The Stone Carvers (1984)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Directors:

Marjorie Hunt
Paul Wagner

Writers:

Marjorie Hunt (written by) and
Paul Wagner (written by)

Genre:

Documentary | Short

Plot:

A look at some of the last stone carvers working in the United States, those completing the sculptures adorning the Washington National Cathedral...

Plot Keywords:

Cathedral | Sculpture | Architecture | Art | Italian American

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Vincent Palumbo	...	Himself
Roger Morigi	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Washington National Cathedral, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Company:

Wagner Productions

Trivia:

After this film won the Academy Award, the stone carvers sculpted one of the final angels for the towers of Washington National Cathedral to make it look like producer Marjorie Hunt; the angel is holding the Oscar.

Great documentary of a great craft.

THE STONE CARVERS is a great half-hour documentary on a group of individual Italian-American stone carvers working on the gargoyles and other features of the Washington Cathedral. Theirs is all but a lost or dying art. The carvers themselves, fully dedicated professionals of great skill, are funny, witty, ready with great stories of their craft and anecdotes about other carvers. "Practically, I was born into stone," says master carver Vincent Palumbo. The craft of these men has been passed down from generation to generation, and the breed no longer exists willing to endure years of apprenticeship to hone a craft of this difficulty. That's sad for all of us. This film is as solid as the work of its subjects. It won an Academy Award for best documentary short subject for its creators Marjorie Hunt and Paul Wagner.