A documentary about the history and influence of movie photography, featuring many of the most acclaimed and successful cinematographers of the 1960's, 70's and 80's.
If you're interested in how a movie is photographed - and all true cinephiles should be - this excellent documentary is a great way to learn, contains a slew of captivating shots from a hundred years of cinema, and captures the comments of some of the very best directors of photography ever to strike a light. It's also a little bit of a time capsule; made just prior to the advent of digital photography and projection it's a glorious celebration of good old soupy celluloid and just what cameras are capable of. It starts at the birth of cinema and moves through the silent era, the restrictions of sound, the experimentation of film noir, the move to colour, the influence of European new wave and the amalgamation of all these elements into modern cinematography. Every single one of the interviewees is intelligent and articulate, but also surprisingly different. They talk about technical effects like diffusion and how to light actors, they talk about symbolism through use of colour and shade, they talk about relationships with directors and with their subject matter, and what they all share is a burning obsession to make whatever they're shooting come alive. Movies, irrespective of their style or genre, should first and foremost be passionate, and cinematography is the key to this. I particularly like Hall's philosophy, whereby accidents and mistakes may have just as much value as the most elegantly composed traditional shot, and there are plenty of humorous anecdotes, such as Fraker's vignette about the telephone in Rosemary's Baby. Movies contain many key elements - music and editing are just as important - but without photography they simply wouldn't exist. It is the most important and integral aspect of any film and the power of great imagery is extraordinary, universal and beautiful. A co-production of the American Film Institute and Japanese broadcaster NHK, this was shown at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. Director McCarthy was Variety magazine's senior film critic for thirty years from 1979 - 2010, and also made another excellent feature documentary in 1990 called Hollywood Mavericks. This is hard to find (my copy is from an old home videotape from a BBC TV screening) but is available in Europe through the BFI and is well worth tracking down.
If you're interested in how a movie is photographed - and all true cinephiles should be - this excellent documentary is a great way to learn, contains a slew of captivating shots from a hundred years of cinema, and captures the comments of some of the very best directors of photography ever to strike a light. It's also a little bit of a time capsule; made just prior to the advent of digital photography and projection it's a glorious celebration of good old soupy celluloid and just what cameras are capable of. It starts at the birth of cinema and moves through the silent era, the restrictions of sound, the experimentation of film noir, the move to colour, the influence of European new wave and the amalgamation of all these elements into modern cinematography. Every single one of the interviewees is intelligent and articulate, but also surprisingly different. They talk about technical effects like diffusion and how to light actors, they talk about symbolism through use of colour and shade, they talk about relationships with directors and with their subject matter, and what they all share is a burning obsession to make whatever they're shooting come alive. Movies, irrespective of their style or genre, should first and foremost be passionate, and cinematography is the key to this. I particularly like Hall's philosophy, whereby accidents and mistakes may have just as much value as the most elegantly composed traditional shot, and there are plenty of humorous anecdotes, such as Fraker's vignette about the telephone in Rosemary's Baby. Movies contain many key elements - music and editing are just as important - but without photography they simply wouldn't exist. It is the most important and integral aspect of any film and the power of great imagery is extraordinary, universal and beautiful. A co-production of the American Film Institute and Japanese broadcaster NHK, this was shown at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. Director McCarthy was Variety magazine's senior film critic for thirty years from 1979 - 2010, and also made another excellent feature documentary in 1990 called Hollywood Mavericks. This is hard to find (my copy is from an old home videotape from a BBC TV screening) but is available in Europe through the BFI and is well worth tracking down.