This fascinating documentary delves into the art and technique of cinematography via some of the world’s greatest living directors of photography. Over one hundred films are excerpted to illustrate lighting and camerawork techniques, from silent days all the way through to the modern blockbusters of today. This comprehensive presentation illuminates how the advent of sound, color, widescreen and Steadicam affected film photography across the decades.

This visual compendium of film history proves the maxim that a picture paints a thousand words. Observations from the pithy experts sheds light on an oft misunderstood metier, reminding us how integral to filmmaking it is. Cinematographers pay homage to great artists of the past, including Billy Bitzer who worked closely with D.W. Griffith, and Gregg Toland, who brought deep focus beauty to Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” Much more than a dry walk through Hollywood’s past, this is a graphic, electrifying glimpse into “a language far more eloquent than words.”