I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen.
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron I agree with you that this trend exists and is swallowing up lots of movies, but there is some relief in the wide-ranging supply. I went looking just for a still from "Sinners", which I think is a fine example against that trend, but I found a dozen more to boot.
for your consideration:
The Best Film Cinematography of 2025
IndieWire picks the films with the best cinematography of the year, from 'Sinners' and 'One Battle After Another' to 'The Naked Gun.'
IndieWire (www.indiewire.com)
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron I totally agree. Nowadays, it feels like movies are afraid of real shadows and vibrant colors. Everything has turned into a gray, digital mush to accommodate streaming and CGI, but we lost the soul of cinematography in the process. Older films had a texture and depth that today's color grading algorithms simply cannot replicate.
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron I will agree with you 100% on this. There is so much about modern movies that I hate. The lighting is dreadful a lot of the time. It's like it's a lost art. Also, sound mixing is bloody terrible.
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron also, actors used to speak clearly. I watched Dune part 2 last night and have absolutely no clue what half the dialogue was.
-
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron watched the 1955 Austrian movie Sissi the other day, not a masterpiece by any means but good god it’s nice to have natural (though I suppose in reality it was anything but natural) lighting and colours.
That said, there are plenty of beautiful looking movies made today too, just not the norm.
-
@Gargron also the sound staff seems to have all been fired - dialogue etc. hard to hear
The ultimate "how could this ever leave post like this" movie is Dunkirk. But apparently Christopher Nolan had a reason to make the dialogue utterly impossible to hear. Or something.
@swanksalot @Gargron -
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron RE: Blocking in Film - you are reminding me of director Mike Nichols (The Graduate, The Birdcage). He and his stage partner Elaine May were some of the earliest improve comedians in the US. His films were meticulously acted because the casts would rehearse the films like a play for weeks before filming. That allowed them to inhabit their roles, have natural reactions, and to get the blocking just right.
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron yesterday I just watched Therminator from 1984, not the best film but I loved everything how it’s made. Can’t watch today’s movies anymore.
-
@Gargron also, actors used to speak clearly. I watched Dune part 2 last night and have absolutely no clue what half the dialogue was.
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron I agree, mainly American movies.
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron what about tv shows? Pluribus was one gorgeous shot after another.
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron
"90% of everything is crud" - SturgeonYou don't like the aesthetic, but unfair to imply it's 'unprofessional'.
Maybe you need to look elsewhere besides Hollywood. Digital production and distribution has opened up filmmaking to so many talents that couldn't afford it previously. Drama aside, nature photography and documentary can be better quality now.
The most interesting drama I've seen is no-budget Japanese films. "One Cut of the Dead", "River", "Beyond the Infinite 2 mins".
-
@srtcd424 @Gargron same here. I watched Mr Burton recently and there’s a part where a young Richard Burton is left screaming on top of a Welsh hill to learn projection until it doesn’t hurt anymore.
I just got hearing aids for my mild hearing loss and sadly it’s not made a lot of difference when it comes to mumbling actors.
-
@srtcd424 @Gargron same here. I watched Mr Burton recently and there’s a part where a young Richard Burton is left screaming on top of a Welsh hill to learn projection until it doesn’t hurt anymore.
I just got hearing aids for my mild hearing loss and sadly it’s not made a lot of difference when it comes to mumbling actors.
-
@srtcd424 @Gargron same here. I watched Mr Burton recently and there’s a part where a young Richard Burton is left screaming on top of a Welsh hill to learn projection until it doesn’t hurt anymore.
I just got hearing aids for my mild hearing loss and sadly it’s not made a lot of difference when it comes to mumbling actors.
@Emmacox @Gargron I gave up on aids because the APD is more of a problem than the HL, and even after a couple of years of to-ing and fro-ing I couldn't get the audiologist to understand that. I've got over-ear headphones + AptX-LL transmitter/receiver with an ACTUAL PHYSICAL VOLUME CONTROL (gold dust!) which at least means I can turn up during the dialog and down during the music/sound effects
-
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron Absolutely! It's enshittification across various industries
-
@Emmacox @Gargron I gave up on aids because the APD is more of a problem than the HL, and even after a couple of years of to-ing and fro-ing I couldn't get the audiologist to understand that. I've got over-ear headphones + AptX-LL transmitter/receiver with an ACTUAL PHYSICAL VOLUME CONTROL (gold dust!) which at least means I can turn up during the dialog and down during the music/sound effects
@srtcd424 @Gargron my hearing aids are pretty good for my needs. I have midrange hearing loss which is a nice chunk of the speech range. It’s fairly minor, but in noisy environments like a cafe, I’m practically deaf to anyone trying to speak to me.
Back on the subject of film lighting. It would be nice to see historical films set in medieval times to have other colours instead of just brown.
-
I know 100% that people will argue with me over this, but I miss when movies were professionally lit, when actors were intentionally blocked, and when more than teal, orange and beige were allowed to be on the screen. The medium has something to do with it--film made a lot of these things fundamentally necessary--but I think it's more complex than just that. The last few years' movies are just not pleasant to look at, with very few exceptions, and the change occurred sometime around 2015.
@Gargron Some movies started to look like they were made by AI before they were actually made by AI
Despite my mild HL and ASD-linked auditory processing problems, I have never failed to understand Judi Dench, for example!
