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Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography Actors: Conrad L. Hall, John Bailey, Vilmos Zsigmond, Charles Lang, Sven Nykvist, Robert Wise, László Kovács Directors: Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, Stuart Samuels Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Academy Ratio Format: Color, Black & White, Closed-captioned Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 95 minutes Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2000-05-09 Buy from Amazon |
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From Amazon.com Visions of Light is not just for film buffs. In fact, if the presentation of the Oscar for Best Cinematography is your cue to take a bathroom break from the Academy Awards, then this exhilarating documentary will help you see movies in a whole new light. Named Best Documentary by the National Society of Film Critics as well as several film-critic associations, Visions of Light traces the history and illuminates the art of cinematography. It profiles the cameramen who pioneered the visual language of cinema (such as D.W. Griffith's cameraman Billy Bitzer and Gregg Toland, who shot Orson Welles's Citizen Kane), as well as the masters they influenced, among them Néstor Alemendros (Days of Heaven), Vilmos Zsigmond (McCabe and Mrs. Miller), and Gordon Willis, the affectionately nicknamed "Prince of Darkness" who shot the Godfather films. From Birth of a Nation to Blade Runner, from Gone with the Wind to GoodFellas, this feast for the eyes spans nearly a century with sequences from more than 125 movies made immortal by the artful use of light and shadow to realize the director's vision. William Fraker, who shot Rosemary's Baby, recalls filming the scene in which Ruth Gordon's sinister character is seen in a bedroom talking on the phone at the far end of a corridor. Director Roman Polanski suggested that Fraker move his camera so her body would be concealed by a door and audiences could only see her back. Fraker remembers later watching this scene in theaters and seeing the audiences shift in their seats trying to peek around the door. --Donald Liebenson From Description Experience the dazzling story of cinematography as seen through the lenses of the world's greatest filmmakers and captured in classic scenes from over 125 immortal movies. Discover Gordon Willis's secrets of lighting Marlon Brando in "The Godfather" and Greg Toland's contributions to "Citizen Kane." Hear William Fraker on filming "Rosemary's Baby," Vittorio Storaro on his use of color and light in "Apocalypse Now" and much, much more. From black and white to Technicolor, silent to "talkie," glittering Hollywood musical to film noir and art film to blockbuster, this critically acclaimed masterpiece presents movies in a new and unforgettable light! |
 "Very inspiring but not instructional"I loved this DVD, it shows you history and theory but it's not instructional, it doesn't talk about light set-ups or specific techniques. If your looking for an instructional video as i was look elsewhere, I still enjoyed it though and I'd still buy it. "Hidden in the Light"This documentary provides a very interesting look inside the work of cinematographers. This function however essential in the art of filmmaking is not one that makes it to the frontpages of films magazines and theaudiences do not really realise what the work of these men and women is in a film. This film aims at presenting their work, especially the extent of their it, through close ups on particular films/persons. I had to see it for an Intro to Film studies class and I think it is a really good work, nevertheless it only gets 4 stars because it somehow lacks a bit of a sense of purpose. However, it is never boring, but just leaves you with a slight desire for something more. I would recommend it to any student in Film studies as well as to anyone interested in cinema for it is an agreeable film to watch and a very instructive one.  "vapor DVD"I never received it so it's hard to review beyond the suggestion that you try ordering it somewhere else "Non-anamorphic!"Here's a 2000 DVD of a film devoted to cinematography and they didn't bother to make it anamorphic. If you fill your 16x9 TV you'll get distortion on all the pre-widescreen excerpts, and if you show it without distortion the frame will fill about 2/3 of your available screen. I have DVDs earlier than this that were anamorphic, so it was known how to make this one so the WS excerpts filled your screen, and I take it it wouldn't be rocket science to do that w/o distorting (stretching) the non-WS portions. And I'm not crazy either about the quality of the transfer in terms of resolution and the like. Nonetheless, it's a must-see.  "Unfocused"Sometimes you want to like a film so much it takes you a while to realize that you're not having nearly the fun you'd anticipated. Such was the case with VISIONS OF LIGHT, a rather loose and rambling celebration of the art of cinematography. The film's strengths - conversations with a number of modern, world class cinematographers. Beautiful clips from movies from the advent of motion pictures to the 1980s. Its weaknesses - no coherent thread or linear narrative tracking the development of the art. The movie bounces around a bit too much for that, and all that jumping about makes things a little disorienting. It's as if VISIONS OF LIGHT wanted to make the case that motion picture photography is important and something to be appreciated in and of itself. I'm already convinced of that, and was hoping to see a more structured piece investigating the hows and whys of the art. For instance, one scene deals with a scene from IN COLD BLOOD, a film on which Conrad Hall was the director of photography. VISIONS runs a clip from that movie that features Robert Blake in a prison cell, talking to a priest. It's raining outside the window, and the shadows of the rain plays on the expressionless mask the Blake character wears while talking about his father. As Hall puts it, the shadow of the rain cries for the Blake character. The rain was a lucky accident which really adds depth to the character and the movie. VISIONS OF LIGHT is filled with such scenes, and the film has an anecdotal allure that makes it enjoyable; if it had gone a little farther behind the camera it may have been remarkable. |
