Official Nominations: The Killing Fields. Amadeus. The River. The Natural. A Passage To India.
You can’t have any qualms about any of these nominees, and I don’t have any issue with the winner. Ernest Day was something of a Jack Of All Trades when it came to behind the lens work, acting as a Cinematographer, DP, Director, and Camera Operator. David Lean had a habbit of working with the best and he picked Day for a reason, earning him a nomination for A Passage To India.
The Natural isn’t the greatest movie in the world, but Caleb Deschanel cemented his early promise by giving it a dreamy God Bless America look. The River sees Vilmos Zsigmond closing out an insane initial run of films where he was Cinematographer, his vision being one of the central highlights of an otherwise dull movie.
Amadeus, for me, is all about the look and the performances and while its the costumes and the interiors which get the credits, there’s no mistaking Miroslav Ondricek’s influence over how the film is visualised. Finally, Chris Menges, who worked under Ondricek on If… picked up his first win for giving The Killing Fields its sweltering, chaotic, fuse running down to disaster look and feel.
My Winner: The Killing Fields
My Nominations: The Killing Fields. The Terminator. Repo Man. Paris Texas. The Company Of Wolves. The Cotton Club. Once Upon A Time In America.
Only my winner makes it to my personal list, joining a range of cult hits and films which arguably should have received official nominations. The Terminator veers between ugly and beautiful quite liberally, its neon drenched views of LA mirroring the impending apocalyptic future.
Repo Man and Paris, Texas were both shot by Robby Muller and while there are stark differences between the bleak vistas of the latter and the slimy oddness of the former, both are notable for their visual style.
The Company Of Wolves is an often bewildering example of style over confused substance, a film you can get lost in without ever understanding it, while The Cotton Club is sadly known more for its troubled history than its look and sound. Finally, Once Upon A Time In America saw Sergio Leone reunite with Tonino Delli Colli for the final time to craft one more seminal epic – it goes without saying that it’s a feast for the eyes.
My Winner: The Terminator.
Let us know your winner in the comments!
The Spac Hole 
Great piece. I really enjoyed this Spac Hole edition.
I would knock out The River and The Natural (both films are quite weak and didn’t stand a chance of winning this category in 1984).
Besides, there were two other movies which I think were much better in that category. I think two other mentions of note for best cinematography in 1984 would be:
It’s a beautifully realized film cinematically . . . and Ibbetson’s camera work here really shines through. It doesn’t hurt that Polynesia is such a beautiful place to begin with. Still, Ibbetson would get my vote for a nomination. He did manage a deserved nomination in 1969 for Anne of the Thousand Days.
The film works best with the jungle scenes, and Alcott is brilliant at capturing images with minimal lighting. He won an Oscar for “Barry Lyndon” in 1975 and I think he deserved another shot here. Again, it is the look of the film that I’m judging here.
Other than those two omissions, I agree with the cinematography AMPAS nominations you cited for The Killing Fields, Amadeus and A Passage to India. All in all, not a bad list with these three being recognized that year.
it’s a very, very close call for all five of the ones I preferred, but I think my choice as winner would just squeak by: Ernest Day’s work for A Passage to India. It’s the camerawork that is the star of this film through and through. While David Lean is listed as the official editor of the film, it is evident that the two men collaborated successfully to make this film’s look a stunner. I especially like how the scenes in the Malabar Caves are realized. And the night scenes of the riverboat and moonlight on the Ganges River are simply beautiful.
Second place? Probably The Killing Fields. Chris Menges is so brilliant. He won that year, and went on to win another Oscar for The Mission.
Of your list of nominees, perhaps The Cotton Club would be my choice if I were to include any from your list.
I would shy away from The Terminator in this category because I think it is the sound, visual effects, makeup, production design, and film editing that steal the show. These areas of film-making are outstanding in the film. But cinematography? Nyah.
Keifer
My brain told me to vote Once Upon A Time In America, but my heart said Terminator 🙂
Great choices 🙂 I would choose Paris Texas 🙂