American Cinematographer - March 1989 - 30

invaluable

propeller. In Rotunno's

view, it is light that tells the story by

giving objects more or less impor¬
tance. That is, by making them visi¬
ble. And the story, even in the case
of Munchausen's prodigious under¬
takings, hinges on objects' rising to
the importance they deserve. "It is
not a matter of equipment. What
you need, to tell a story, is light,"
explains Rotunno. "The camera is
simply the tool that collects our im¬
ages into the chemical means of the
film stock. Light is my only con¬
cern.
My job."
There were many interest¬
ing challenges for Giuseppe Rotun¬
no on this project: "The Baron
himself is the story's narrator.
Therefore,

we had to construct the
movie around his moods and sen¬

sations. As for my

contribution, I
particular notes by col¬
oring the light through special filter
combinations. With the magic, psy¬
chological colors of the light, I in¬
added

Above:

Sally (Sarah
Polley) with Idle

tended to make the

and Jack Purvis, as

they plot a come¬
Right: Inside

back.

the Volcano where
workers

are

mak¬

ing 'the ultimate
weapon.'

special effects. "I tried to show
them my need for a specific tone
of light. A special effect needs a
certain style. It must preserve the
actual taste of the film. My contri¬
bution, then, lay in putting over the

and tried to make out what the

need to remain within the

course,

canons

required by the movie's story."
In Rotunno's opinion, the
story always has absolute priority.
That is

he explains, he
convey real sensations

why,

strives to

as

when he shoots. But in the
Baron

tales

-

case

of

Munchausen, the story lies

in this

legendary character's tall
the truth in his sensational

lies. "I listened to the unusual

28

some

American

Cinematographer

director's aim

through

was.

Then, I filtered it

experience. I be¬
lieve that life, even in its everyday
expressions, is something in be¬
tween fantasy and reality. Of
neous

my own

it is difficult to be sponta¬
and sincere in a fairy-tale

world.

Conversely, lies are not alto¬
gether negative in the ordinary

fairy-tale's

phases sharper and more clear-cut,
not only during shooting, but dur¬
ing printing as well.
"Inside the city besieged
by the Turks, I sought to create a
more dramatic
atmosphere by
using a reddish color. This shade of
the light helps convey the sense of
claustrophobia one can imagine in
a
city surrounded by the enemy
from all sides. Outside the city, at
the Turks' camp, the dominent light
is a bright, gilded color, symboliz¬
ing the richness of the Sultan's
army, as well as its glorious
victory."
When photographing the
purely fantastic scenes, the Italian
cinematographer applied the same
principle: "In the sequence shot in¬
side the whale's belly, which re¬
minded

me

of Pinocchio, I wanted

give an icy, frost-like look to the
picture, suggesting the cold un¬
welcoming atmosphere of that
strange place. Contrariwise I se¬
lected strong, fiery colors for the
to

volcano

scene.

As for the moon, I

world if, like the Baron, you have an
aim beyond reality you want to

wanted to

reach. A Roman

that

black and white tones. Besides, the

lies make trains go. That's it. What
matters, in the Baron's case, is to
make the train go."

images of the moon we usually see
show a clear predominance of such
colors: the sky is black, and the

plot

Light
March 1989

proverb

was,

of

says

course, an

produce a neutral atmo¬
sphere. So, I colored the light with

moon

is white."
American Cinematographer - March 1989

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