Reviews (9)

The Best!
For those that need a pick-me-up that are past "the age" when Muppets are supposed to be entertaining, or for your young ones that have missed out on the hey-day of Sesame Street when it was even greater than it is now, this is one of the best movies to watch! With a passion for Egyptology and history in general, this was one of my favorite PBS specials growing up--even more so than 'Follow that Bird!'. It's truly educational and heart-warming. Can not go wrong with this movie.

You'll laugh, you'll cry---it's better than "Cats"!!
Sesame Street specials are always wonderful, but this hour long movie, filmed when Sesame Street was in its prime, is just spectacular. It remains one of my favorite ways to cheer myself up (I'm 27). When Big Bird wanders off near closing time to meet Snuffleupagus, and the rest of the Sesame Street monsters and humans try frantically to find him, they all get locked overnight in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The rest of the video, which amounts to the bulk of the story, revolves around three main storylines: 1.) everyone trying to find Big Bird while avoiding the suspicious but clueless mustachio-ed museum security guard, 2.) everyone discovering and enjoying the museum in the process, and 3.) Big Bird and Snuffleupagus helping a little Egyptian boy named Sahu prove his inner worth in a yearly "test", so that the god Osiris will let him join his parents as stars in the sky. There is enough of a storyline to ensnare even those with the shortest of attention spans, children and adults alike, and quite a bit of comic relief to lighten the way. Watching straight-arrow Bob as he runs around trying to keep Cookie Monster from scarfing down the Still Lives, while a group of dancing Monster-ettes sings the doo-wop title tune: "Don't eat the pictures, no, no, no!", is particularly amusing; as are the scenes where Sahu's invisible cat, who still meows audibly, befuddles that poor hapless security guard. The many many shots of the Museum interior are gorgeous, and a magical exposure/introduction to art and museums, in particular the paintings, sculpture, and medieval artifacts of the Met. The video of course has a happy ending, but one that will bring tears to your eyes. I watched this tape for the first time when I was 7 years old, and I must say that when as an adult I had my first opportunity to go to the Met in person, it was a truly awesome visit. Another friend who had watched the movie as a child led me on what we called the Don't Eat the Pictures Tour, and she showed me every piece of art showcased in the movie. Her tour ended at the Temple of Dendur itself, and as it was near closing time, it was dark outside with stars in the sky--just like the penultimate scene of DETP. A memorable day, and a memorable movie. It's a true gift from the Sesame Street gang to us, the viewing public. You and your kids will love it.

Don't Eat The Pictures (1987)
Parents,
In this rare Sesame Street video they go to the Metropolitan Museum Of Art. My 8 year old boy loves Coookie Monster so I tried to find a tape that included him. Big Bird goes gets Suffy to leave the museum but when he comes back to all his friend they were stuck in the museum. Cookie Monster sees a picture but Cookie Monster sings a song to don't eat the pictures.

This is Great
I first saw this when I was in the second grade and my parents taped it on BETA for me. The story line is great for this age group. Since I like Egyptian history, Prince Sahu and his story is really sweet. Just like the other Special features that Sesame Street has done, this is golden. Just like all the other ones. Christmas on Sesame Street (with Mr. Hooper) Big Bird in China and Big Bird in Japan.

I should be able to give it a higher number
Because it certainly desrves it. Unlike today's emphasis on dumbing down programing ala Barney, this video tape was made in a time when children were actually respected and given enormous respect.

Granted some of the acting seems weird because of the programing shift, but I seriously doubt that it would scare today's little kids. I watched it as a little girl, and keep hoping that it will be released.

One of the unexpected side effects of this non-condescending treatment is that young adults such as myself still fondly remember this movie and are not at all bored by the pace. Whatever your chronological age, you will find this program timeless in it's appeal and beloved by all.

