About
I started this site as a resource for myself, and for whoever else might have use of it. I work in the film industry and spend a lot of time looking for stills/screenshots from different films as a reference point for framing, lighting, tone etc. I dont think I will be posting any thoughts on the films directly, I would prefer to allow the images to speak for themselves, but I would love to hear your thoughts and maybe we could get a conversation going in the comments section.
I do not own any of the rights to these images, if you are involved in any of the films and would like them taken down just let me know. And one last thing, remember that these images may well contain spoilers, or depending on the film will be NSFW.
If you want to connect with me a bit more directly I started a filmgrab group on Facebook you should really connect there, it’s a great spot to directly shape and influence what gets posted on the site.
Also I run a tumblr version of the site. Check us out here, I’d love if people would submit photosets of their favourite movies.
I’d like to see Amelie in there. I know its an obvious choice but its a great looking film!
June 30, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Absolutely! Amelie is my all time favourite film from every aspect. It is shot stunningly. Amazing jib/crane/remote-head shots and the colour grading is superb.
June 18, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Hey,
This is really great idea. I am a fashion photographer and film captures can be a really great source of inspiration.
Also, i would recommend you some movies to captures: Baraka, Revolver, My Blueberry Nights.
July 1, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Brilliant idea. Glad you put this out there for all to see. Like Holger said, it’s a great inspiration. Found this in link in the comments section for The Informant on IMDB, and want to say thinaks and great job. I will be visiting this site often.
July 25, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Glad you are enjoying the site, as long as people are enjoying it/finding it useful ill keep at it.
Got any requests?
July 25, 2010 at 7:04 pm
I would really like to see Firefly on here. I think the cinematography in that movie is brilliant. Especially the night stuff around the campfire.
July 30, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Sorry, I mean Serenity. Firefly was the tv show.
July 30, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Im actually slowly making my way through watching the show for the first time.
Though at this rate I should watch the film by… 2016 or so. So expect it then, unless those damn Mayans and their calender are to be believed!
I’ll get to it as soon as I can
July 30, 2010 at 9:20 pm
This is an incredible resource for anyone working in the film industry or investigating it as a student. But so much more, a totally gorgeous site. Thank you, and keep up the good work.
July 31, 2010 at 3:09 am
Thanks for the kind words, delighted people are finding it useful!
Got any requests?
Anyone want to help promote the site? Find your favourite film we’ve done so far and post it to your facebook, or twitter, or blog if you’re so inclined). I’m not looking for crazy exposure, but I do want to find people who will enjoy the site and find it useful.
July 31, 2010 at 9:55 am
I’m so glad to be back here — I found the blog this summer (my original comment being July 31 ’10), forgot to bookmark it, and spent hours trying to find my way back, agonizing that I’d reset my browser, scouring my history, etc.
Anyway, no worries now, as you’re sitting firmly atop my bookmarks bar.
And finally, I do have a request, for a classic (and maybe in honor of Sundance this week?):
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
January 16, 2011 at 9:13 am
Welcome back, and what a great suggestion for a post (consider it added to my to do pile)
Hopefully as time goes by the site will become easier to find.
January 16, 2011 at 11:18 am
Wow, yeah this really is such a helpful and beautiful site! I’m hoping to get into cinematography myself and I find this really useful!
Would LOVE if you did Atonement as I think its one of the most beautifully shot films ever! Thanks
August 16, 2010 at 9:22 pm
Atonement is actually a film I’m really ashamed to say I havent seen, it’s shown on TV quite a bit so I havent felt the need to buy i, but I always seem to miss it when its on.
I will rectify this ASAP!!!!
August 16, 2010 at 11:26 pm
North by Northwest Would be a good movie to have on hear. I just watched it again tonight, of my all time favorite films. So many iconic shots.
August 17, 2010 at 4:55 am
I totally agree. North by Northwest is a masterpiece allround. When I was learning to be a camera technician this film was shown to us during lectures.
