40 movies a photographer must watch
by elyelyxa | created - 19 Mar 2014 | updated - 19 Mar 2014 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Baraka (1992)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary
A collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
Director: Ron Fricke | Star: Patrick Disanto
Votes: 40,967 | Gross: $1.33M
2. Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A series of vignettes that all have coffee and cigarettes in common.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni, RZA
Votes: 67,460 | Gross: $1.97M
3. The Third Man (1949)
Approved | 93 min | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller
Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard
Votes: 181,763 | Gross: $0.45M
4. Days of Heaven (1978)
PG | 94 min | Drama, Romance
A hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz
Votes: 62,718
5. Salvador (1986)
R | 122 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: James Woods, Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage
Votes: 23,135
6. The Photographer (1974)
PG | 94 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A murder story with a comedic twist. A famous photographer uses his models for more than taking pictures. He needs them as victims to satisfy his blood-lust. Each murder becomes more bizarre than the next.
Director: William Byron Hillman | Stars: Michael Callan, Barbara Nichols, Harold J. Stone, Edward Andrews
Votes: 78
7. The Killing Fields (1984)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
A journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands
Votes: 59,095 | Gross: $34.70M
8. Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye (2003)
Not Rated | 72 min | Documentary, Biography
Artist Henri Cartier-Bresson comments on several of his photographs. One of the last films shot with the photographer, also featuring Robert Delpire, Elliott Erwitt, Isabelle Huppert, Josef Koudelka, Arthur Miller, and Ferdinando Scianna.
Director: Heinz Bütler | Stars: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alexander Brooks, Robert Delpire, Elliott Erwitt
Votes: 359 | Gross: $0.03M
9. Saving Face (2012)
Not Rated | 40 min | Documentary, Short, Drama
Plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad returns to his native Pakistan to help those left horribly scarred by acid attacks.
Directors: Daniel Junge, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy | Stars: Sarkar Abbas, Mohammad Jawad
Votes: 1,511
10. Blow-Up (1966)
Not Rated | 111 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A fashion photographer unknowingly captures a death on film after following two lovers in a park.
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni | Stars: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, John Castle
Votes: 67,607
11. The Public Eye (1992)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In the early 1940s, an infamous New York paparazzo gets an assignment from a club owner to do a background search on a mysterious gangster, which leads him down a very dangerous path.
Director: Howard Franklin | Stars: Joe Pesci, Barbara Hershey, Richard Riehle, Bryan Travis Smith
Votes: 4,425 | Gross: $3.07M
12. Roads of Kiarostami (2005)
32 min | Documentary, Short
A documentary which is consist of poetry, music and photos. Kiarostami made this of some photos he had take from some Iran's roads which he has passed himself during many years.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Star: Abbas Kiarostami
Votes: 358
13. National Geographic: The Photographers (1998 Video)
Not Rated | 53 min | Documentary
Wonderful insight into the hard work that goes into National Geographic photography.
Star: Keith David
Votes: 52
14. Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Turning her back on her wealthy, established family, Diane Arbus falls in love with Lionel Sweeney, an enigmatic mentor who introduces Arbus to the marginalized people who help her become one of the most revered photographers of the twentieth century.
Director: Steven Shainberg | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Robert Downey Jr., Ty Burrell, Harris Yulin
Votes: 16,359 | Gross: $0.22M
15. Rear Window (1954)
PG | 112 min | Mystery, Thriller
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter
Votes: 521,799 | Gross: $36.76M
16. Manufactured Landscapes (2006)
Unrated | 86 min | Documentary
Photographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world observing changes in landscapes due to industrial work and manufacturing.
Director: Jennifer Baichwal | Star: Edward Burtynsky
Votes: 3,063 | Gross: $0.24M
17.
Imagine (2003– )
Episode:
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens
(2008)
TV-14 | 90 min | Biography, History
Barbara Leibovitz's intimate biography of her sister the photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Director: Barbara Leibovitz | Stars: Alan Yentob, Paula Abdul, Ruth Ansel, Mikhail Baryshnikov
Votes: 226
18. Proof (1991)
R | 86 min | Drama, Romance
The life of a blind photographer who is looked after by a housekeeper is disrupted by the arrival of an agreeable restaurant worker.
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse | Stars: Hugo Weaving, Geneviève Picot, Russell Crowe, Heather Mitchell
Votes: 7,123 | Gross: $0.52M
19. High Art (1998)
R | 101 min | Drama, Romance
A young female intern at a small magazine company and a drug-addicted lesbian photographer slowly fall in love while exploiting each other to advance their respective careers.