That is what indicates real staying power, not how many toys one can invent, market and make profit from. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Author Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) wrote Lily Tomlin's narration for this superb documentary, based on a book by the late Vito Russo, about Hollywood's treatment of homosexual characters in the 20th century. Never pointing a finger at anyone in the film community, The Celluloid Closet presents clips from more than 100 mainstream features (including The Children's Hour, Advise and Consent, The Boys in the Band, and The Hunger) that speak loudly in their respective images of gays and lesbians. The film makes a persuasive case for patterns of sexual mythology in Hollywood, such as presenting homosexuals repeatedly as tragic, helpless figures redeemed only through death or as back-street monsters cavorting in the shadows. Things change, of course, and clips from more recent films by gay and lesbian filmmakers suggest a more vital, diverse, autobiographical approach. There are lots of great interviews with screenwriters (Gore Vidal), filmmakers (John Schlesinger), actors (Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg), and others to enunciate the major themes. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The Power of Cinematic Image
Based on the book by Vito Russo, written by Armistead Maupin, and narrated by Lily Tomlin, THE CELLULOID CLOSET uses interviews and hundreds of film clips to examine the way in which Hollywood has presented gay and lesbian characters on film from the age of silent cinema to such recent films as PHILADELPHIA and DESERT HEARTS. Throughout the documentary, the focus is on both stereotypes and the various ways that more creative directors and writers worked around the censorship of various decades to create implicitly homosexual characters, with considerable attention given to the way in which stereotypes shaped public concepts of the gay community in general.

Overtly homosexual characters were not particularly unusual in silent and pre-code Hollywood films, and CLOSET offers an interesting sampling of both swishy stereotypes and unexpectedly sophistocated characters--both of which were doomed by the Hayes Code, a series of censorship rules adopted by Hollywood in the early 1930s. The effect of the Code was to soften some of the more grotesque stereotypes--but more interesting was the impetus the Code gave to film makers to create homosexual characters and plot lines that would go over the heads of industry censors but which could still be interpreted by astute audiences, with films such as THE MALTESE FALCON, REBECCA, BEN-HUR, and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE cases in point. Once the Code collapsed, however, Hollywood again returned to stereotypes in an effort to cash in on controversy--with the result that throughout most of the sixties and seventies homosexual characters were usually presented as unhappy, maladjusted creatures at best, suicidal and psychopatic entities at worst.

The film clips are fascinating stuff and are often highlighted by interviews of individuals who made the films: Tony Curtis re SOME LIKE IT HOT and SPARTACUS, Shirley MacLaine re THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, Stephen Boyd re BEN-HUR, Farley Granger re ROPE, and Whoopie Goldberg re THE COLOR PURPLE, to name but a few. All are interesting and intriguing, but two deserve special mention: Harvey Fierstein, who talks about the hunger he had as a youth to see accurate reflections of himself on the screen, and Susan Sarandon, who makes an eloquent statement on the power of film as "the keeper of the dreams."

Although the material will have special appeal to gays and lesbians, it should be of interest to any serious film buff with its mix of trivia and significant fact. The DVD also includes notable packages of out-takes from interviews that are often as interesting as the material that made the final cut. If the documentary has a fault, however, it is that it offers no "summing up," preferring instead to show only how far the portrayal of homosexuals has come and indicating how far it has yet to go. Recommended to any one interested in film history and interpretation.

Excellent film on so Many Different Levels
Looking at the roles given to gay and lesbian characters in American cinema over the past several decades, "The Celluloid Closet" manages to simultaneously be hilariously funny, educational, and occasionally quite thought-provoking and even tragic. We see gay and lesbian stereotypes being reinforced over and over again, scenes cut from famous films because they hinted at homosexuality, etc.

Although the initial reaction is to sort of laugh at how backwards and ludicrous the intense homophobia of Hollywood once was, there are also reactions from people growing up during those years who talk about the effect of seeing gays and lesbians in films, or the impact of NEVER seeing gays and lesbians in films. Also, as the film progresses, it helps one to see that, although things have gotten SO MUCH BETTER in many ways, they're still so far from being where they ought to be.

This is a great documentary to watch with friends who might question what the big deal is with GLBT issues... why it's even an issue at all. It really helps one to see the importance of how popular media deals with (or chooses to ignore) minority groups and the very real impact of those decisions on people belonging to that minority group. And the fact that it's so darn entertaining makes it a fun, light movie to watch - a real pleasure!

