Roger Deakins is the cinematographer extraordinaire behind visual delights like The Shawshank Redemption, Skyfall, and 1917. He's worked with everyone from Martin Scorsese to M. Night Shyamalan and has collaborated extensively with the Coen Brothers. Uncommonly for a cinematographer, Deakins has a fan following more like that of a director. A considerable number of moviegoers will check out a movie just because he worked on it. The same goes for actors. Ryan Gosling reportedly signed on to Blade Runner 2049 in part because Deakins was shooting it.
Deakins clearly has a deep love for cinema, and he has spoken at length about the movies that inspired his own approach to cinematography. His favorites lean toward classic dramas, epic war movies, and landmarks of world cinema. Deakins is also a big fan of documentaries, especially experimental ones. The following are some of his most intriguing recommendations, many of which should appeal to fans of Deakins' work.
10 'Come and See' (1985)
Directed by Elem Klimov
Come and See is a harrowing Soviet war film set in Belarus during the Nazi invasion. At the heart of the story is the teenage boy Florya (Alexei Kravchenko), who finds an old rifle and excitedly joins the resistance. He dreams of camaraderie and glory but instead finds carnage and cruelty. What follows is a cavalcade of destruction, plumbing the absolute worst depths of World War II. We see this nightmare through Florya's eyes, thanks to a moving performance from Kravchenko.
Existential and unrelenting, Come and See is now frequently ranked among the greatest films of all time. Deakins was impressed by the cinematography, saying, "There's some really stunning compositions and some stunning techniques [in Come and See]. Some of the split diopter shots and some of the scenes in the rain with the sun. Some of the compositions are just mind-blowingly beautiful. But they don't distract, they connect you somehow, the beauty of them," he said.
Come and See
Not Rated- Release Date
- September 3, 1985
- Director
- Elem Klimov
- Cast
- Aleksey Kravchenko , Olga Mironova , Liubomiras Laucevicius , Vladas Bagdonas
- Runtime
- 142 minutes
9 'Le Samouraï' (1971)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
"There is no solitude greater than a samurai's. Unless perhaps it is that of a tiger in the jungle." Alain Delon is Jef Costello, a taciturn and impeccably dressed hitman who operates with meticulous precision and a samurai code. The film opens with Costello planning and executing a hit, only to find himself the target of both the police and his employers. He soon realizes that the only way for him to get out alive is by eliminating his vengeful boss (Jean-Pierre Posier).
Minimalist and effortlessly cool, Le Samouraï ranks among the most iconic French crime films ever made. Here, Jean-Pierre Melville takes '40s gangster tropes and filters them from his own existentialist perspective. It has influenced everything from Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog and Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive to, most recently, David Fincher's The Killer. Deakins included it on his list of the ten greatest films of all time.
Le Samourai
PGCrime- Release Date
- October 25, 1967
- Director
- Jean-Pierre Melville
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
8 'Army of Shadows' (1968)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Army of Shadows is another Melville gem, this time set during WWII. It centers on Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), a high-ranking member of the French Resistance, as he navigates the treacherous landscape of occupied France. We follow him and his comrades as they move between safe houses, liaise with the Allies, and hunt down informants, all while trying to evade the long arm of the authorities.
The movie works because it's subtle and atmospheric rather than over-the-top and action-packed. The focus here isn't on gunfights or derring-do, but rather on the quiet bravery of these characters who fear that they may be found out and captured at any moment. This aspect of the film draws on Melville's own experiences in the Resistance, making it all the more authentic. "What stuck with me is the sense of mood and the sense of place [in Army of Shadows]," Deakins said. "And the absolutely uncluttered, direct way it shows you things that make it so haunting and so difficult to watch at times."
Army of Shadows
NR- Release Date
- September 12, 1969
- Director
- Jean-Pierre Melville
- Runtime
- 145
- Main Genre
- Drama
7 'Rocco and his Brothers' (1960)
Directed by Luchino Visconti
Rocco and His Brothers is an epic family drama by Italian maestro Luchino Visconti, who also made The Damned and Ludwig. Set in Milan, this one follows the Parondi family, who migrate from the southern countryside to the industrial north in search of a better life. However, adapting to urban life proves to be a struggle. Tensions boil over when brothers Rocco (Alain Delon) and Simone (Renato Salvatori) fall for the same woman (Annie Girardot).
The film is grand and operatic, clocking in at almost three hours long. It features powerful black-and-white cinematography alongside intense performance and incisive commentary on family dynamics. Its influence can be seen in later masterpieces like The Godfather and Mean Streets. The relationship between Harvey Keitel's character and Robert De Niro in the latter film has much in common with that between Rocco and Simone. Deakins included this, too, among his all-time top ten.
6 'The Passenger' (1975)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a disillusioned journalist who, while covering a war in Africa, assumes the identity of a businessman named Robertson to evade his own troubled past. However, what he doesn't realize is that Robertson was an arms dealer, and his newfound identity comes with baggage of its own. At the same time, Locke's wife Rachel (Jenny Runacre), realizing that something is not right, sets out to find him.
