Product 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!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6408 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-05-09
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

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 The New Yorker
This documentary, directed by Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, and Stuart Samuels, is much more fun than its college-catalogue title suggests. The movie is cheery, convivial, and swift: for ninety minutes, stunning images, drawn from all eras of movie history, pass before us, and we listen to a couple of dozen veteran cinematographers speaking about what they do. The craftsmen are a likable and unpretentious bunch, and it's easy to share their delight in the achievements of their colleagues and masters: the film is a joy to look at. (The clips are taken from the best possible prints, and they're all shown in their original aspect ratios.) Movie-lovers can argue with some of the filmmakers' choices-the near-total exclusion of images from Westerns is the most serious flaw-but, in a strange way, that's part of the picture's charm. It has the power to revive senses that have been dulled by the crushing predictability of recent movies. The cinematographers interviewed include Allen Daviau, Caleb Deschanel, Haskell Wexler, John Bailey, and the late Nestor Almendros (to whom the film is dedicated). -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

I like!
Visions of Light provided me with a well-explained history of cinematography in Hollywood, starting with the old days (early 1900s) to film noir (Hollywood in the 40s) to the present time. However, I have to admit that I expected a more dynamic discussion about cinematography---a more "passionate" lesson on what makes good cinematography and its artistry. Also, it ends with films of the 60s or 70s...It doesn't go all the way to today's films.

Nonetheless, I like it for what it teaches, and I'm glad I bought it. Hope this helps!


-John

Visions of LIght?.......Yes!
This is a must have for serious students and lovers of cinematography. It covers the history and major developments of motion picture photography along with many main contributors to the art. Once you see it you'll tell all your friends about it and so on...it's that good.

Nice
I liked this dvd. It shows the history and techniques of cinematography.
feel free to visit http://myspace.com/chapmanphotography