The Best Film Cinematography of 2024

2024 was an exceptionally strong year for cinematography, with several standout films that represent the art form at its apex. Perhaps what’s most welcome about these films is their variety, not only in terms of genre and tone but also budget and position in the marketplace. From the studio system, we have Greig Fraser’s extraordinary work on “Dune: Part Two,” which doubles down on the ambition and tactile detail of Fraser’s work on its predecessor (for which he justly received an Academy Award) to create one of the most flat-out beautiful epics since the glory days of David Lean. From the world of low-budget, independent filmmaking, we have “I Saw the TV Glow,” where cinematographer Eric Yue designs a meticulous and expressive visual corollary for his protagonist’s inner state. Like Fraser, cinematographer Lawrence Sher brings more innovation to his approach to a sequel — in Sher’s case, the spectacularly ambitious and unique “Joker: Folie à Deux” — than most filmmakers can muster up for an original. Speaking of originality, Jomo Fray’s dual-first-person camerawork in “Nickel Boys” provides something truly rare at the movies: something you have never seen before.

Somewhere in between “Dune” and “I Saw the TV Glow” in terms of resources, “Civil War” captures both epic sweep and internal agony in its portrayal of journalists trying to survive as America battles itself; Rob Hardy’s cinematography alternates between realism and surrealism, horror and poignancy, and clarity and confusion as he finds the precise visual language to convey the emotional and physical chaos of both his fictional world and our real one. Also in the independent realm but operating at a very different emotional and visual register, Rose Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding” reunites the director with her “Saint Maud” cinematographer Ben Fordesman and proves that their debut collaboration was no fluke — theirs is a partnership as artistically fruitful as the one between director Wim Wenders and cinematographer Robby Müller, the latter of whom is a clear influence on Fordesman’s eerie night exteriors.

An independently financed film on an epic scale, “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” is a film both outside the system and firmly rooted in Hollywood traditions, and cinematographer J. Michael Muro calibrates the perfect balance between director Kevin Costner’s maverick sensibility and the stately compositions of John Ford and William Wyler. Less than a year after their artistic and commercial triumph “Poor Things,” cinematographer Robbie Ryan and Yorgos Lanthimos return for the very different but equally striking “Kinds of Kindness,” a movie as introspective as “Horizon” is expansive. While “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” prove that innovative cinematography is alive and well in the world of studio tentpoles, “Challengers,” “Queer,” and “Los Frikis” are equally audacious, telling more modestly scaled character studies.

This year has also brought us the equally enchanting and brutal action of “Monkey Man,” with Sharone Meir’s layered cinematography adding depth and texture to Dev Patel’s directorial debut, not to mention extraordinary foreign imports in the form of “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” and “La Chimera.” And then there’s Scott Cunningham’s stunning imagery in the nearly unclassifiable “This is Me…Now,” Jennifer Lopez’s self-financed cross between autobiography and fantasy that traverses one disparate style and genre after another as Lopez jumps from settings inspired by science-fiction and film noir to riffs on classic Hollywood musicals and comedies. Eric Steelberg brings the opening night of one of television’s most iconic shows to life (in 16mm!) with “Saturday Night,” and Ed Lachman finds the perfect cinematic language with which to express a legend’s operatic journey in “Maria.” The only thing these films have in common is that they have nothing in common — aside from their passion for filmmaking and supreme audacity. This piece contains additional reporting by Bill Desowitz.