Review – Visions of Light

Cinematography has always been a big deal for me. I’ll usually sit through a well-shot but otherwise dreadful production fairly willingly; a good script is the only thing I value more than good camerawork. So when this documentary about cinematography showed up on Netflix, I moved it to the top of my queue. For the most part my curiosity was rewarded. The movie takes a chronological approach, which I liked. The price paid for this convenience is several minutes at the outset when the films being discussed were shot by cameramen who had passed on before this documentary was made. Thus the commentary during the early scenes is weak on the practical information and long on the film school commentary about the beauty of it all. But once the cinematographers are actually given the chance to talk about their own movies (complete with clips), this is a fascinating exploration of “the liveliest art.” Mildly amusing