For me…I really get a lot out of movies with a lot of atmosphere. Even to the extent that a lot of the other aspects of the movies can be bad and I’ll still enjoy it. Now most of the movies that I like for this reason are still great movies in their own right, but there are others that still do it for me despite being quite lame (Point Break). A lot of it has to do with cinematography, but it’s not always the case. Let me give a few examples.
The French Connection. I first saw this less than a year ago. I thought the plot was good. For an older movie it certainly did show its age in the way the pacing was set up, but still very good. But what was so great about it? It was New York in the 70’s and it was BLEAK. Even better, they filmed it in the winter. Not the typical (ooh, it’s winter and it’s pretty and snowing!) It is bleak winter. The kind of winter where you go out and curse yourself for having to leave the house.
Heat. Great action movie in itself, but there are so many scenes that are quite poetically done. There are so many scenes that just make me feel as if I’m living in LA. Now…this is a fantasy version of LA i’ve build in my head, but it’s still quite real from the movie. It really highlights the essence of LA to me in the way that the city seems to be very suburban, in a sense, but older than cities like Houston or Atlanta in that all of the expansion was done much longer before. It’s quite interesting in that respect.
The Insider. Now, to be honest, I have no special attachment to the locations of this film, but damn if it wasn’t an amazing thing to watch. There were so many scenes and the music is always key too.
Sneakers. This is a great film, but it also lives and breathes San Francisco at certain times. It’s very good at what it does, but it also shows a great sense of atmosphere.
I mentioned Point Break earlier. It’s a kitsch movie, but it has SoCal running through every single scene. It’s funny like that. Also…I’m almost embarrassed to admit…Mortal Kombat. I liked it as a kid, and it’s a horrible movie to be sure, but the scenes on that island paradise like place were pretty cool if you ignore the acting! And also some fight between one of the characters and the bad guys took place in this forest. Only it was a planned forest. Not like the normal kind though that are normally pine trees, but this was with deciduous trees…
I find that the same goes for other media as well. Books? I can read all kinds of books, but i’m willing to be extra forgiving if I like the way the background is painted.
So what I guess I’m trying to say, do you guys feel the same about movies or whatever? And if so, give some examples of certain things that you like.
Good one. If I thought of it I would have come in to post that. I think a lot of it’s due to the music.
Vertigo is similar. I think the score was done by the same guy (can’t remember his name), but it really helps set the right mood for the film. It’s best to not watch that movie thinking of it as a mystery to be solved, but something to sink into and experience all the strange things going on.
Citizen Kane is very atmospheric at times, like at the beginning.
It’s not David Lynch type strangeness, so you might be disappointed if you’re expecting that. It’s just that the main character finds himself in a situation where things don’t seem to make sense. It’s psychological, but more in an impressionist way than an expressionist way.
For me it has to be Bladerunner. To me the story just happens to be taking place in the background of this fabulous atmosphere created by Ridley Scott and Vangelis.
This might sound like an odd choice, but one of the main reasons I love The Ring is the atmosphere created by it having been filmed in a muted blue / green palette and the haunting soundtrack. Something about it just sucks me right in.
I suppose one thing that I’ve noticed about my choices vs. the choices of the others is that mine seem to rarely use actual sets. All of mine seem to be filmed on various locations. I guess I appreciate that more somehow.
I would recommend The Man Who Wasn’t There, but for the fact that I would never recommend seeing it on anything but the big screen first. It’s beauty is crystalline and while it does translate to the small screen well, nothing will ever compare to the night I saw it a hundred feet across.
That said, I’ll second Alien[sup]3[/sup]. As was noted upthread, it’s not popular, but it’s my second favorite of the 3 Alien movies.
Gummo was recommended to me by a friend and it has a lot of atmosphere. Takes place in Xenia, Ohio after the devastating tornado ripped through. No sets, all shot on location. The movie revels in painting an almost post-apocalyptic nihilistic dystopia. I have no idea what the point of the movie is, but it certainly succeeds in creating an atmosphere like I’ve never seen before. The colorful characters only make it that much more dramatic.
And for another atmospheric movie with “Children” in the title, The Children of Men. Sets up a very believable dystopian future with loads of period detail (present wherever you look, but never overdone). I got a huge kick out of reading the graffiti, headlines and advertisements in the background.
Let me pony up two spectacular films–on old and new one–that fits this category…
Orson Welles The Third Man; a great movie in its own right, and a lot of that comes from the atmosphere of post-war Vienna. Characters walk blithely by piles of rubble that were once buildings prior to the war, just to give one example. Many unusual shots and almost claustrophobic camerawork underscore postwar Viennese society and meshes perfectly with the storyline. Definitely put it in your queue.
Pan’s Labyrinth; it’s not at all fair to call this a simple fantasy film. The lush fantasy elements are in stark contrast to the bleak and colorless world of WWII Spain. This fundamental clash of atmospheres is critical IMO to the way the film works, so here you get two well-crafted realities for the price of one. It is imaginative, dangerous, and utterly engrossing.
City of God definitely made me feel like I was in Rio, and not in a good way. Excellent, excellent movie, though.
The film adaptation of Snow Falling on Cedars was incredibly atmospheric, and was the first movie I thought of when reading the thread title. The exterior shots were simply gorgeous, and made me feel as if I was right outside with the characters.
City of God made me feel the heat of Brazil as well as the desperate situation of the characters; Snow Falling on Cedars was a much slower-paced film that matched the cooler temperatures of Washington state.
The City of Lost Children had amazing atmosphere. The bright colours, the carnival music…god I love that movie. weeps that she has a VHS copy and a disconnected VCR