Visions of Light
| Visions of Light | |
|---|---|
 Publicity poster | |
| Directed by | Arnold Glassman Todd McCarthy Stuart Samuels |
| Written by | Todd McCarthy |
| Produced by | Terry Lawler Yoshiki Nishimura |
| Cinematography | Nancy Schreiber |
| Edited by | Arnold Glassman |
| Distributed by | Kino International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Countries | Japan United States |
| Language | English |
Visions of Light is a 1992 documentary film directed by Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy and Stuart Samuels. The film is also known as Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography.[1]
The film covers the art of cinematography since the conception of cinema at the turn of the 20th century. Many filmmakers and cinematographers present their views and discuss why the art of cinematography is important within the craft of filmmaking.[2]
Synopsis[]
The film is the equivalent of a walk through a cinema museum. It includes interviews with many modern-day directors of photography and cinematographers, who illustrate via examples their best work and the scenes from films that influenced them to pursue their art. These subjects include Néstor Almendros, John Bailey, Conrad Hall, Michael Chapman, László Kovács.
Among the pioneers to whom they pay homage are Gregg Toland, Billy Bitzer, James Wong Howe and John Alton. The practitioners also explain the origins behind many of their most indelible images in cinema history.[3]
Cinematographer interviews[]
- Sandi Sissel
- Ernest Dickerson
- Michael Chapman
- Allen Daviau
- Caleb Deschanel
- Conrad Hall
- William A. Fraker
- John Bailey
- Néstor Almendros
- Vilmos Zsigmond
- Stephen H. Burum
- Charles Lang
- Sven Nykvist
- László Kovács
- James Wong Howe
- Haskell Wexler
- Vittorio Storaro
- John A. Alonzo
- Victor J. Kemper
- Owen Roizman
- Gordon Willis
- Bill Butler
- Michael Ballhaus
- Frederick Elmes[4]
Filmography[]
The filmmakers discuss the following films:
- The Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1895)
- Repas de bébé (1895)
- L'Arrivée d'un train à la Ciotat (1895)
- The Kiss (1896)
- Le Spectre rouge (1907)
- The Birth of a Nation (1915)
- Intolerance (1916)
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
- Way Down East (1920)
- Der Letzte Mann (1924)
- Ben-Hur (1925)
- Napoléon (1927)
- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
- The Crowd (1928)
- The Cameraman (1928)
- The Cocoanuts (1929)
- Applause (1929)
- The Locked Door (1929)
- Possessed (1931)
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
- Shanghai Express (1932)
- As You Desire Me (1932)
- What Price Hollywood? (1932)
- Red Dust (1932)
- Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
- Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
- Queen Christina (1933)
- Becky Sharp (1935)
- Peter Ibbetson (1935)
- Desire (1936)
- Camille (1936)
- Jezebel (1938)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- Midnight (1939)
- The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
- The Wizard of Oz (1939)
- Gone with the Wind (1939)
- The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
- Rebecca (1940)
- The Sea Hawk (1940)
- The Long Voyage Home (1940)
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- How Green Was My Valley (1941)
- The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
- Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
- Mildred Pierce (1945)
- The Killers (1946)
- Out of the Past (1947)
- T-Men (1947)
- The Naked City (1948)
- Oliver Twist (1948)
- She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
- Young Man with a Horn (1950)
- Sunset Boulevard (1950)
- On the Waterfront (1954)
- The Big Combo (1955)
- The Night of the Hunter (1955)
- Picnic (1955)
- Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
- Touch of Evil (1958)
- Jules et Jim (1962)
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- Hud (1963)
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
- The Professionals (1966)
- Cool Hand Luke (1967)
- In Cold Blood (1967)
- The Graduate (1967)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- Rosemary's Baby (1968)
- Easy Rider (1969)
- Midnight Cowboy (1969)
- The Conformist (1970)
- McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
- The French Connection (1971)
- The Godfather (1972)
- Fat City (1972)
- Chinatown (1974)
- The Godfather Part II (1974)
- The Day of the Locust (1975)
- Jaws (1975)
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- Eraserhead (1977)
- Annie Hall (1977)
- Star Wars (1977)
- Days of Heaven (1978)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
- Raging Bull (1980)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Blade Runner (1982)
- Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
- Blue Velvet (1986)
- The Last Emperor (1987)
- Empire of the Sun (1987)
- The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
- The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
- Do the Right Thing (1989)
- Goodfellas (1990)
Reception[]
Visions of Light has an overall approval rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.[5]
Awards[]
Wins
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards: NYFCC Award; Best Documentary; 1993.
- Boston Society of Film Critics Awards: BSFC Award Best Documentary; 1993.
- National Society of Film Critics Awards: NSFC Award; Best Documentary; 1994.
Nominations
- American Cinema Editors: Eddie; Best Edited Documentary, Arnold Glassman; 1994.
See also[]
- Cinematographer Style (2006)
- No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (2008)
References[]
- ^ Turner Classic Movies
- ^ Time Out
- ^ Variety
- ^ FilmAffinity
- ^ "Rotten Tomatoes". Retrieved 2010-09-05.
External links[]
- 1992 films
- English-language films
- 1992 documentary films
- American films
- Documentary films about cinematography
- American independent films
- Japanese films
- 1992 independent films