The 10 Most Aesthetically Pleasing Movies, According to Reddit

Given that film is a visual medium, it makes sense that many people would look at movies from an aesthetic point of view, trying to determine just what it is that makes particular movies so appealing in that regard.

Though many people have many different opinions about which movies over the years should be accorded the honor of being the most aesthetically pleasing, many of the users of Reddit have laid out in specific detail which movies they think are deserving of this honor and why, allowing for a more nuanced appreciation of these cinematic gems.

Amelie (2001)

Amelie is, arguably, one of the most famous French movies, and it was certainly very popular in the United States. It is unlike most movies created in an American context, as ItStillIsntLupus points out in their remarks.  They say that “the color scheme is warm and welcoming, the storyline flows beautifully, and the soundtrack is brilliant and whimsical, not to mention how talented each actor is.”

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In other words, the success of the movie stems from its ability to combine the various formal elements of film into a cohesive and brilliant whole.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)

The character of Spider-Man is one of the most popular and likable of the many heroes that have appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse impressed a number of Reddit users, including BakedWizerd, who notes that, early on, Miles is “animated at 24FPS, while Peter Parker Spider-Man is 48FPS.”

Thus, what makes this movie so aesthetically pleasing is not just the image itself, but also the type of movement that it is able to convey and how this reflects character changes and development.

Spirited Away (2001)

There are few animated studios quite as beloved as Studio Ghibli, which has produced numerous very popular and very highly regarded animated movies, including Spirited Away. This movie impressed a number of Reddit users, many of whom found several things to admire about it, including diadorim_, who argues that “This movie makes you wanna live inside it.”

The movie’s aesthetic pleasure stems from its ability to enfold the viewer and provide them with a world in which they can lose themselves completely.

Hero (2002)

The movie Hero is an excellent example of the Chinese movie genre known as wuxia, and it is an aesthetically sophisticated creation, with a color palette that has continued to draw praise from American audiences and critics.

The users of Reddit have similarly found a great deal to enjoy about this movie, and The_Awkward_Gourd in particular makes the note that “That movie is a continuous dreamscape.” Thus, it is not just the plot of this movie that excites but also the way that it mobilizes the visual field to create something that attains true beauty.

Annihilation (2018)

Annihilation is one of the most mind-bending and disturbing science fiction movies of recent years, and it asks the big questions about the nature of human nature and experience. Of particular note is the phenomenon known as the Shimmer, which distorts DNA and creates strange mutations. Ellemshaye argues that “The strange beauty is one of the best aspects of the movie.

It gives The Shimmer this sort of “devil-may-care” personality.” Thus, it’s the very visual appearance of the Shimmer that undergirds and reinforces the movie’s fundamental thematic concerns.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (1966)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is one of the most famous westerns to have emerged out of the cinema, so it’s hardly surprising that it would have earned quite a lot of appreciation from both contemporary critics and viewers and the users of Reddit. It particularly impressed allboolshite, who points out that “A lot of the old spaghetti westerns are beautifully shot. And the pacing is tightly controlled to make sure you experience it.”

In this way, the movie becomes aesthetically pleasing both in terms of how it appears but also how it chooses to tell its story to its audiences.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

The original Blade Runner is one of those movies that manages to straddle the line between several different genres, most notably film noir and science fiction. Thus, it has gritty cinematography that the sequel subtly plays with and renders differently.

This phenomenon was appreciated by user mikhel, who notes that  it is “Absolutely incredible how they captured the soul of the original film and made it look 50 billion times more beautiful.” Thus, the aesthetic brilliance of this science fiction movie is that it manages to both pay homage to the original while also setting out on its own path.

The Fall (2006)

Lee Pace has been in many great movies, and though The Fall is often overlooked, it still deserves to be seen as one of his best. As Schneetmacher notes, it is “Gorgeously shot, and a beautiful story to boot.”

Focusing on the extraordinary bond that emerges between two hospital patients, it is a movie that is as much about how the power of storytelling shapes people’s destinies as it is about grief, forgiveness, and the triumph of the human spirit.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Wes Anderson is widely regarded as one of the best directors currently working, and he definitely has a visual style that is all his own. All of the things that set him apart are on display in The Grand Budapest Hotel, which manages to be zany, beautiful, and strange all at the same time.

User tomato_songs was especially impressed by the way that the movie manages to straddle the line between artifice and reality, arguing: “The stylization of every character and every bit of architecture brings you into a whole new world that is both grounded in reality, and not grounded at all.”

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Given how beloved and iconic Studio Ghibli continues to be, it’s no surprise that Reddit chose more than one of the studio’s movies to be on this list. Like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle has a charm and a magic that is all its own, as it focuses on a young woman transformed into an old woman who meets the title character.

Like so many other of the studio’s offerings, beneath its whimsy there is a lot of philosophical complexity and, as user BitOCrumpet states, “I could just disappear into that world and not ever come back.”

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