Cinematography is an art form that can be as bold as a gong crashing after a moment of silence or as subtle as the tide coming in. It elevates a film to the heights of accolades or becomes frustrating when it misfires.
While at the heart of cinematography is the Director of Photography or Cinematographer, to get something from the script to the final shot takes a whole team of professionals, and it is their talent that we champion today.
Our Highly Commended Films in 2025 are: The Brutalist, Frankenstein, KPop Demon Hunters, Nosferatu, The Phoenician Scheme, Warfare & Weapons
Our Highly Commended TV in 2025 are: Andor, The Diplomat, Peacemaker & PLUR1BUS
So, without further ado, these moments of cinematography took our breaths away in 2025. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead.
28 Years Later finds its way onto this list this year because of the wild experimentation it undertook. I know these visual choices will not be to everyone’s taste, and some of them were driven by budget rather than anything else. But whatever the case, 28 Years Later took a wild swing, and I congratulate them on trying something different.
At its heart, Conclave is a film all about contrast, and the only reason that works as well as it does is that we see it produced so wonderfully in the visual medium. There are a lot of departments that have to come together to make something look as good as this. But it is the cinematography of Conclave that captures all that good work and then makes it shine on the screen.
There are times where you hear someone go “this was better that it had any right to be” which is always a bit dismissive. However, Heated Rivalry did not need to go as hard as they did with some of their cinematography choices. Every zoom, every change of focus, and every Steadicam push is used to create a visual language that is almost unique to the show.
One Battle After Another is a film full of intentional choices that make everything work just that little bit better. The choice to always show a close up on Regina Hall to ground the emotions that are almost about to fly off into the stratosphere. It is the cinematography that helps bring context to the chaos, build tension in the hills, and shine a light on a country tearing itself apart.
I am not saying that The Residence had a monopoly on quirky cinematography this year, because I don’t want to get taken out by Wes Anderson. However, it did use its visual style to support the editing and pacing to keep a story that jumps between different timelines and unreliable narrators, and it feels like it all worked together. That takes skill.
Look, have I written a lot about Sinners at this point? Yes. Could I keep talking until the cows come home? Yes. Is it also a visual delight that does not use its night time setting to hide but to make the film shine? Also, yes, yes it is.
In an age where films are being jettisoned from cinemas before you have time to blink, I am glad that I got to see Wake Up Dead Man on the big screen. Throughout the film, you can feel it shine as stories twist and turn. It has a warmth that comes from the way it is staged, and a presence that is never subtle when you can go full-bombast.
The Best Cinematography in Television or Film 2025 is: Wake Up Dead Man
Directed by – Rian Johnson
Cinematography by – Steve Yedlin
Wake Up Dead Man is a visual joy from start to finish. It delights in these long, slow zooms that suck you into the narrative. Where it excels is in the lighting. On just a straight production level, this is one of the best-lit films that I have seen so far this year. This is a film that never looks dull; time has been taken to make sure that everything pops, even when characters are running through the woods late at night as a storm comes in.
But more than this, the lighting is tied into both the fabric of the themes and the very narrative itself. You come to notice that the light is used to convey emotion and mood in a subtle way that builds until you can’t help but feel its power. You feel the ebbs and flows of characters visually, as well as emotionally, and it is profoundly captivating. It hooks you from the start, even if some of the cameras ended up in the mud splash zone at one point.
What film or television in 2025 looked the best thanks to its cinematography? Let us know what you would have chosen as your number one in the comments below.
By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.
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Credits – All images used were created by the respective studios and artist of each film
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