# Great Visual Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601 "2007-02-02T20:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/1 "2007-02-02T20:34:21Z")
I’m loving my giant plasma screen, and now I’m looking for movies that bring out the best of the wonderful display. So far I have **What Dreams May Come** , **2001** , and **The Cell** , and I have **The Fountain** saved for when it gets released on dvd. What are your favorite movies are just a feast for the eyes? The movie doesn’t have to be good, as witnessed by some of my choices, just visually impressive and not black & white (so **Manhattan** doesn’t make the cut). ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/2 "2007-02-02T20:38:10Z")
**Asparagus** - it used to be shown with some midnight movies. Great visuals, espcially if coupled with the demon weed- not sure if a DVD is available. > **[Asparagus (Short 1979) ⭐ 7.2 | Animation, Short](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140821/)** > > 20m | Not Rated ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/3 "2007-02-02T20:40:24Z")
_Akira_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/4 "2007-02-02T20:49:22Z")
[Days of Heaven](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077405/). The most beautiful movie ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/5 "2007-02-02T20:56:03Z")
\*\*\*The Fifth Element \*\* \* has kind of become the “standard” for showing off the capabilities of a video display. Eye-popping colors and just cool overall art design. _ **Finding Nemo** _ also looks gorgeous. For great, natural scenery, _ **Dances With Wolves** _ and _ **The Last of the Mohicans** _ are both beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/6 "2007-02-02T20:58:54Z")
I was going to say **The Cell** , so you have that covered. Travelogue in things like \*\*Open Range \*\* and \*\*Brokeback Mountain \*\* woud be cool. And **Winged Migration** and **Microcosmos**. And parts of \*\*Apocalypse Now \*\* are stunning. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/7 "2007-02-02T21:00:13Z")
I thought “House of Flying Daggers” was pretty visually impressive. > **[House of Flying Daggers (2004) ⭐ 7.5 | Action, Adventure, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385004/)** > > 1h 59m | PG-13 ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/8 "2007-02-02T21:00:30Z")
Reality Chuck beat me to it, but I’ll chime in to recommend Days of Heaven, the most beautiful movie ever. I think the Lord of the Rings movies are great viewing experiences, esp. Fellowship of the Ring. The bigger the screen the better. And when you’ve got that big screen don’t forget Lawrence of Arabia . ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/9 "2007-02-02T21:03:46Z")
Hero, of course. Fifth Element Baraka Spirited Away ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/10 "2007-02-02T21:06:26Z")
[Black Orpheus](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews11/black_orpheus.htm), [Kwaidan](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews8/kwaidan.htm), [Days of Heaven](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews9/days-of-heaven.htm), [Elvira Madigan](http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=57208), [Gone With the Wind](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview6/gonewiththewind.htm), [The Adventures of Robin Hood](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview2/robinhood.htm), [The Wizard of Oz](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/wizard.htm), [Thief of Bagdad](http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/review.asp?id=10653&reviewid=1364). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/11 "2007-02-02T21:12:45Z")
**The City of Lost Children** **Brazil** **Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow** **Metropolis** (if you absolutely must have colors, get the tinted, Giorgio Moroder version) ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/12 "2007-02-02T21:35:31Z")
**Fight Club**! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/13 "2007-02-02T21:38:07Z")
**The Natural** has gorgeous shot set-ups. It was a treat even watching the trailer for it. The same for **Greystone: The Legend of Tarzan of the Apes** (actually, it’s more fun to watch the trailer than the actual movie, which gets kinda dull near the end) and **The Road to Perdition**. I’ve always felt that the guys responsible for the visual look of **Forbidden Planet** don’t get the credit they deserve. They created from scratch a lot of the visual images of science fiction, inspired by 1940s SF pulp prose and illustrations. Their influence was felt long afterwards – the Transporter on Star Trek owes a lot to the “Stasis Fields” (unnamed in the film, but that’s what they were) about cruiser C57D. The Enterprise, with its saucer shape, owes a lot to C57D as well (the first FTL spaceship carrying Earth Humans in any SF movie). Robby was the first faceless robot, inspiring others down through R2D2. The ventilating shafts of the Krel power cube influenced the shafts on the Death Star, and Joshua Meador’s crackling monster admittedly inspired the electrical displays in Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/14 "2007-02-02T21:56:07Z")
The original Dr. Zhivago. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/15 "2007-02-02T21:57:07Z")
Mirrormask!! If you don’t mind [a Flash site (the official site)](http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/mirrormask/), click on Enter site, then Previews. Even though the small size is woefully inadequite to convey just how stunning the visuals are, you should at least get an idea of what you’re missing out on by NOT watching it. Ah wait! I just found a [bigger version](http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/mirrormask.html) of the trailer at [apple.com](http://apple.com) I’m not saying it’s a great movie. The script itself was somewhat of a letdown, though I liked it (the script and story) more on the 2nd viewing. The story is pretty basic, it’s just the visuals make it seem more complicated than it is, because you never know what you’ll see and what will happen next. However, if you’re looking for a visual movie that has at least a decent story, this is a MUST SEE. This is one that I’m so glad I saw in the theater, twice. Each frame is packed with so much to look at and awe over, it’s impossible to see it all on the first viewing. ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/16 "2007-02-02T21:58:24Z")
I found **The Talented Mr. Ripley** was beautiful at the movie theatre. Very lush, sensuous surroundings (Italy). Maybe not the best movie ever, but very gorgeous to look at. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/17 "2007-02-02T21:59:36Z")
I see it’s been mentioned but without the connection. If you like House of Flying Daggers’ visuals - and how could you not - you’ll also like the similar [Hero](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/), which is by the same director. Even the stills on that IMDb page are oustanding. His new film, [Curse of the Golden Flower](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473444/) is supposed to have equally stunning visuals, but I haven’t seen it yet to confirm. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/18 "2007-02-02T22:07:03Z")
I’ll confirm. Yes, it is. ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/19 "2007-02-02T22:53:28Z")
Netflix queue has been properly adjusted. Thanks for the tips! Definitely curious about **Days of Heaven** , never even heard of that one… ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601/20 "2007-02-02T22:59:38Z")
[QUOTE=Equipoise] Mirrormask!! [/QUOTE] Seconded, and expressing some surprise (and maybe a little dismay) that it took 14 whole posts to mention it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-visual-movies/390601.md?page=2)