Keepers of the Magic
Cinematographers may be the most unappreciated creators of movies that millions love. The actors, with their bankable sex appeal, sell the movies and directors, if they have a unique visual style and can market themselves as a sort of brand (Hitchcock, John Woo, Wes Anderson, etc.) can also plunk audiences into seats. Only the most devout film-goers notice or follow cinematographers, though, despite the fact that they’re often responsible for literally every inch of the film image being watched and enjoyed. The best cinematographers have a strong visual style and aesthetic carried from film to film, regardless of the director.
Vic Sarin’s documentary, Keepers of the Magic, interviews some of the best cinematographers working and allows them to give insights on how they decide to shoot scenes in ways that both support the director’s vision and add to it. Color schemes, manual lighting, depth of field, time-of-day natural lighting and frame speed can all shape and affect a viewer’s perception, understanding and appreciation of a scene, even to the point of working on a subliminal level. Bruno Delbonnel, for example, talks about how a scene he shot for the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), wherein the protagonist is beaten in a dark alley, was changed so that the intruder’s face is never seen and his body shot as a back shape – a detail which wasn’t in the script, but which makes the scene more menacing and mysterious.
Gordon Willis (who died before the release of this film) tells how he carefully constructed the important opening scene of The Godfather. Vittorio Storaro and Cesar Charlone both discuss how the color schemes of different sections of the protagonists’ lives (in The Last Emperor, 1987 and City of God, 2002, respectively) are changed in ways that reflect the character’s frame of mind. Roger Deakins also breaks down the amazing train robbery sequence he shot for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), showing how the scene in which the train is approaching is so bright (due to the reflector lamp used) that the train can barely be seen (and the shot is all the more effective because of that). Philippe Rousselot (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2005) points out an eternal truth for artists of all kinds: “When you face an impossible task, you start inventing things.”
The transition from film to digital is also discussed, mostly with a sense of loss. Scenes which were once carefully considered and shot on film can now be quickly, but more carelessly, altered digitally. John Seale demonstrates how his work for George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) was recreated digitally, with skies and landscapes dropped in from photographs shot from a hotel room balcony!
Scenes are also shown from Metropolis, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Amelie, Witness and many more. Film viewers who just want to munch popcorn may be bored by this film, but true film lovers will eat it up.
—Michael R. Neno, 2019 Jan 07