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Plot
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
Trailer
Trailer's not available.
Cast
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Ernest R. Dickerson
Self
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Michael Chapman
Self
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Allen Daviau
Self
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Caleb Deschanel
Self
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Lisa Rinzler
Self
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Conrad L. Hall
Self
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William A. Fraker
Self
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John Bailey
Self
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Néstor Almendros
Self
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Charles Rosher Jr.
Self
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Vilmos Zsigmond
Self
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Stephen H. Burum
Self
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Harry L. Wolf
Self
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Charles Lang
Self
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Sven Nykvist
Self
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Robert Wise
Self
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László Kovács
Self
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James Wong Howe
Self (archive footage)
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Haskell Wexler
Self

Vittorio Storaro
Self
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John A. Alonzo
Self
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Victor J. Kemper
Self
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Owen Roizman
Self
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Gordon Willis
Self
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Bill Butler
Self
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Michael Ballhaus
Self
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Frederick Elmes
Self
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Sandi Sissel
Self
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Todd McCarthy
Self (uncredited)