Like most of Antonioni's movies, The Passenger is visually beautiful, with fantastic cinematography from Luciano Tovoli. Not all reviewers enjoyed its plot, with many finding it empty and slight, but there's no denying Nicholson's impressive performance. He's unusually quiet, restrained, and reflective here, in contrast to the more energetic and larger-than-life roles he's most famous for. Maria Schneider likewise delivers a standout performance as an architecture student Locke meets in Barcelona. The Passenger also appeared on Deakins's favorites list.
The Passenger
PG- Release Date
- February 28, 1975
- Runtime
- 126
- Cast
- Jack Nicholson , Maria Schneider , Steven Berkoff
- Main Genre
- Drama
5 'The War Room' (1993)
Directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker
The War Room is a documentary that offers an inside look the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign. The film focuses on campaign strategist James Carville and communications director George Stephanopoulos, key architects of Bill Clinton's electoral victory. In the process, it examines the intense political maneuvering, decision-making, and personal relationships that shape a high-stakes political campaign.
Breezing by at just 96 minutes long, The War Room does a good job of demystifying what is often an opaque and poorly understood part of politics. It broke ground in its depiction of a presidential campaign, and will likely remain the blueprint for similar documentaries for decades to come. Some viewers may find the whole thing a little inside baseball, but political junkies are sure to get a kick out of it. "Our democracy would only benefit from more films like this!” Deakins said of it.
4 'Waltz with Bashir' (2008)
Directed by Ari Folman
Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary by Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman, who also made the mind-bending The Congress with Robin Wright. This one focuses on Folman's own experiences during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. He interviews other veterans in the hopes of resurrecting his memories of the conflict, which he is strangely unable to recall. In particular, he seeks to find out more details about a particular massacre that occurred in Beirut. The stories are brought to life with unique, beautiful imagery. It looks like rotoscoping, but it's actually made up of drawings and Adobe Flash cutouts.
The use of animation allows Folman to get closer to the brutality and trauma of his interviewees' recollections, without the movie becoming overwhelmingly gratuitous. The result is a truly unique war film that crams so much food for thought into its lean 90-minute runtime. "Documentary as animation? Terrible in its simplicity," Deakins said.
Waltz with Bashir
R- Release Date
- June 26, 2008
- Director
- Ari Folman
- Cast
- Ron Ben-Yishai , Ronny Dayag , Ari Folman , Dror Harazi , Yehezkel Lazarov , Mickey Leon
- Runtime
- 87
3 'Chronicle of a Summer' (1961)
Directed by Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin
Chronicle of a Summer is a groundbreaking work that blurs the lines between documentary and fiction, pioneering the cinéma vérité movement. The directors invite a diverse group of Parisians to share their thoughts and experiences on camera. The participants, ranging from intellectuals to factory workers, candidly discuss their hopes, fears, and perspectives on life. Thereafter, the filmmakers show the interviewees the footage and ask them what they think about it.
The movie is endlessly meta and self-reflexive, raising questions about the authenticity of any documentary or filmed interview. Indeed, it begins with the directors having a conversation about whether it's actually possible to truly be sincere on camera. The film was ahead of its time, blowing open the possibilities of what a documentary could be. It's now regarded as a classic of the medium. Deakins named Chronicle of a Summer as a favorite, calling it a "lovely poem".
2 'Elena' (2011)
Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev
This Russian crime drama tells the story of Elena (Nadezhda Markina), a woman from a poor background who marries a business tycoon named Vladimir (Andrey Smirnov). Vladimir grows irritated with Sergey (Aleksey Rozin), Elena's son from a previous marriage, who continuously asks for money. To put a stop to this, Vladimir announces that he is going to amend his will so that Elena and her son will receive nothing when he dies. Instead, he will leave everything to his daughter (Elena Lyadova). Shocked, Elena resolves to murder Vladimir before the changes take effect.
Elena is a devastating and multilayered portrait of modern Russia, where the social fabric seems to be fraying. Deakins praised the film's cinematography, particularly the way they shot sets to look like real locations and blended them seamlessly with the exteriors. "I felt it was amazing how they’d managed to connect those sets to the exterior locations. Finding those joins while maintaining the mood and the feel of the story was a really brilliant achievement," Deakins said.
1 'The War Game' (1966)
Directed by Peter Watkins
This British TV movie won the Best Documentary Oscar, but it's not really a documentary. Rather, it's a dramatization of what nuclear armageddon might look like. Specifically, The War Game depicts the aftermath of a nuclear strike on the United Kingdom. We see this in frighteningly realistic detail, especially the firestorm that engulfs the town of Rochester. It's intense viewing and would have been especially hard-hitting when it came out during the height of the Cold War.
The movie is also notable for predating by almost two decades most of the other well-known nuclear disaster movies, like Threads and The Day After. "It had such an effect on me. I've always remembered that film and the style in which it's done," Deakins said. "People think that the handheld camera and documentary realism is something new, but that film is the ultimate in shooting that style, as though you are just grabbing things."
NEXT: 10 Great Movies Recommended by Alejandro González Iñárritu