A MUST SEE
The Dvd extras alone are worth the $25.00 Made in 1995 just shortly after Tom Hanks won an Academy Award for Philadelphia (playing a gay man ). The hero of this production however is Lily Tomlin! This movie documentary was finaly made after the wirters & producers got in touch with her. Lily loved this project and got HBO to fund this movie! The basic theme in this movie is to show us how gay people have been portrade in the movies! Gay themes were Taboo! They were always taboo until the late 1960's. (However All movies were made to a strict code up to that point). So all gay themes (during the era of the Code) were between the lines! (This is the humor) After the code was lifted gays were shown mostly as the villians! ( This is the drama) This documentary was one of the best movies of that year!
Is it dated? Not by much! It has been ALMOST 10 years since this was first released! Now we now have on TV "Will and Grace" (but after 7 years and no boyfriend give me a break). The big break in Hollywood was "The Birdcage". The next year was "My Best Friends Wedding" and "In and Out". (all money makers) Earlier that year "ellen" came out on TV but her show was cancelled a year later. In 2004 "The Stepford Wives" remake hade a gay couple. Although gays are more visable now than ever in the movies most of the time they are regulated to the "best friend" for comic relief! Not much of a change! Would I like a gay movie hero? Of course! I would also like to see hollywood remake movies that had they had gay stories to begin with! "The Lost Weekend" "Gentelman's Agreement" "The Childrens Hour" all had gay themes but were rewriiten for straight story lines or toned down! Yes "Fried Green Tomatoe's" is another but there was a kiss!

After YOU VIEW "The Celluloid Closet" watch "Rebecca" "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Some Like it Hot"! You will be laughing!

A 1995 Documentary That is Still Relevant
The Celluloid Closet has been out for nine years and I have only now seen it for the first time. You would think that gay themes and the presence of gay characters would be even greater now, in 2004, than when the documentary was made in 1995, and that it would seem dated. Unfortunately, it does not seem at all dated. The idea of a gay hero is still edgy and daring, and oddly enough, television, rather than the big screen, seems to be taking the lead in featuring gay characters and themes.

The Celluloid Closet is an eye-opening look at how gays have been portrayed in American film. Film clips are interspersed with interviews and commentary by writers, producers, and actors who are gay or have played gay characters. It is interesting to see that people mocking gay men swished and minced the same way 100 years ago as they do today.

A highlight is the deleted scene from Spartacus with Laurence Olivier as a slaveholder in his bath telling his uneasy slave played by Tony Curtis that he enjoys both snails and oysters. Strangely absent in the documentary are any mention of Clifton Webb or Cary Grant.

I will be looking at old (and new) films in a different way now that I have seen The Celluloid Closet.

Excellent Documentary , but a bit too ideological
Celluloid Closet is a well-done, thought-provoking documentary detailing the history of homosexuality in movies. The author(s)
compile a fascinating list of films, many well-known and beloved, and describe how filmmakers, constrained by prevailing mores and production codes, were forced to deal with the subject creatively through innuendo and subtext. It works equally well as a history of film censorship. Only one drawback: the best documentaries are objective, letting the material tell the story, so why interview exclusively archetypal Hollywood liberal, pro-gay-rights activists? It would have been interesting, for example, to hear Charlton Heston's response to Gore Vidal's take on what "Ben Hur" is really about. Instead, we're left hanging by Vidal quoting the director: "Don't tell Chuck (Heston) what it's really about, or he'll die". (or words to that effect) ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Just like the book.
The book Linnea in Monet's Garden has been a favorite in our house for years, and when I found the DVD some time ago I bought it right away. Since then it has been played over and over again. By myself, but mostly by my six years old daughter. We have been to Monet's garden in Giverny, and watching the video brings back such good memories.

The vidoe is so creatively made, with the story of the small girl Linnea and her old friend and neighbour Mr. Bloom. They are both lovers of flowers and of painters, and Monet is one of their favorites. They both dream about going from Sweden where they live, to Giverny and Monet's garden outside Paris. And wonder over all wonders, one day their dream comes true. They travel together to Paris and to Giverny, and we are invited to go with them.

The story is told in a charming way, with alot of illustrations from their trip and we also get to know several of Monet's paintings. Both children and adults will learn alot about Monet and his life, and about the impressionist period in art.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

A Meditation
April 28, 2004

I first came upon this charming short in the Children's Room of the Donnell Library, part of the NYPL. I was intrigued by a film for children explaining Monet, one of the harder artists to explain in art appreciation terms for young people. I was not disappointed.

