If you want some introspective on cinematography, both modern and classical, here are some films I suggest:
Freaks
Frida
Ghandi
Gladiator
The Godfather: Part I and II
The Grapes of Wrath
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan
The Hudsucker Proxy
I Am Sam
The Ice Storm
In America
Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2
La Strada
The Last Samurai
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Lost In Translation
M
Master and Commander
Moulin Rouge
Mystic River
The Nightmare Before Christmas
North by Northwest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo�s Nest
The Passion of the Christ
Pink Floyd�s The Wall
Rasputin (BBC)
8 �
2001:  A Space Odyssey
21 Grams
Amadeus
American History X
Amores Perros
Apocalypse Now
Apt Pupil
A Beautiful Mind
Billy Elliot
Black Beauty
Bloody Sunday
Bowling for Columbine
Braveheart
Cinema Paradiso
Citizen Kane
Clockwork Orange
Dead Man Walking
Dog Day Afternoon
The Elephant Man
Elizabeth
El Mariachi
Red Dragon
Reservoir Dogs
The Ring
Schindler�s List
The Seven Samurai
Sunset Boulevard
Toy Story
Shawshank Redemption
The Shining
Smoke Signals
Star Wars (older versions)
The Thin Red Line
The Usual Suspects
The Virgin Suicides
Whale Rider
The best books out there, some of which have elaborate and intricate visuals:
The Book of Movie Photography by David Cheshire

Operating Cinematography for Film and Video by William Hines

On Directing Film by Renee Harmon
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