On December 31, 2017, I published my list of best (and worst) films of the year, and then on Friday, January 5, 2018, my list of best actors. Now it’s time to post about the (often) unsung artists and craftspeople who are essential to the filmmaking process: the writers, cinematographers, editors, production designers, visual-effects artists, and music composers. As with my other lists, the hyperlinked movie title will take you to my review, if one exists (or the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page, if one does not). In addition, I also hyperlink the artists’ names (mostly to IMDb, but sometimes to their own personal websites), so you can see what other work they have produced over their careers. In the case of the music list, I link to the movie’s actual soundtrack, as well.
In each category, I have chosen only five (however hard that may be – and it is hard), in alphabetical order. These are the films where I thought that the work in that particular area truly enhanced the quality of the movie. If a film is not on this list, I may still really like the work within it, but not as much as my top five. Enjoy, and feel free to leave comments after you look it over!
Best Screenplay (adapted and original, combined):
- Easy Living: Adam Keleman
- Get Out: Jordan Peele
- Lady Bird: Greta Gerwig
- The Post: Liz Hannah & Josh Singer
- Their Finest: Gaby Chiappe
Best Cinematography*:
- Barbecue: Matthew Salleh
- Beach Rats: Hélène Louvart
- Kedi: Alp Korfali & Charlie Wuppermann
- Mudbound: Rachel Morrison
- The Shape of Water: Dan Laustsen
[*2 of these are documentaries – Barbecue and Rat Film – which feature beautiful shots that rival any narrative feature.]
Best Editing**:
- Baby Driver: Jonathan Amos & Paul Machliss
- Barbecue: Matthew Salleh & Rose Tucker
- Lady Bird: Nick Houy
- Motherland: Leah Marino
- Rat Film: Theo Anthony
[**3 of these are documentaries – Barbecue, Motherland and Rat Film – which are among the hardest kinds of films to edit, given the huge amount of material to work with, from which one must, somehow, extract a coherent story.]
Best Production Design:
- Blade Runner 2049: Dennis Gassner
- The Florida Project: Stephonik Youth
- Most Beautiful Island: Almitra Corey
- The Shape of Water: Paul D. Austerberry
- Sylvio: Peter Davis
I also want to mention the stellar production-design work in one of my least favorite films of the year – The Book of Henry – by Kalina Ivanov (whom I know, in the interest of full disclosure). Though the movie failed for me completely, her intricate Rube Goldberg-like devices within it were objects of extraordinary beauty.
Best Visual Effects:
- Blade Runner 2049: (IMDb crew page)
- Okja: (IMDb crew page)
- The Shape of Water: (IMDb crew page)
- Thor: Ragnarok: (IMDb crew page)
- War for the Planet of the Apes: (IMDb crew page)
[Too many people to mention all, so I have simply hyperlinked, next to the title, to the movie’s crew page on IMDb page, where you can look at the multitude of people involved in the many visual-effects teams.]
Best Original Score:
