Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography

views updated

Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography ★★★ 1993

Excellent documentary on the way films look and how the art of photographing movies can contribute as much, if not more, than cast, director, and script. Scenes from 125 films, from “Birth of a Nation” to “Good-Fellas” are shown, with commentary from a number of cinematographers, including Gordon Willis, William A. Fraker, Conrad Hall, Ernest Dickerson, Vilmos Zsigmond, and Michael Chapman, on how they achieved certain effects and their collaborations with the director of the film. 95m/C VHS, DVD. D: Arnold Glassman, Stuart Samuels, Todd McCarthy; W: Todd McCarthy; C: Nancy Schreiber. N.Y. Film Critics ‘93: Feature Doc.; Natl. Soc. Film Critics ‘93: Feature Doc.