This short from Sweden with English-language dubbing has a number of subtle qualities: a mediation on a well-known but elusive artist and his life; the relationship between Linnea, a curious and sometimes feisty child of about 9 or 10, and her upstairs neighbor, the kindly Mr. Bloom (Blomquist in Swedish), just the right friend and mentor a young person should have to introduce them to art, and on the French countryside they encounter at Giverny, a character in itself. Unusual and charming, Linnea could be introduced to other artists in future films but then the style and content might become formulaic. Better to leave them both in Monet's Garden. The animation is quiet and unobstrusive and would be good to introduce American children to, accustomed to more fast-moving and louder styles.

Used for 3rd graders
I use this video in an "Arts Alive" presentation I do for third graders. I have used it for 3 years and it is VERY well received by the classes. It really brings Monet's paintings alive and shows them that art still lives. It is a combo of cartoon story, still photos of Monet's works and live-action video of his home in Giverny. A perfect choice for any school arts program of a great video for kids of any age.

We love it!
We got the book first, which we love! Then we got the DVD, and we weren't disappointed. My 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son both love watching this short (30 minutes) movie. The only thing is that we want more! Maybe more interactive games on top of the "quiz." The garden sounds add up to the "effect" of a tranquil garden. Although the garden is anything but that (with so many tourists visiting!), the movie overall has a (pardon the cliche) calming---"feel-good" effect.

Worth viewing
I, too, teach children about art...I even dress as Linnea. In some classes, I dread putting the video in the VCR because I fear a backlash from the students. However, I have never gotten a negative feedback from students. I believe the mouths are "off" from the words because the original version was most probably not in English. I also believe that Mr. Bloom pronounces her name incorrectly in English which has consequently made me label her as "Lynn-e-ah" rather that "Lynn-a-ah." And I think there's a flaw in the tranlation of Claude Monet's painting that gave the name to the Impressionist Movement. Mr. Bloom calls it "Impression of Dawn," and I think it may be "Impression of Sunrise." Feedback on these issues would be appreciated. Students asked me for years if I'd ever been to Monet's Garden. Watching it all these years, I yearned to and was finally given the opportunity last summer with my son's French class. It was everything the video said it was! I even visited it dressed as Linnea and tourist took pictures with me and asked for my autograph in many different languages. One false impression from Mr. Bloom and Linnea's visit is that YOU are the only visitors. Wrong! It is very crowded. The Esmerelda is just a gift store across the street from Notre Dame, and our tour guide had never heard of the Musee Marmotton...but, I managed to find it and it was truly an awesome experience. I did see someone snap a picture inside and was reprimanded by the guard! On our return to the states, my son then asked to see the video. He now loves it! Do you notice her stomach growling before she says "I'm hungry?" And I really do not get, "There's nothing more real, than right now?" or something like that that she proclaims on the bridge. I hope it has changed some of my students lives. I know it changed mine. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This hour-long documentary, written and directed by noted film critic Richard Schickel for the 1971 Public Television series The Men Who Make the Movies, offers a concise, intelligent look at Hitchcock's films. The Master of Suspense himself, who is interviewed extensively here, delights with (possibly apocryphal) stories of his deep-seated fear of policemen, elaborates on the difference between shock and suspense, defines the meaning of "MacGuffin," and discusses his use of storyboarding in designing a film. Clips from many of his greatest films (including North by Northwest, Shadow of a Doubt, The Birds, and the legendary shower scene from Psycho) illustrate his points, often to Hitchcock's own voice-over observations, with narrator Cliff Robertson offering other critical insights. An excellent introduction to the filmmaker Schickel describes as "the great artist of anxiety." --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Exellent Documentary On The Master.
Everyone has heared of the great late Alfred Hitchcock and most people have seen at least one of his movies. Still, if you want to know more about Hitch, like how he remembers the door clanging shut on him in the local jail as a kid and his theorys (actually more than theorys- they are facts cause Hitch would know) on how to build uncontrollabe suspence. Just listen to the baseball theory. This is great for both scolars and those who are just becomeing one of the millions of fans. Take a look.

