2019 was a solid year for great-looking movies. The art of cinematography is much more than making pretty pictures, obviously, but that doesn’t mean the images captured for a crime epic or a literary adaptation or even a comic book movie can’t be downright gorgeous. Putting together this “best cinematography” list is always a highlight of the year for me, as I get to really nerd out over this craft that still, somehow, is a bit underrated. So without further ado, here’s what I consider to be the best cinematography of the year.

For more of Collider's Best of 2019 articles, click here.

10. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Robert Richardson

Surely one of the most memorable movie moments of 2019 is the series of shots of all the signs lighting up in Hollywood in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, reflecting a world full of possibility and hope. That’s the antithesis of what the film’s heroes—Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt)—are experiencing, but it’s that idealism that underlines the quietly soulful story that Quentin Tarantino has crafted here. Robert Richardson’s cinematography brings 1969 Hollywood to life in vivid detail without getting too obvious with the choices. The film provides a number of different visual opportunities, but the brilliance of Richardson’s work is really the way in which he frames up DiCaprio and Pitt time and again. Two of the world’s biggest movie stars together for the first time, playing a pair of complicated, very different men who are doing their best to forge a career path forward in a world that may have left them behind.

9. The Irishman – Rodrigo Prieto

No shot in any Martin Scorsese movie happens by accident. That’s clear even without reading my deep-dive interview with The Irishman cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, but indeed Scorsese had a very specific idea for the visual language of his crime epic. The shot composition and progression reflect the methodical approach that Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) took to his work and his life, and to watch the film is to experience life the way Frank did—which is all in service of a finale that finds Frank reflecting on his life decisions with regret, fear, and confusion. What was it all for? The emotional impact of this finale doesn’t work if the rest of the film doesn’t make you feel as though you’ve lived life right alongside Frank, and that’s the brilliance of the movie’s cinematography, which is also often downright beautiful.

8. Ford v Ferrari – Phedon Papamichael

It’s not just the racing scenes that stick out in Ford v Ferrari (although they are, indeed, excellent). Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael takes an almost painterly approach to capturing the uphill battle of Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale), resulting in some truly gorgeous and iconic framing accentuated by some magnificent “magic hour” shots. But yes, the racing scenes are magnificent as well, as Papamichael brings director James Mangold’s muscular racing drama to life in elegantly aggressive fashion.

7. Joker – Lawrence Sher

Whatever you think about the film, it’s hard to deny the fact that the craft in Joker is kind of great. Director Todd Phillips’ R-rated, gritty approach to the DC villain origin story didn’t stop at the transformative performance, as the film itself evokes a character-driven drama, aided by Lawrence Sher’s uncomfortably intimate, 70s-influenced cinematography. The camera lingers on Joaquin Phoenix’s frail, abused frame as if to drive home how broken and disturbed this individual truly is, and as the character begins progressing deeper and deeper into psychosis, Phoenix’s unsettling face starts to fill the frame. It’s quite striking and extremely effective.

6. Uncut Gems – Darius Khondji

One of the more exciting director/cinematographer relationships that has come about over the last few years is The Safdie Brothers and legendary DP Darius Khondji, and their collaboration bears additional fruit with this year’s swell Uncut Gems. The uncomfortable, anxiety-driven filmmaking of Josh and Benny Safdie pairs impossibly well with Kohndji’s penchant for darkly haunting imagery—like a cheeseburger with peanut butter, it’s a combo that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. The push and pull between the free-for-all approach of the Safdie brothers and Khondji’s more composed work results in the most beautiful anxiety attack you’ve ever seen.

5. Little Women – Yorick Le Saux

Little Women is a lovely movie with lovely performances and a lovely screenplay and yes, lovely cinematography. But DP Yorick Le Saux doesn’t simply luxuriate in the period setting of the film. His work is wonderfully dynamic as he subtly distinguishes the aesthetic between the two time periods (the warmth of idealistic childhood, the colder air of stark adulthood realities), but also brings a vibrancy and life to Greta Gerwig’s masterful adaptation. Lush yet tactile, inviting yet not fantastical, Le Saux beautifully walks a fine line throughout the film, never making a false step. Side note: See this movie in the theater! It’s a cinematic delight.

4. Marriage Story – Robbie Ryan

Not an obvious pick maybe, but Robbie Ryan’s framing and shot composition are a huge part of why Marriage Story is as emotional and affecting as it is. Faces are key here, but also POV, as Ryan and writer/director Noah Baumbach carefully frame up each scene in a way that drives home whose point of view we’re meant to be seeing it from. And since the film is about a marriage breaking apart and the two “sides” to the divorce, POV is everything. Take a careful look at the big fight scene and pay close attention to the shot composition and framing and how it progresses throughout the scene, then tell me that’s not some of the best cinematography of the year.

3. Parasite – Hong Kyung-pyo

Parasite is quite possibly the most meticulously crafted and tightly woven film of the year, and Hong Kyung-pyo’s cinematography goes hand in hand with Bong Joon-ho’s precise vision. Each shot is in service of driving home the larger thematic points that Joon-ho is getting at—namely wealth disparity and the myth of class mobility—but it’s an absolute joy to watch the cinematography progress as the film’s various twists and turns reveal themselves like hidden boxes inside a larger puzzle box. Clean, sharp, and chock-full of instantly iconic shots, Kyung-pyo’s cinematography here is aces.

2. The Lighthouse — Jarin Blaschke

The lenses used on The Lighthouse were so old that the amount of light necessary to actually capture the actors in each shot nearly blinded them. But The Lighthouse isn’t merely a case of “wow that’s kind of cool.” The 1.19:1 aspect ratio underlines the claustrophobia the characters feel as they’re trapped on the island alone, and the old time-y feel of the cinematography—combined with co-writer/director Robert Eggers’ era-appropriate dialogue—makes audiences feel as if they’re looking back through time. It’s a tremendous feat of filmmaking made all the more beautiful by the truly weird places Eggers takes this story.

1. 1917 – Roger Deakins

I watch a lot of movies, and I’ve been watching a lot of movies for a very long time. It’s not often I see something and am befuddled as to how, exactly, that cinematic feat was pulled off, but the wonderment factor of 1917 is off the charts. I genuinely cannot work out how it was done. Sam Mendes’ World War I thriller plays out in one continuous shot, as we follow two soldiers who must traverse enemy territory to deliver a vitally important message. Roger Deakins’ cinematography is masterful, not just in executing the “one-shot” thing, but in how he uses light and shadow to beautiful results under these impossible conditions. Unlike something like Birdman, Deakins was shooting almost entirely on locations here, and that he was able to make the image gorgeously cinematic across the entire film is a testament to the wizardry of his talent. And that nighttime sequence with the flairs? Insane. 1917 is no gimmick. It’s a work of art that shows just how high Deakins—a literal superhero—can fly.

Honorable Mentions: Ad Astra, Midsommar, Knives Out, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Under the Silver Lake