Visions of Light
- 1992
- 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Do the Right Thing (1989).Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Do the Right Thing (1989).Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Do the Right Thing (1989).
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination
Photos
Conrad L. Hall
- Self
- (as Conrad Hall)
Charles Lang
- Self
- (as Charles B. Lang)
Ernest R. Dickerson
- Self
- (as Ernest Dickerson)
Néstor Almendros
- Self
- (as Nestor Almendros)
Charles Rosher Jr.
- Self
- (as Charles D. Rosher)
Harry L. Wolf
- Self
- (as Harry Wolf)
László Kovács
- Self
- (as Laszlo Kovacs)
James Wong Howe
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Directors
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector Todd McCarthy had hoped to include an interview with the legendary cinematographer, John Alton, whose work is highlighted in the film, but could not locate him. Alton had quit the movie business after working on Elmer Gantry (1960), and for many years, even close friends didn't know his whereabouts, or if he was still alive. In 1992, McCarthy was shocked to receive a phone call from the now 91-year-old Alton, who had heard about Visions of Light (1992), and wanted to attend the premiere. Alton insisted that there was nothing mysterious in his disappearance, that he and his wife had simply decided to give up the movie business and travel a bit. They had lived in France, Germany, and Argentina, and had a great time. Alton died in 1996 at the age of 95.
- Quotes
Vittorio Storaro: I understood at that moment that cinema really has no nationality.
- SoundtracksShadow Waltz
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Played and sung during a clip from Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
Featured review
The importance of Cinematography
Taking a stand for cinema's populist underdog, Visions of light reinstates the basic elements of importance in film in an age where the artistic merit is credited the director and the actors. Or maybe it merely tells an audience what every filmmaker knows so well; that the art of film would be nothing without light and the craft of capturing and animating it. Since the origin of film-making, cinematography has maintained its reputation of being a craft, long after the role of the director was given creative control. And with such a responsibility in management of physical and optical parameters, the creative expression of the director of photography is purely based on experiment through immense control. From Charles Lang being instructed to "put his shadows wherever he wanted, but not on the actors face" to David Lynch and Frederick Elmes discussing "how dark is dark", the art of cinematography is just as much about being an illusionist as just a mediator between production and aspection. In commentary to his "sketching of things in the dark" to the point of monochromism, John Alton summed up the spirit of cinematography in reminding us that it is not as much about the lights you turn on as the one's you don't.
helpful•31
- arnemyklestad
- Apr 9, 2007
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $799,856
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $27,761
- Feb 28, 1993
- Gross worldwide
- $799,856
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content