A Hitchcock 101 for those who aren't familiar with him
This is a very intelligent introduction to Hitch's work. He talks very earnestly about movies he made. Scenes from some of his better pictures are featured. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Interesting, but too long: just like the Oscars every year
The best thing about this video, in my opinion, is that it contains almost the entire performance by Madonna of the song "Sooner or Later" from the movie DICK TRACY. This is Madonna's best live vocal performance; I have no idea how she pulled it off, but it really is a great performance. The other thing notable about this video is the controversy: Marlon Brando rejecting his award via an Indian woman in traditional costume, and the infamous streaker, not to mention the "political interjections" other stars made in their acceptance speaches. Over all, this video is interesting but a bit too long, which is ironic because that is exactly what the Oscars are notorious for: being too long.

Oscar's Greatest Moments-1971 to 1991
This video is a well put together montage of memorable moments from twenty years of Oscar telecasts. The video was produced by the Academy and hosted by then Academy president Karl Malden, who introduces each section of the video. The compilation of outtakes include musical productions, Best actor and actress presentations, embarrasing moments (recepients political statements, snubbing of the Oscar's, etc.), segments of acceptance speeches and outtakes by presenters and hosts.
Included on this video are outtakes of John Wayne's emotional appearance in 1978, just before his death, as well as Charlie Chaplin's early 70's appearance. Also are outtakes from hosts Johnny Carson, Chevy Chase and Billy Crystal. One of the best outtakes is a speech by "Crocodile Dundee's" Paul Hogan near the beginning of the tape. Another good outtake is the streaker incident from the 1973 show and David Niven's response.
The only downside to this video is the fact that it is limited to the shows from 1971-1991 (the year the video was produced). The Oscars' began televised broadcasts in 1953. It would be great to see outtakes from these earlier programs, as well as outtakes from shows since 1991. Hopefully the Academy will see fit to make a compilation encompassing all of Oscar's televised history and release it on video, or even better, on DVD.

LONG OVERDUE!!!
WOW. This compilation is great, you might miss the cheesiness indeed, but overall you get most of the great stuff from that period. Including the whole performance of Madonna's "Sooner or Later", I just wish they'd do the first years of the show!!!!
I got a headache after watching this becaus it was way too much for one evening!. GET IT NOW!!!

That's the one!
This is a great video! I love how it opens up with Liza singing the oscar theme and shows the stars walking down the red carpet. It is divided up in to many sections such as funny moments, mess ups, musical numbers etc. and has great moments in between. My favorite parts are where they show all of the best actor, actress and picture winners over the two decades. When they show the montage of best picture winners they have this wonderful soundtrack that changes a little to fit every movie. It is so neat! I definately reccomend it!

OSCAR'S GREATEST MOMENTS
From Liza Minnelli's show-stopping production number, "Oscar", to Charlie Chaplin's emotional thank you for his 1971 Honorary Oscar, "Oscar's Greatest Moments" is indeed a compilation of some of 1970-1990's Oscar shows' greatest moments. The show, affectionately and candidly hosted by former Academy president Karl Malden, looks at everything: Best Pictures, Best Actors, Best Actresses...and we get to have some fun, too. We see some of Oscar's infamous fashion statements, from the memorable (hi, Cher) to the... odd (when Carrie Fisher and Martin Short walked onstage- wearing the same dress). And we see some of those unforseen "technical difficulties"...when David Niven was in the process of introducing "a very important contributer to world entertainment" (Elizabeth Taylor) in 1973, a mustachioed streaker ran across the stage. Liz: "That's a pretty hard act to follow."

And we have speeches galore: from the extremely gracious: Louise Fletcher, Diane Keaton, F. Murray Abraham, Barbara Stanwyck, Whoopi Goldberg, to the infamous... Remember Vanessa Redgrave's attack on "Zionist hoodlums"? (Paddy Chayefsky later made a particularly rude stab at Redgrave's speech.) And who could forget dear, sweet Sally Field's "YOU LIKE ME!" speech.

We have our moments of humor, too, from Oscar's greatest hosts: Johhny Carson, Bob Hope, Chevy Chase, and Paul Hogan. Our humor also comes from other sources: Bette Midler cracking about 1980's "Best Song" nominations, and Miss Piggy lambasting Johnny Carson: "It's because I'm a pig I did not get the nomination for Best Actress!".

And we have production numbers: Madonna's overtly sexual "My Man", to Sally Kellerman, Ricardo Montalban, and Burt Lancaster's multilingual "Thank You Very Much". We have tributes to some of Oscar's friends, as well: Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, Rock Hudson, Natalie Wood, Rosalind Russell, Danny Kaye and Lord Olivier among them. And there are special little tidbits sandwiched in between.

