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The 45 Most Beautiful Shots of Cinematic Sunsets

Sunsets have provided a backdrop to some of the most powerful, beautiful, and memorable scenes in movies.

The sun sets every single day, without delays or interruptions. It’s all just part of the universe’s natural cycle that we don’t pay much attention to, and maybe even take for granted sometimes. Still, few things are as naturally beautiful or inherently awe-inspiring as sunsets, either. At face value, they’re just really pleasant to look at, but on a deeper level sunsets contain the power to evoke a range of emotions. And if you’re lucky enough to take a picture of a sunset in all its natural splendor and upload it to Instagram, your social media will be the best around that day.

Naturally, sunsets also lend themselves perfectly to art and visual media. As feasts for our eyes, few images are as striking, which makes them irresistible to some creators looking to grab our attention. However, sunsets can also be interpreted symbolically; perhaps to mark the end of a journey, a passage of time, or an era, for example. In some instances, they also signify danger due to the arrival of imminent darkness and danger. The next time you’re looking at the sun going down and admiring its beauty, please bear in mind that vampires will be waking up and preparing for a night of feasting on your fellow members of humankind. That being said, sunsets are so cool that the risk of being eaten is worth it.

Filmmakers clearly understand the appeal of sunsets, though, hence why they’ve used them time and time again to enhance their works in a variety of ways. And given that images of sunsets have contributed so much to the art of cinema, we decided it was time to honor them. Obviously, this isn’t a comprehensive collection of all the incredible sunset shots out there, but we have selected forty-five favorites that showcase filmmaking at its most visually spectacular and evocative. Additionally, this is the only list we’ve published where comedies about amateur stuntmen can co-exist alongside gory horror fare, prestige historical dramas, and sci-fi epics without seeming out of place. That unlikely unity alone makes sunsets worth praising.


Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)

DP: Alan Hume ⏐ Director: Richard Marquand


War Horse (2011)

DP: Janusz Kamiński ⏐ Director: Steven Spielberg


Dersu Uzala (1975)

DP: Asakazu Nakai, Fyodor Dobronravov & Yuriy Gantman ⏐ Director: Akira Kurosawa


Hour of the Wolf (1968)

DP: Sven Nykvist ⏐ Director: Ingmar Bergman


Flesh and Blood (1985)

DP: Jan de Bont ⏐ Director: Paul Verhoeven


The Monster Squad (1987)

DP: Bradford May ⏐ Director: Fred Dekker


Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)

DP: Toyomichi Kurita ⏐ Director: Takashi Miike


King Kong (2005)

DP: Andrew Lesnie ⏐ Director: Peter Jackson


Harold & Maude (1971)

DP: John A. Alonzo ⏐ Director: Hal Ashby


The Zero Theorem (2013)

DP: Nicola Pecorini ⏐ Director: Terry Gilliam


Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

DP: Freddie Young ⏐ Director: David Lean


Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

DP: Dan Mindel ⏐ Director: J.J. Abrams


Spider-Man 3 (2007)

DP: Bill Pope ⏐ Director: Sam Raimi


The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

DP: Daniel Pearl ⏐ Director: Tobe Hooper


For a Few Dollars More (1965)

DP: Massimo Dallamano ⏐ Director: Sergio Leone


Tales from Earthsea (2007)

Director: Gorō Miyazaki


Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

DP: Dean Cundey ⏐ Director: Tommy Lee Wallace


The Rock (1996)

DP: John Schwartzman ⏐ Director: Michael Bay


Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

DP: Douglas Slocombe ⏐ Director: Steven Spielberg


The Good Dinosaur (2015)

DP: Sharon Calahan, Mahyar Abousaeedi⏐ Director: Peter Sohne


Vampires (1998)

DP: Gary B. Kibbe ⏐ Director: John Carpenter


Days of Heaven (1978)

DP: Néstor Almendros ⏐ Director: Terrence Mallick


Domino (2005)

DP: Daniel Mindel Christensen ⏐ Director: Tony Scott


Hercules (1997)

DP: Rasoul Azadani ⏐ Director: Ron Clements, John Musker


Tombstone (1993)

DP: William A. Fraker ⏐ Director: George P. Cosmatos


Before Midnight (2013)

DP: Christos Voudouris ⏐ Director: Richard Linklater


Hot Rod (2007)

DP: Andrew Dunn ⏐ Director: Akiva Schaffer


Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

DP: Gilbert Taylor ⏐ Director: George Lucas


Jurassic Park (1993)

DP: Dean Cundey ⏐ Director: Steven Spielberg


Easy Rider (1969)

DP: László Kovács ⏐ Director: Dennis Hopper


From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

DP: Guillermo Navarro ⏐ Director: Robert Rodriguez


Unforgiven (1992)

DP: Jack N. Green ⏐ Director: Clint Eastwood

 

 

 


Sicario (2015)

DP: Roger Deakins ⏐ Director: Denis Villeneuve


The Green Ray (1986)

DP: Sophie Maintigneux ⏐ Director: Eric Rohmer


Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

DP: Douglas Slocombe ⏐ Director: Steven Spielberg


Walkabout (1971)

DP & Director: Nicolas Roeg


Titanic (1997)

DP: Russell Carpenter ⏐ Director: James Cameron


Apocalypse Now (1979)

DP: Vittorio Storaro ⏐ Director: Francis Ford Coppola


The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

DP: Roger Deakins ⏐ Director: Andrew Dominik


Armageddon (1998)

DP: John Schwartzman ⏐ Director: Michael Bay


Gone with the Wind (1939)

DP: Ernest Haller ⏐ Director: Victor Fleming


Badlands (1973)

DP: Tak Fujimoto, Brian Probyn, Stevan Larner ⏐ Director: Terrence Malick


Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

DP: Andrew Lesnie ⏐ Director: Peter Jackson


E.T. the Extra-terrestrial (1982)

DP: Allan Daviau ⏐ Director: Steven Spielberg


Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

DP: John Seale ⏐ Director: George Miller


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Articles from the One Perfect Shot archives, written by committee or guests.
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