Visions of Light (also known as Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography) is a 1992 documentary film directed by Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy and Stuart Samuels. The film covers the art of cinematography since the conception of cinema at the turn of the 20th century. It features numerous filmmakers and cinematographers as interview subjects, presenting their views and discussing the importance of cinematography in the craft of filmmaking.
Synopsis
The film 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, and László Kovács.
Among the pioneers 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.
Cinematographer interviews
Filmography
The following films are featured in clips or discussed:
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.4/10.
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)
- The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004) – A similar documentary featuring interviews from film editors
- Score: A Film Music Documentary (2016) – A similar documentary featuring interviews from film composers
- Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) – A similar documentary featuring interviews from sound designers
References
External links
- Visions of Light at IMDb
- Visions of Light at the TCM Movie Database
- Visions of Light film review on YouTube by Siskel and Ebert and The Movies
- Visions of Light at Box Office Mojo
- Visions of Light at Rotten Tomatoes