For all fans of the show who love it, never miss it, and even manage to stay awake into the third and fourth hour of the show, "Oscar's Greatest Moments" is one to buy, and trust me: you'll stay awake through all 110 minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

a wonderful trip from home
Tasha Tudor claims that her "whole life has been a vacation". Watching this video is like taking a trip with her to a different place and time and coming back with a renewed spirit. While I also enjoy "Take Peace" - especially during the Christmas holiday season -"Take Joy" is a wonder for it's aesthetic qualities and insight into the private life of a noted illlustrator as well as a valuable reference tool for the gardener. It mirrors the same tone set in the three "coffee table" books about Tasha Tudor done by Tovah Martin, Richard W. Brown, and Tasha Tudor. This short video is artistically crafted,giving the viewer a glimpse into her private life: her kitchen, her gardens, her dollhouse and marionettes, her books and illustrations, her family history through photographs and some vintage film clips, her sense of humor, her steadfastness and her self-sufficiency.

While I have enjoyed my own copy, I have also given this video as gifts to appreciative friends.Take Joy is, indeed, a joy.

Tasha - True Artist, True Child
If you need to be refreshed, this is the video for you.Tasha Tudor is child inside artist and she succeeds in introducing a charming world to the viewer.Her garden, her art, her life philosophy is fresh and reminds us all what life is made of.It really refreshs the spirit.Oh that we all were as young and new as Ms.Tudor.If you want to give a really great gift, give this video.Itis true gold.

Simply enchanting
Over the Christmas Holiday's, I saw 'Take Joy-Magical World of Tasha Tudor' & 'Take Peace-Corgi Cottage Christmas' for the first time on cable TV. I can't begin to describe how I felt after viewing these twofilms. Miss Tasha Tudor enchanted me. Her life seemed simple, graceful andmagical. I never knew about her until I saw the films. Corgi Cottage isvision of delight, peace and harmony. It's a place I could only hope tohave someday. Thank you Ms. Tudor for enchanting us with your world ofdreams and fantasies.

Enchanting, Gifted, Charming Tasha!
Charismatic,perhaps eccentric,Tasha exhibits an extraordinary insight and interpretation of life around her that is shared with us through her wonderful illustrations and stories, written and verbal. We should allcherish life as simply and profoundly as she does at Corgi Cottage. Reallymakes you reflect on life's priorities.

Enchanting, Gifted, Charming Tasha!
Charismatic,perhaps eccentric,Tasha exhibits an extraordinary insight and interpretation of life around her that is shared with us through her wonderful illustrations and stories, written and verbal. We should allcherish life as simply and profoundly as she does at Corgi Cottage. Reallymakes you reflect on life's priorities. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

great video!
This is an outstanding and informative video of Betty Edwards teaching her methods and principals of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." It is well-produced, easy to follow, and a must-have for anyone learning to draw or desiring to increase their drawing skills!

Excellent instruction.
I read the book - Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain - but it was this video that made it all gel. I had an "Ah-ha" moment with this video. All my life I loved art, but could never seem to quite figure out how to draw or transfer images I had to paper - and even with the few drawing lessons I did have - I found that the instructors expected me to already know how to draw - which seemed odd since I did not know how to draw and simply wanted to learn. This is a great video that cuts straight to the heart of the matter. I would recommend this to anyone who has sat and stared at a piece of paper, pencil in hand and sighed becuase they just could not get the image on the paper. I orginally got the video in the portfolio set that Betty Edwards uses at her workshops (which can be bought, without attending the workshop, from Betty Edwards' website)- and while you will need to get a few items to use with this - it will be worth it or purchase them prepackaged from the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain website. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This documentary hosted by James Burke is a fascinating examination of the concept of how we see things, specifically how images that appear to our eyes to be three-dimensional are rendered convincingly on flat surfaces. Starting out in a movie studio special effects lab, Burke explains how visual illusions practiced today actually began during the Renaissance, when painters first mastered the skills of incorporating the idea of depth into paintings. The principle of "linear perspective," in which parallel lines all diverge to a common vanishing point, sounds complicated, but the examples shown in this documentary make the idea perfectly clear to the layperson. By way of contrast, paintings completed before the Renaissance are shown, and it's immediately clear to the viewer that artists who hadn't mastered perspective drew scenes that appear flat on the canvas. But when artists such as Brunelleschi and Michelangelo practiced using perspective, art suddenly jumped forward. Quotes from Leonardo da Vinci's writings, in which he talked about perspective and the effects of light, are offered along with examples of his paintings that illustrate beautifully how a master used a scientific principle to create great art. This is an unusual documentary that makes fascinating a subject that most people have never considered, though it relates to things we see everyday. --Robert J. McNamara ... Read more