Director: Lisa Cholodenko | Stars: Radha Mitchell, Ally Sheedy, Patricia Clarkson, Gabriel Mann
Votes: 11,111 | Gross: $1.93M
20. Funny Face (1957)
Not Rated | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
An impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.
Director: Stanley Donen | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair
Votes: 32,996
21. Pecker (1998)
R | 87 min | Comedy, Drama
A talented young photographer, who enjoys snapping photos of his satirical, perverted Baltimore neighborhood and his wacky family, gets dragged into a world of pretentious artists from New York City and finds newfound fame.
Director: John Waters | Stars: Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Bess Armstrong, Mark Joy
Votes: 14,851 | Gross: $2.28M
22.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Robert Capa: In Love and War
(2003)
TV-14 | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary about the life of famed war photographer Robert Capa.
Director: Anne Makepeace | Stars: Steven Spielberg, Goran Visnjic
Votes: 211
23. Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture (1990 TV Movie)
R | 104 min | Drama
Raymond Eames, a small-time drug dealer, has been sentenced to death for the shooting death of a policeman. After seven years of appeals are exhausted, the date of his execution arrives. ... See full summary »
Director: Frank Pierson | Stars: Roy Scheider, Bonnie Bedelia, Robert Carradine, Andre Braugher
Votes: 279
24. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Romance, War
A young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hunt, Bembol Roco
Votes: 22,862 | Gross: $10.28M
25. Shutter (II) (2004)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past.
Directors: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom | Stars: Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, Achita Sikamana, Unnop Chanpaibool
Votes: 49,129
26. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 166,736 | Gross: $2.73M
27. The Bang Bang Club (2010)
R | 106 min | Biography, Drama, History
A drama based on the true-life experiences of four combat photographers capturing the final days of apartheid in South Africa.
Director: Steven Silver | Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman, Taylor Kitsch, Neels van Jaarsveld
Votes: 11,526
28. Visions of Light (1992)
92 min | Documentary, History
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Do the Right Thing (1989).
Directors: Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, Stuart Samuels | Stars: Conrad L. Hall, John Bailey, Vilmos Zsigmond, Charles Lang
Votes: 3,334 | Gross: $0.80M
29. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Music
A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
Director: Godfrey Reggio | Stars: Edward Asner, Pat Benatar, Jerry Brown, Johnny Carson
Votes: 41,443 | Gross: $1.72M
30. Winged Migration (2001)
G | 89 min | Documentary
Documentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents.
Directors: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats | Stars: Jacques Perrin, Philippe Labro
Votes: 12,365 | Gross: $10.76M
31. Under Fire (1983)
R | 128 min | Drama, War
Three journalists in a romantic triangle are involved in political intrigue during the last days of the corrupt Somoza regime in Nicaragua before it falls to a popular revolution in 1979.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Nick Nolte, Ed Harris, Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy
Votes: 8,505 | Gross: $5.70M
32. War Photographer (2001)
96 min | Documentary, War
Documentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.
Director: Christian Frei | Stars: James Nachtwey, Christiane Amanpour, Hans-Hermann Klare, Christiane Breustedt
Votes: 4,300
33. Iraq in Fragments (2006)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, War
Stories from modern day Iraq as told by Iraqis living in a time of war, occupation and ethnic tension.
Director: James Longley | Stars: Marmar Alhilali, Mohammed Haithem, Suleiman Mahmoud, Mohamed Qasim Sainakh
Votes: 1,546 | Gross: $0.20M
34. Dreams (1990)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Fantasy
A collection of tales based upon eight of director Akira Kurosawa's recurring dreams.
Directors: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda | Stars: Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baishô, Toshie Negishi, Mieko Harada
Votes: 29,154 | Gross: $1.96M
35. Barry Lyndon (1975)
PG | 185 min | Adventure, Drama, War
An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger
Votes: 182,953
36. The Conformist (1970)
R | 113 min | Drama
A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Enzo Tarascio
Votes: 33,669 | Gross: $0.54M
37. The Last Emperor (1987)
PG-13 | 163 min | Biography, Drama, History
Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying
Votes: 111,453 | Gross: $43.98M
38. Three Colors: Blue (1993)
R | 94 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Juliette Binoche, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Benoît Régent
Votes: 110,446 | Gross: $1.32M
39. Three Colors: Red (1994)
R | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A model discovers a retired judge is keen on invading people's privacy.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frédérique Feder, Jean-Pierre Lorit
Votes: 109,961 | Gross: $4.04M
40. Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film (2002 TV Movie)
100 min | Documentary
An in depth study of Adams's life and work.
Director: Ric Burns | Stars: Ansel Adams, Josh Hamilton, Barbara Feldon, John Szarkowski
Votes: 166
Tell Your Friends