June 19, 2011 at 10:40 am
I’m glad you created this. I’ve always wondered how directors/ and camera people decide to frame something in order to tell the story. We can only see what’s on the screen, but never what is to the left or right. Can you find “Once Upon A Time in America” “Good Bad and Ugly” and “Days of Heaven?” If you’ve got them here, I’m sorry for the repeat.
Ripley
August 18, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Days of Heaven is on here, just take a look in Movies A-Z, i’ll hopefully do a Leone week at some point.
So many movies so little time!
August 19, 2010 at 12:50 am
Also Im sure ill have to do multiple Hitchcock weeks, just figuring out how to break them up and what to cover!
August 19, 2010 at 12:51 am
Great stuff!
I’m jumping on the Hitchcock bandwagon.
Also, any John Carpenter movies would be cool, especially his low budget early efforts like ‘Assault on Precinct 13′ and ‘Halloween’ (probably a good reference for low budget lighting and so on). Although, his bigger budget effort ‘The Thing’ would be most excellent….
August 20, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Halloween is one of my favourite films and will definitely be getting a look in soon, as will the thing.
August 20, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Excellent news!
I watched ‘Hardware’ by Richard Stanley recently, and was really impressed by the setups and compositions in that movie (especially as it is a low budget b-movie). The lighting was especially beautiful, lots of unusual lighting setups using small spotlights and light projections from video screens. The colours used in the movie cycled slowly around the spectrum until the end when everything suddenly became bright and white. Worth having a look at if you can get a hold of it…
August 24, 2010 at 4:43 pm
I’m adding Hardware to my “to watch” list!
I imagine it will get longer before it gets shorter!
August 26, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Where are the stills for WATCHMEN? Shouldn’t that be on here?
August 31, 2010 at 4:47 pm
OldBoy, seriously, beautifull movie.
Also Apocalypse now has some fantastic cinematography.
August 31, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Oldboy looks amazing, but its not a film I love, so I don’t have it in my collection… but I know plenty of people I can borrow from so I’m sure it will get done at some point.
I actually only have Apocalypse Redux on DVD and will do it when I get the regular version!
September 1, 2010 at 12:54 am
the lack of Leone disturbs me
September 2, 2010 at 4:41 pm
As it disturbs me, unbelieveably I only have Once Upon a Time In America in my collection, would love to do some of the westerns… but there seems to be so many different boxsets that overlap each other and I never buy them… Ill get on it!
September 2, 2010 at 5:03 pm
I’m surprised you have Halloween for Carpenter but not The Thing. Even the lens flair in that film is pretty.
September 6, 2010 at 12:11 am
Very good site, although I have only seen a small percentage of the films presented so far, I greatly appreciate the screenshots. The Kubrick films are especially very intriguing and unusual. Some other films with memorable images you could make are Casino, Children of Men and The Godfather Part II.
September 14, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Lovely site! What a great resource. My suggestion is Gattaca. Lol
September 22, 2010 at 1:40 am
Love the site. May I suggest some Bertolucci, or anything else photographed by Vittorio Storaro? He is, in my opinion, the greatest color DP, ever.
October 23, 2010 at 7:07 am
Can you please do Avatar?
November 28, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I didn’t really enjoy Avatar, that said I think every kind of film has its place here.
Some day I’m sure I’ll borrow it off someone and grab frames, but I have no idea when that will be!
November 28, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Ok, what about the thin red line or open range?
December 4, 2010 at 9:58 am
Open range is one I wouldn’t have thought about but yeah its quite beautiful, thinking back on it I remember being amazed by the expansive skies!
Thin Red Line is one of my favourite movies ever, Im just waiting to get the Criterion Edt before I grab frames… dunno when Ill be able to afford it!
December 4, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Yes I was surprised at how much costner was able to fit into frame on Open range and the mission would probably be in my top three films for cinematography. Probably…
December 5, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. One of the best resources I’ve ever found on the internet.
And I love it that they’re indexed by DP and Director as well as film title.
December 13, 2010 at 7:08 am
World Trade Center would be great, that has like an endless parade of wonderful stills.
