  • RemingtonRemington I'll do anything for a woman with a knife.
    edited May 2018 Posts: 1,534
    The Bond films have definitely been blessed when it comes to cinematography. I like the look of almost every film.

    1. OHMSS
    2. QOS
    3. SF
    4. CR
    5. YOLT
    6. TB
    7. DN
    8. TSWLM
    9. MR

    10. TND
    11. GE
    12. DAD
    13. TLD
    14. FRWL
    15. GF

    16. LALD
    17. OP
    18. FYEO
    19. LTK
    20. TMWTGG
    21. AVTAK
    22. TWINE
    23. DAF - at least the Blu-Ray looks good.
    24. SP - If not for the yellow, this would be much higher.
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    @Remington HAHA spectre is last because of the yellow shaded pts lol
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    In the words of Coldplay: "...and it was all yellow."
  • RemingtonRemington I'll do anything for a woman with a knife.
    Posts: 1,534
    Lol YES!
  • ThighsOfXeniaThighsOfXenia
    Posts: 1,596
    There’s a lot more to cinemtography than color timing. Spectre’s cinematography is often quite strong, although I agree the colors in some sequences (the PTS, parts in Rome) are quite hideous. However, Hoytema’s photography really shines during the torture sequence (the dreamlike quality of the scene, the extreme use of white), Blofeld’s lair (thinking of the shots of the rows of monitors) and the Lucia Sciarra scene is beautifully filmed as well. Compelling use of what is in-focus and out-of-focus in that scene.

    Definitely don’t think it’s the worst of the series. Not by a long shot. Hoytema’s photography also has a very textural feel to it, as if you can physically touch it in some scenes. Deakins’ work on Skyfall is superior, in terms of lighting and composition aiding each respective scene, but I like the physical look of Spectre more (and I’m not a celluloid purist, by any means, as Michael Mann’s digital works are some of my favorite American cinema of the century).
  • RemingtonRemington I'll do anything for a woman with a knife.
    Posts: 1,534
    The camerawork in SP is definitely top notch. Although, several shots go on way too long. For example, the shot of Bond at the bar in the clinic goes on forever.
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