Part of the magic of the movies are the brilliant visual tricks and compositional decisions directors use to capture our attention and heighten or subvert our expectations. Here are more of the best shots in film.

If you liked part one of this series from Cinefix, I think you’ll enjoy part two, which moves on from the scale of shots to relational shots that gain their brilliance from their compositional balance and framing.

I’ve always particularly enjoyed the coin toss scene from “No Country For Old Men.” Joel and Ethan Coen use a mixture of clean and over-the-shoulder shots that are otherwise static, until the moment the gas station attendant realizes something is gravely wrong, when they start incorporating the most subtle zoom in the over-the-shoulder shots that heightens the tension. Notice how when Anton Chigurh finally tosses the coin and chides the man to call it that the camera very slowly begins moving after three minutes of immobile shots. It’s brilliant, nuanced, and highly effective in my opinion, complementing the soft drone of the soundtrack perfectly and carefully accelerating the scene to its conclusion. 

Do you have any favorite shots from movies? Be sure to share them in the comments!