Visions of Light
1992 · 92 MIN · IMDB 7.7 · 3,383 VOTES · DIR. Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, Stuart Samuels
Overview
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.
Dialogue Timeline — 1,360 lines
A SAMPLE ACROSS THE RUNTIME — EVERY LINE IS SEARCHABLE
00:00:37 (Thunder rumbles)
00:04:36 who was with Griffith on all of his early films
00:08:28 I'm the son ofyour employer
00:12:17 So, these people were tested every day as they worked
00:16:11 Now, is that a nice way to talk to the man whose name you bear?
00:20:04 Film was not as fast as it was
00:23:39 Film noir really had its high water mark right after the war
00:28:40 Film-makers occasionally hand-painted frame by frame
00:32:53 They'd say, "Oh, yeah, we did this interesting effect in the picture or that interesting effect."
00:36:39 who were giving us examples of reacting to the European style
00:40:02 We look at that moment at one of the great masters in the American film industry
00:43:48 WILLIAM FRAKER: The second picture I did with Connie
00:47:31 That was the way it was supposed to be
00:51:00 This here's an interesting town
00:54:35 And then you copy those styles
00:58:40 Do you think you can do that?
01:02:07 When I shot Godfather I, my decision to use yellow in the movie...
01:05:54 If he wouldn't hit that mark, we'd do the scene over again
01:10:16 It limited us to 20 useful minutes a day
01:13:58 the really overcranked stuff for when he's in the corner
01:17:34 And they were always great. Vittorio would always egg me on
01:21:22 of all the directors I've worked with
01:25:01 What's the feeling of it?
03:00:04 in colour cinematography