How about the “travelogue” section of The Year of Living Dangerously?
Another vote for The Fall. Incredible locations and quite spellbinding cinematography. Truly mesmerizing.
“Out of Africa.” Also, in a very different way, “A Room With a View.”
And I second “A River Runs Through It.”
My choice is probably more evocative than conventionally beautiful, but it took me many viewings of The Ring before it dawned on me that it’s that blue filter that makes the atmosphere so quietly creepy. Depending on what mood I’m in it can creep the heck out of me or practically lull me to sleep.
In that vein I’d nominate Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. The movie had some glaring flaws, but it looked great.
Joe vs. the Volcano uses images very well to set a mood (not always beautiful). There is a scene of Tom Hanks adrift on the ocean (where have we seen that again) watching the moonrise that’s breathtaking.
Most of the ones I was going to mention have already been mentioned.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves in this department.
Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring is up there.
Disney’s Snow White is real high up there.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
The Iron Giant
When I was in summer camp in western NC around the time it was released, they told us it was filmed in Linville Gorge.
Holy crap, how did I get beat to that by one minute?! If I wasn’t eating and typing . . . 
While the movie itself isn’t anything special, I thought the visuals in “The Cell” were pretty amazing. The film was directed by Tarsem Singh, who also did “The Fall,” so it’s that same style.
Maybe they filmed some scenes there, but a friend who visited the Biltmore and had a tour told me most of it was filmed there, and I’ve heard it elsewhere too. From IMDb.com:
One of the reasons Michael Mann decided to shoot the film in North Carolina instead of New York was that he felt the woods of North Carolina looked more like the old-growth forests of the Adirondacks, which still show evidence of logging during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the scenes were shot at Biltmore, George Vanderbilt’s North Carolina estate; the forest in the estate was carefully planned and planted about 100 years ago.
Guess it wasn’t all that “old-growth” after all.
Finding Nemo. Very pretty color wise.
Snow Falling on Cedars
Almost anything by Ridley Scott—1492: Conquest of Paradise comes to mind, in particular.
And if animation counts, almost anything by Hayao Miyazaki. Hell, Castle of Cagliostro, from 1979, looks better than the last few Disney animated pictures. But a lot of that just illustrates how technical superiority should be a means to an end, not the goal of film making.
I agree with Barry Lyndon and would add Apocalypse Now and Heavens Gate and McCabe and Mrs, Miller.
I agree with everyone that Barry Lyndon would be a top contender. I also concur with mbh and kevlaw about Peter Greenaway–especially The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, the visuals of which I recall being deeply impressed by (though this was many years ago and on VHS–I really wish they would issue a new edition on DVD, as Criterion has indicated they would but apparently haven’t gotten around to yet).
I would also nominate several of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s films–esp. La double vie de Veronique and the Trois Couleurs trilogy. Much of Veronique was shot with filters that gave many of the scenes a golden, almost sepia tone. It’s an incredibly beautiful film.
In the Trois Couleurs films, the dominant color scheme for each film is indicated by their respective titles–Blue, White, Red–which make for some gorgeous imagery (esp. Blue and Red), while also expressing symbolically the dominant theme for each film: Blue=liberté; White=égalité; Red=fraternité (obviously inspired by the French revolutionary slogan, just like the colors, but interpreted in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with political history, or even, for the most part, France–only Blue and the very beginning of White are set in Paris).
Can’t believe nobody said LOTR yet.
Despite the depressing tone of the story, I think Aguirre, The Wrath Of God features some amazing cinematography of the South American jungle. The opening scene is simply breathtaking.
Agreed. Beautiful art, and good stories to boot. Personal fav for look is probably My Neighbor Totoro… but it’s hard to pick.
On the LoTR / CGI issue it is worth noting that many of the big scenic shots were just that: real scenery and not CGI / mattes / etc, and that the exteriors of some of the big set pieces were really built (e.g. Edoras).
Dang I came in here to mention Barry Lyndon and a third of the posts beat me to it! Yes, it’s a staggeringly beautiful film; every frame looks like a Gainsborough masterpiece.
I’ll third the LOTR films and second Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and add perhaps an unconventional choice: The Incredibles. From the opening as we watch afternoon turn to twilight and evening over The City, to the retro sixties house designs to the breathtaking Nomanisan Island landscape. And another Pixar film: Ratatouille blew me away with its loving depiction of Paris. WALL-e manages to make trash look gorgeous. I don’t care if it’s CGI or animation: artists created these works.
Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu, Malick’s Thin Red Line.
I also really loved Bennett Miller’s work on Capote and almost all of Sam Mendes’ films especially Road to Perdition.
I came in to mention The Fall and find it’s been mentioned !3! times already!?! :eek:
faints in pleasure