(22) A kingdom of night time pleasures, where the rich and powerful came to play with the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld.

Romance and star-crossed lovers may not necessarily be everyone's cup of tea, but "Moulin Rouge!" still saw fit to grace the ASC's bill of best-shot films in the last decade. So if you’re looking for love, singing sitars, MTV-generation music and cinematic-grade aesthetic value without the heaviness of “Saving Private Ryan,” throw in your diamonds and join the two-hour Bohemian Revolution!

However, don’t forget.

Truth, beauty, freedom and love may be beautiful things, but as our protagonist Christian learns, there are forces “darker than jealousy and stronger than love” to prove that beautiful things don’t conquer all. And if that’s any indication, star-crossed lovers are still star-crossed at the end of the day and director Baz Luhrmann doesn’t let you forget it.

Jim Broadbent in the role of Harold Zidler pitches the show "Spectacular, Spectacular" (top) and introduces his circus of "Diamond Dogs" (below).

Instead, he beguiles you into a decadent cancan that is the Moulin Rouge with turn-of-the-century ardor, vibrant colors and movement, visually dynamic dance sequences, intricately beaded gowns, lavish set design and schmaltzy ‘80s love songs.

Dancers in the main hall of the Moulin Rouge for "El Tango de Roxanne".

And then just as quickly, he drops you on your derriere, reminding you that while the party was great and the absinthe was fun, your problems are still there. And not even money can get you out.

Satine, played by Nicole Kidman, falls ill (top) on the eve of her dinner with the Duke, played by Richard Roxburgh.

That’s the genius of this jukebox musical. Armed with frenetic intercutting and complete with red curtain theatrics, it whips your attention at its will by mixing playful musical interludes with hopeless and dire realities, seamlessly shifting mood like a master puppeteer in a way that serves up a feast for the eyes and is unlike other love stories of its genre.

The curtain at the opening and closing of the film acts as the story's framing device.

(43) Are you trying to save my soul?

A film whose theatrical trailer marches to the majestic thrum of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is a film that makes a promise. And while the promise might initially and at times seem unclear, “The Fall” nevertheless delivers in flying colors and with stunning visual pomp and circumstance.

At 43 on the American Cinematographer’s list of 50 best-shot films of the last decade, “The Fall” bestows a sumptuous canvas for the story of a disabled Hollywood stuntman and a young immigrant girl’s stay at a hospital in 1920s Los Angeles. Both are “fallen” individuals, so to speak; he, metaphorically, and she, having fallen off an orange tree.

And together, they spin a Dali-esque tale inspired by her imaginative contributions and his personal tragedy and shortcomings.

Locations span from Villa Adriana in Italy to the Namib Desert to the Taj Mahal in India.

Directed by Tarsen Singh and filmed in over 18 countries and at 26 locales across the world, the surrealist film boasts all natural locations and no CGI effects, despite its strikingly hyper-realistic landscapes. From Singh’s homeland of India to Rome to the Czech Republic and a host of other exotic destinations, our protagonists’ myth unravels in artfully symmetrical backdrops and transitions under clever observation.

Transitions are shots matched up with locations, such as Butterfly Reef in Fiji and India's Ladakh terrain.

Unlike “The Diving Bell and Butterfly,” “The Fall” is an intentionally detailed and meticulously constructed world——a magnum opus. While at only 43 on the American Cinematographer’s list, this film is jaw-dropping and arguably the most beautiful, if not extravagant, among the 50.

Our heroes escape ashore to an unnamed location in India.