Visions of Light (1992) 92 Minutes

As previous entries demonstrate, Movienight was headed towards a night

off this week. As the whole Crew ended up being in town for the Holidays,

the last minute consensus was to marshall forth with an Official Selection.

Netti stayed home to prepare for his trip to Japan, and Jaja was absent as

well, but the rest of the Crew was joined by Wildcard Slim and Bobbi for this

cold and windy night.

Just as Tooda was starting his preamble, Movienight’s Official Dog, Abbey,

became very agitated by weird noises coming from the Bristol Farms parking

lot. The noises turned out to be Chris Pratt who pleasantly surprised the Crew, joining us for the first time since major surgery on his hand.

While not the coldest night we ever had, it was easily the windiest. There was some concern that the branches above us might come down during the screening. The wind was loud enough at times to drown out the monaural sound of this film. Certainly the sound couldn’t survive an accidental unplugging of the only speaker, and when Coolbaugh kicked it out we were forced to pause the presentation to restore the audio.

Although ‘Visions of Light’ is now our final Official Selection of 2006, Tooda stated in his preamble that he believed Nubs’ ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’ was the best story with which to end our year, hence a documentary could preserve the integrity of Nubby’s pick.

Our second documentary, ‘Visions of Light,’ brought clips from many of our previous Picks back to the Stucco as it weaved its way through the history of cinematography. ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ ‘The French Connection,’ and ‘Chinatown’ all were covered in this cinematic survey. [As of March 2008, we have added ‘Jaws,’ ‘Night of the Hunter,’ ‘Blade Runner,’ ‘2001,’ and ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ to the list of Movienight Selections featured in ‘Visions of Light.’]

Happy New Year to all! We will see you in the Back Yard come 2007.

“What’s important are the lights that you don’t turn on.”

Written by: Todd McCarthy

Directed by: Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy & Stuart Samuels

Brandon Comments:

Like Al Pacino said in one of the Godfather films, “Just when I think I’m out, they keep pulling me back in,” or something close to that effect*. This was how I felt during the first 10 seconds of Tooda’s pick, ‘Visions of Light.’ “Another goddamned documentary,” I thought to myself.

But then something happened after that initial 10 seconds…the documentary became, for lack of a better word, awesome. ‘Visions of Light’ was one of the tastiest documentaries I’ve ever seen, showcasing and illustrating the artistry that goes into every scene of a movie. A lot of the movies that they showed clips from I had already seen, but when they had interviews with the Director of Photography from each of these films, explaining how they pieced the scenes together, and the logic involved in getting that perfect amount of shadow and light, I would forever see these films differently. Shadows and light, the dichotomy in film, in feeling, in acting, in writing, in directing, in life.

It was a perfect MovieNight pick, making each of us thirst for a fresh new year of movies in the Back Yard. One of our MovieNight brethren even went so far as to say this documentary gave us all an added sense when it came to watching movies—that it would make us look at films with more of an artistically educated eye (he said it a little differently at the time, but we were all high, and the correct vernacular escapes me at the moment). But I would have to agree. After watching ‘Visions of Light,’ no movie will ever be the same again. They keep pulling me back in, but this time I enjoyed the yank.

*Editor’s Note: The film is question is ‘The Godfather, Part III’ and the quote is - “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

Nubs Comments:

I have been on the fence about ‘Visions of Light.’ I thought it would make a great pick. In theory it’s a great pick. Hell, I gave it to Coolbaugh as a birthday present with Tooda so I figured it would be a great pick to be chosen by one of us in the future. Well, conceiving a great game plan and executing are where the difference often lies in a great pick.

In theory, what a perfect choice to show this documentary that strokes the art of the projected image. Also, given the parameters that it had to follow the last pick of 2006 without counting as such, this documentary solves the issue. I, for one, pushed Davis to give us something that would not count as an “unofficial”, a waste of documentation. ‘Visions of Light’ works as what I like to call, “ a Movienight palate cleanser.” Just like a nice scoop of sorbet or a pre-climax montage in a movie, it alludes to what we’ve enjoyed while refreshing our tastes for the future. I thought it was quite clever of Davis is to insert this block in the ever growing game of Jenga known as Movienight. It is a documentary that gives us all a much-needed history of filmmaking, while flaunting some highlights of previous picks.

The game plan was brilliant, but the movie didn’t execute as well as hoped. Mostly, there’s no story. This can’t be blamed on the genre. There are wonderful documentaries that follow some sort of story or through line. Of our two documentaries thus far, ‘Visions’ and ‘F for Fake,’ neither keep us compelled with a narrative, which seems to be a key ingredient in a slam-dunk. Having enjoyed this movie when it was released, I kept waiting for it to pick up and dazzle me as I remembered. It does, at times, project breathtaking imagery and worthwhile nostalgia for some monumental classics. It fails in weaving a story about cinematography and that is mostly because it just ends. It brings us up to speed to 1992, as if cinematography has arrived with, ‘Do the Right Thing,’ and then just another look back at great clips. That may fly on Tuesday, but on Wednesday I need more. I just want some story with my images, is that so wrong?

Anyway, I respect Davis for taking on the conundrum which was the December 27th pick, and I am also happy to add these great filmmakers to our cannon, one way or another.

SELECTOR Comments:

I was really looking forward to having the first pick of 2007, but the steamroller that is Movienight had other plans in store. Faced with ending the old year rather than beginning the new, ‘Visions of Light’ seemed to be the only choice I could make.

I had always thought this film would be our first ever documentary, but when Netti brought us ‘F for Fake’ that window closed. Nubs and I had bought ‘Visions of Light’ for Coolbaugh on his birthday, and I was almost 100% certain he had yet to watch it. I had two back-ups with me, but when I found this DVD seemingly untouched I gambled Coolbaugh hadn’t made the time, and rolled with my gut.

‘Visions of Light’ is pure cinematic joy. It is the truest of love songs to movie-making. I relish seeing artists reflect on their craft, and here we have those who photograph our dreams talking about their own work and the work of others as though we all were peers. One of my favorite things about cinema is the people who are best at making it are the ones who truly love and admire all that it stands for. To see all of these photographer’s admiration for each other’s craft and their profession’s history warms my heart. It reminds me that there are still those out there who respect the past while they paint the future.

I knew this was a dangerous pick in many ways. First of all, it lacks a “back beat.” This is not a driving film, it is a slow and thoughtful reflection. Secondly, it lacks story. While I may be alone in this, my least favorite nights in the Back Yard have been the ones where story has not been front and center. Still, in the context of the year ending, and after the joyful showing of ‘The Hudsucker Proxy,’ I felt that a story wasn’t what we needed. Nubs had handled that very well indeed. Instead I wanted to end the year reflecting on where we have been - and perhaps where we are headed. The pick’s final draw back was its mono soundtrack. We have been dealing with quieter and quieter nights in the Back Yard, and I didn’t want to add to our increasingly silent experience.

Despite all of its potential short comings, ‘Visions of Light’ is what Movienight is all about. It speaks not just to the escape that cinema provides, but to the very nature of how that escape is generated. It makes you view the framing and lighting of shots in a whole new way, and deepening the appreciation of movies is one of our long-standing missions.

In the end, I brought this film to say thank you to the Stucco. For all the visions we have shared on that wall, and all of the light these shared evenings have brought into my life.

Happy New Year!

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