Opinion: It's time for Spielberg to switch to a different cinematographer.

Spielberg has been working exclusively with Januz Kaminski since Schindler's list. They've done a lot of beautiful work together in the past twenty years, but I honestly think it's time for Spielberg to switch things up and move on.

Spielberg's collaboration with Kaminski marked a sharp turn in the directors aesthetic sensibility. Even if you're not a film nerd, I'm sure you've noticed it. Heavily crushed, blueish-blacks, foggy whites, wide angle lenses and softened textures. I first noticed how inescapable this look had become when I rewatched all of the Indiana Jones films. The first three, shot by Douglas Slocombe, all have a beautiful crispness to them, with realistic, vibrant colors and an old school texture to them that adds to the charming adventure of it all. Kaminski's work on Indy 4 has none of that. It feels glossy, stylized in a way that feels totally antithetical to the look of the previous films.

Coming to this realization made me really miss the look of classic Spielberg, when his cinematography didn't feel oppressed by digital color grading, when he shot his films like they took place in a real world and not a fictitious, stylized realm. I'd love to see him switch things up, and start working with a cinematographer that would provide a real change of pace.

EDIT: Just wanted to say that I don't think Kaminski's work is bad, at all (Though I was harsh on Indy 4 and I'll stand by that). His collaborations with Spielberg deserve their acclaim. My point is simply that it's a very specific look that Spielberg has gone with so many times over the past twenty years, and I'd love for him to try something different.

Submitted July 17, 2016 at 06:14AM by hanburgundy http://ift.tt/29LQLgx