The Best Cinematography of the 21st Century
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The technology of cinematography has undergone some of the most seismic shifts in film history this century, with what began in the 2000s as an almost entirely photochemical process transforming into the digitally captured, manipulated, and projected images of today. The art of cinematography, however — using light, color, and texture to express ideas and elicit emotional reactions from the audience — remains intact.
In 2017, IndieWire made a list of the best shot feature films of the century thus far; the list was updated in 2020, and what follows is the third and most extensive version of the list. It’s also the first to be spearheaded by the IndieWire Craft team, which has grown considerably since this list was first published. Ranking cinematography is, in some ways, a fool’s errand given the broad variety of genres, resources, and intentions encompassed by the films below, but these are 60 titles that IndieWire believes will stand the test of time.
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62 new
1917
2019, in 13 top lists -
15 new
Ah-ga-ssi
2016 — a.k.a. The Handmaiden, in 13 top lists Check -
46 new
All That Breathes
2022, in 0 top lists -
64 new
Antichrist
2009, in 8 top lists Check -
1 new
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward...
2007, in 7 top lists Check -
44 new
The Aviator
2004, in 8 top lists Check -
41 new
Babylon
2022, in 1 top list -
23 new
The Beguiled
2017, in 0 top lists Check -
68 new
Beoning
2018 — a.k.a. Burning, in 8 top lists -
53 new
Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da
2011 — a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, in 8 top lists Check -
65 new
Birth
2004, in 3 top lists Check -
51 new
Black Hawk Down
2001, in 5 top lists Check -
66 new
Black Swan
2010, in 12 top lists Check -
12 new
Blade Runner 2049
2017, in 9 top lists Check -
92 new
Boi Neon
2015 — a.k.a. Neon Bull, in 1 top list Check -
67 new
Bright Star
2009, in 4 top lists Check -
16 new
Carol
2015, in 8 top lists Check -
39 new
Children of Men
2006, in 12 top lists Check -
49 new
Cidade de Deus
2002 — a.k.a. City of God, in 22 top lists Check -
69 new
Collateral
2004, in 6 top lists Check -
60 new
The Dark Knight
2008, in 27 top lists Check -
43 new
Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte
2009 — a.k.a. The White Ribbon, in 10 top lists Check -
36 new
Dune: Part One
2021 — a.k.a. Dune, in 7 top lists Check -
72 new
Dunkirk
2017, in 8 top lists Check -
96 new
El laberinto del fauno
2006 — a.k.a. Pan's Labyrinth, in 33 top lists Check -
55 new
Enter the Void
2009, in 7 top lists Check -
32 new
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2004, in 28 top lists Check -
3 new
Fa yeung nin wah
2000 — a.k.a. In the Mood for Love, in 30 top lists Check -
50 new
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
2001 — a.k.a. Amélie, in 27 top lists Check -
73 new
The Fall
2006, in 6 top lists Check -
4 new
Far from Heaven
2002, in 10 top lists Check -
75 new
The Fountain
2006, in 4 top lists Check -
38 new
The French Dispatch
2021, in 1 top list -
97 new
Gisaengchung
2019 — a.k.a. Parasite, in 22 top lists -
76 new
The Grand Budapest Hotel
2014, in 16 top lists Check -
78 new
La grande bellezza
2013 — a.k.a. The Great Beauty, in 11 top lists Check -
17 new
Gravity
2013, in 12 top lists Check -
37 new
The Green Knight
2021, in 1 top list -
70 new
Heojil kyolshim
2022 — a.k.a. Decision to Leave, in 2 top lists -
79 new
Her
2013, in 10 top lists Check -
20 new
Ida
2013, in 8 top lists Check -
8 new
The Immigrant
2013, in 3 top lists Check -
48 new
In the Cut
2003, in 4 top lists Check -
28 new
Interstellar
2014, in 13 top lists Check -
80 new
Isle of Dogs
2018, in 1 top list Check -
81 new
Ixcanul
2015, in 1 top list Check -
40 new
John Wick: Chapter 2
2017, in 0 top lists Check -
10 new
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2003, in 18 top lists Check -
11 new
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
2004, in 10 top lists Check -
82 new
Killing Them Softly
2012, in 0 top lists Check
Last updated on Aug 20, 2023; source