Visions of Light

Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

7

92 min

Cast

Ernest R. Dickerson

as Self

Michael Chapman

as Self

Allen Daviau

as Self

Caleb Deschanel

as Self

Lisa Rinzler

as Self

Conrad Hall

as Self

William A. Fraker

as Self

John Bailey

as Self

Néstor Almendros

as Self

Charles Rosher Jr.

as Self

Vilmos Zsigmond

as Self

Stephen H. Burum

as Self

Harry L. Wolf

as Self

Charles Lang

as Self

Sven Nykvist

as Self

Robert Wise

as Self

László Kovács

as Self

James Wong Howe

as Self (archive footage)

Haskell Wexler

as Self

Vittorio Storaro

as Self

John A. Alonzo

as Self

Victor J. Kemper

as Self

Owen Roizman

as Self

Gordon Willis

as Self

Bill Butler

as Self

Michael Ballhaus

as Self

Frederick Elmes

as Self

Sandi Sissel

as Self

Todd McCarthy

as Self (uncredited)

Director

Stuart Samuels

Arnold Glassman

Todd McCarthy