February 2, 2011 at 10:19 pm
im an animatior and i am totally going to jack some of these shots thanks
February 4, 2011 at 3:12 am
I’m loving this! I was looking for a still of the waltzers scene in Adventureland as it’s so beautiful and got directed here. Thanks
February 16, 2011 at 2:12 pm
I read you were going to put up stills from Solaris (1972) any idea when you’ll have that up? I saw the post was from a while ago so I was just wondering what was going on with that.
My other recommendations would be Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children, both directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Thanks in advance
April 4, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Yes, definitely both the above french films would be great to see here.
June 19, 2011 at 10:46 am
Hey D
Hope alls well. Keep trying to find this site. Bookmarked now. Just to say its a great source for trying to convey ideas to cast and crew alike. Keep up the good work dude. Rob K
May 2, 2011 at 9:48 pm
Hi,
Highly recommend a film that has inspiring photography. It’s Xavier Dolan’s “Heartbeats”.
Keep up the great work on your site. If you need help, instead of asking people to send DVD’s you could also allow them to send you a few stills themselves (which you could select as you wish). Just a thought. I’d be glad to do this for the film Heartbeats.
It’s grand
July 26, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Obvious, but how about In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar Wai? Or any of his films.
November 4, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Hi,
i really like your screenshots, i made a website, http://www.ffffilm.com, this is very close from what you do, you can register and post your screenshot, and there is a search engine, to find picture ( the engine not working very well for the moment but it will very soon )
hope you gonna like it.
Best.
November 24, 2011 at 4:38 am
First off, absolutely love the site! I do this myself, save my favorite stills from movies I watch, but it’s no where near as comprehensive as yours – I’ve actually stole a few stills from here for my own personal collection, shhhh
I actually stumbled upon this blog after looking for a topic thread discussing the breathtaking cinematography in Paris, Texas on IMDB; and now after browsing through, I’d added a few more films to my mental list (namely some Godard stuff).
Now I’m sure I’m not the first to show my disbelief at its absence but, where’s Il Conformista (The Conformist) (1970)? This is, in my opinion as well as innumerable others, probably one of the top 5 most beautifully shot films of all time. It’s so mesmerizing that you fail to notice the haziness of the plot. I’m certain you will need more than your standard 60 frames to capture the full breadth of its beauty! That and may I suggest, Metropolis (1927), Stranger on the 3rd Floor (1940), Faust (1926), One Hour Photo (2002), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Searchers (1956), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), E.T. (1982)… I’m sorry, now I’m not only nerding out but I’m imposing as well.
Anyways, I really hope your eye and health have improved and will further improve because your blog is a real gem to behold and your fans and followers want more!
Take care my friend,
Matthew Leeb
December 1, 2011 at 7:48 am
I have a suggestion: Eraser Head by David Lynch. Some amazing stuff in there. should be available at the library even.
February 29, 2012 at 10:22 pm
You still alive? Hope you’re fine!!!
June 6, 2012 at 1:16 am
Hi, great site! I’m in search for stills from The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover and Le Grand Bouffe. Do you have any of these? And how can I get stills of dvd’s myself?
Cheers,
Mourice
July 3, 2012 at 7:14 pm
Hi Maurice, I actually dont have either on DVD but i will keep an eye out and add them to my “to do” pile.
If you want to do it yourself the best option is a free program called VLC (its great for playing all types of video) just watch the movie and hit the snapshop button whenever youve got a shot you want
July 3, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Hey there.
I’ve been ducking into this site on and off for a few years now and I think I’m long overdue in thanking you for putting these films up like this. I hope your health is better and thank you so much for this wonderful gift of a site. All the very best to you.
Alethea
aletheajones.com
July 15, 2012 at 8:16 am
Your site is absolutely ravishing. These images are gorgeous; visiting your site is a part of my daily Internet diet
August 6, 2012 at 7:41 pm
Hey, i don;t know if you have heard of a swedish Movie called ” Everlasting Moments” but it would really help me if you could put the still on your website. Thanks.
August 20, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Hi vivian, I havent seen it but will see can I track down a copy and post it!
