but i'll take a shot:

>I need y'all to help me compile a list of films/DVDs i
>should rent in order to study the following things:
>
>interesting camera angles

T-Men and Raw Deal: two classic noirs directed by Anthony Mann and shot by the great John Alton. In fact, get on to IMDB, search John Alton and take a look at about any film he shot. I also recommend you take a look at the book her authored, “Painting with Light”

“The Sweet Smell of Success” – shot by James Wong Howe.

All of Ozu’s films (and by extension, Takeshi Kitano’s) are interesting study pieces as well

Darren Aronofsky’s too

I don’t care what anybody says… I’m a fan of Hype Williams. I mean, sure Belly was poorly written and acted, but I thought it was well shot. And I’m a sucker for things that look good

Also check out all the Coens Brothers’ films, particularly Raising Arizona and Barton Fink

And the Pang Brothers’ “Bangkok Dangerous”… visually stunning!

Oh… and before I forget, you MUST see the film “I Am Cuba”!

>unique use of lighting

see above

>creative editing

>unusual ways to frame a shot

you know… I put all that visual stuff in the same package. So again, see above. Also, see Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s flicks and Scorsese's "Raging Bull"

>*or any DVDs with excellent commentary by the director
>and/or cinematographer going into detail about the technical
>aspects of the film...not just stuff about the actors

Wes Anderson and Darren Aronofsky are pretty good with this. I think Soderbergh, too. I’ll think of some more

>*or any film with a very low budget but high quality of
>production values (i.e. El Mariachi)

Versus, Die Bad

>please list the film in the subject line, then list the
>reasons why you think the film would be helpful to me and
>exactly what i should look for when watching it....

oops. I guess I did this wrong