Rethinking Best Cinematography

[TikiSoo]

For the first two decades, the award nominees changed from year to year, while the Academy also distinguished between color and black and white films. In 1949 the Academy finally came to a consensus where there would be five nominees in each category, only to change in 1967 with the current system of five nominees each.

Not sure what you're saying there, but is Cinemaphotography still split into 2 categories (B&W/color)?
Are there really that many movies filmed in B&W these days?

While I think each type of photography takes talent & expertise for outstanding results, "photography" is still the art of lighting, focus, balance while successfully pushing those elements for more dramatic effect.

I do not see those type/style of photography as different or exclusive. The photographer uses his/her skills to help tell the story and relies on the costumer & set director's knowledge to assist in the "vision".

But the actual skills & talent of Cinematography are the same, whether photographing in color or B&W.

[Feinberg]

For 1950 the winners were The Third Man (black and white) and King Solomon's Mines. The other nominees were All about Eve, Sunset Blvd, The Asphalt Jungle and The Furies (black and white) and Annie Get your Gun, Broken Arrow, The Flame and the Arrow and Samson and Delilah (color). In black and white, the winner and the first two nominees seems reasonable, along with La Ronde and Orpheus. Among color nominees, Annie Get your Gun, The Flame and The Arrow and Samson and Delilah strike me as the best nominees.

Not even close to the on location King Solomon's Mines IMO.

[Feinberg]

Here were the nominees for 1952:

Black and White

The Bad and the Beautiful
The Big Sky
My Cousin Rachel
Navajo
Sudden Fear

Color

The Quiet Man
Hans Christian Andersen
Ivanhoe
Million Dollar Mermaid
The Snows of Kilimanjaro

I haven't seen My Cousin Rachel, Navajo, Sudden Fear or Hans Christian Andersen. For me the color winner is obvious: Singin' in the Rain. Other nominees would be The Quiet Man, The Golden Coach, The Crimson Pirate and Scaramouche. For black and white I suspect my winner would be Othello with Le Plaisir, The Life of Oharu, Ikiru and Casque D'Or.

IMO you are confusing art direction with cinematography. In terms of cinematography The Quiet Man is superior to Singing in the Rain in every way.

[jamesjazzguitar]

Here were the nominees for 1952:

Black and White

The Bad and the Beautiful
The Big Sky
My Cousin Rachel
Navajo
Sudden Fear

Color

The Quiet Man
Hans Christian Andersen
Ivanhoe
Million Dollar Mermaid
The Snows of Kilimanjaro

I haven't seen My Cousin Rachel, Navajo, Sudden Fear or Hans Christian Andersen. For me the color winner is obvious: Singin' in the Rain. Other nominees would be The Quiet Man, The Golden Coach, The Crimson Pirate and Scaramouche. For black and white I suspect my winner would be Othello with Le Plaisir, The Life of Oharu, Ikiru and Casque D'Or.

IMO you are confusing art direction with cinematography. In terms of cinematography The Quiet Man is superior to Singing in the Rain in every way.

IMO both the cinematography in The Quiet Man comes off as slightly over-the-top given the subject matter, while in a musical, designed to look somewhat "fake", works in Singing in the Rain; By "fake" I mean that what takes place in a musical isn't likely to take place in real life.

[Dargo]

I've always been stumped as to why of all the nominations (8) that 'The Best Years of Our Lives' received, Gregg Toland's work in this great film wasn't included...



(...I've also wondered why there were only two cinematographers nominated this year in the then separate category of Best Cinematography, Black and White?)

[Swithin]

I think The Egyptian (1954) is one of the best epics and my choice for best colour cinematography. It has a literate script and was surprisingly accurate to the period, at least as far as '50s epics could be. I was taken to see it as a child and used to dream about it, not remembering what film I was dreaming about, but remembering the vivid colours of the film.



And of course it has the whore of Babylon.