August 21, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Hey, I know people here are probably more on the “intellectual” side of film taste, but maybe you will enjoy this “movie moments” trailer anyway. For me those are (some of) the moments I watch movies for. Incredible cinematography meets a great scene and/or music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihBa19ooaKY
August 31, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Hey, can you post the film grabs of Delicatessen? It is shot by Darius Khondji. Would appreciate it. Thanks.
September 7, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Cool stuff, just FYI: the link for Barry Lyndon is not working
November 28, 2012 at 1:25 am
Cheers, appreciate the heads up, sorted now!
November 28, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Great site. It would be even better if you included the name of the production designer alongside the director and cinematographer.
January 15, 2013 at 7:52 pm
I’ve considered expanding the credits section, I’d love to be able to include costume designers/production designers/actors etc etc … I’m just very wary of it making the site messy and more difficult to navigate (not to mention upkeep)
January 15, 2013 at 7:55 pm
What about Minority Report? The lighting is amazing. Anyway, you’re doing a great job. Is it possible to get an offline version for better use in schools?
January 21, 2013 at 11:08 am
I will get around to doing Minority report soon… maybe I should do a month of Sci Fi!
There’s a link at the bottom of every post to a download of all the pictures featured. If you need anything else just let me know what you need and I’ll see what I can do!
January 21, 2013 at 11:11 am
Great site! I would love to see stills of Lincoln. Could be one of Janusz Kaminski’s best. Beautiful lighting. Every frame looks like a painting.
February 22, 2013 at 6:30 pm
This is an incredible resource, thank you so much for your work so far! I would also love to see Amelie up here.. and Avalon and Run Lola Run.
Keep up the wonderful work. Thanks again.
February 1, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Amelie is up, just check the A-Z. I have a post ready for run lola run, Ill post it soon hopefully. Havent seen Avalon, but I like Levinson a lot so must track it down.
February 1, 2013 at 8:15 pm
Jane Eyre shot by Ariano Golman, directed by Cary Fukunaga, please!
February 28, 2013 at 7:14 pm
oops, that’s Adriano Goldman! (finicky “d” key)
February 28, 2013 at 7:16 pm
I missed it in the cinema and havent had a chance to see it yet, it looked great from the trailer so ill defo try track it down.
February 28, 2013 at 7:27 pm
I highly recommend it. It was somewhat overlooked I think. In addition to the beautiful cinematography it spools out the story with a captivating creepy gothic tone. Hope you enjoy it.
February 28, 2013 at 8:49 pm
I love your site! Donnie Darko? In the Mood for Love?
March 7, 2013 at 1:01 am
Just posted “In The Mood For Love” Donnie Darko added to my to do queue… I spoil you!
March 12, 2013 at 12:46 pm
I would love to see “Stay” and “Baraka” on this list.
March 18, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Thank you for doin’ what you do, much appreciated.
March 22, 2013 at 11:58 pm
Your site is an absolute gem, and I am lucky to have discovered it! Its a blessing for movie lovers as we have all scourged the internet for movie imagery. Thank you and obviously you have a new fan and follower
Cheers!
March 24, 2013 at 6:00 am
Thanks guys, glad you like the site. Spread the word, tell your friends, help the site grow!
March 24, 2013 at 1:04 pm
Hey there. Love your site, beautiful stills! I woud love to see stills from Kubrick’s Lolita here. I saw it today on the big screen and it has some stunning shots. Just a suggestion. Cheers! Again, your site is wonderful
March 25, 2013 at 7:24 am
Great call… added to my list!
March 27, 2013 at 7:16 pm
I spend all my left-over minutes in here. I do feel more and more addicted to your site. Kassovitz’ “La Haine” belongs in your great collection of stills.
Thank you for taking my time over and over again.
Regards from Copenhagen
March 29, 2013 at 6:06 pm
Glad you like the site, it takes up all my spare time too
Couldn’t agree more, sadly my DVD of La haine has hard coded subtitles so I have to try track down a different version
March 29, 2013 at 11:35 pm