Reviews (6)

One of the best - we need this on DVD!
This exploration of visual illusions, explained by James Burke in the context of its discovery by the Renaissance masters, and now used by Hollywood special effects wizards is certainly of the most valuable and entertaining educational videos ever produced. If you teach art or film, or if you are a student of any age, your education is incomplete unless you have seen this film.

Works of Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Botticelli, Rapheal and others are used to illustrate the technical and artistic achievements of the Renaissance, but within a very contemporary context of how we see the world in reality or artificial illusion. This is about the discovery of how to make a two dimensional image appear in three dimensions through an understanding of light, shadow, color, and vanishing point perspective.

Seeing this film on low resolution VHS does not do justice to the quality of these master works. This film is a prime candidate for release on DVD. So, when will the world be able to learn from this extraordinary work in the detail and resolution only DVD can achieve?

Good High School Video
This is an excellent video for high school; it's a little sophisticated for 7th & 8th grades, but not entirely out of their reach. The tie-in to films is a little misleading for the kids, but the video makes up for this by covering a broad range in perceptual concepts and by keeping things moving for younger viewers. Well worth the time & money for teachers. Can be used for both studio and academic classes.

This video is short and sweet and creates a hunger for more
James Burke has poignantly caught the excitement of Renaissance painters discovering perspective, and he explains visual principles, while nicely presenting the changes that occurred in art. I really enjoyed his commentary how different artists Durer, Da Vinci, and Michaelangelo, Raphael et al thought, spoke, and played with image and illusion, as well as light and color. Quite informative for learning art, but also useful for teaching perception and thinking. This video was a delightful trip back in time and makes one more sensitive to the power of representation that guide perception and experience. I will never look at the painting "The School of Athens" again in the same way.
This video is short and sweet and creates a hunger for more.

In Praise of "Masters of Illusion"
As a professor of Art Appreciation in Dallas, I have found this video to be a wonderful asset to my course. The narration and images serve to explain the invention and the subsequent history and adaptations of perspective in a very entertaining and colorful way. My students therefore are able to retain the knowledge much more easily.

educational, informative, entertaining
I used this video in my World History clases to teach Renaisssance art. The students enjoyed it. Good pace, not too detailed, yet loaded with information. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great video money well spent
This is a must have for anyone who wants to get paint to behave the way you want it to. This is the best video on painting techniques, covering glazing, scumbling, gradations, mixed media and many other ways to apply paint. If you are an artist or want to learn more about how paint behaves and the possibilities of what you can do with acrylic paint, get this video. You can refer back to the various techniques again and again. This is not a video on how to paint trees or people, or flowers. This is a video on how to get paint to do what you want it to do, when you want to do it. As a creative director and an artist this video has helped me gain more control over the medium of acrylic painting.

Not what I expected
After a lifelong fascination with art and no opportunity to test my artistic abilities, I decided to try this video. I expected something entirely different but followed each project carefully.I learned a lot.

Rather than teaching a particular project that ends up as a landscape or still life, this video teaches techniques. I didn't go out and buy the list of stuff on the back of the case -- but I did use items I had on hand, like sandpaper and q-tips. I also used the children's watercolor brushes and a slightly different-sized canvas but in all it worked out pretty well.

I learned a bunch of techniques from collages to finger painting to stenciling and stamping. The parts on glazing and on painted gel relief gave me some great ideas on how to get certain affects in other projects.

I admit to being a little disappointed at first because the way I interpreted the title led me to expect to learn to create a painting. My finished product was a painting, all right, but not exactly what I had in mind! However, when one doesn't know anything about a subject, one can't help but benefit from an overview of techniques like this video provides. I would definitely recommend it to the novice painter.

Besides, it was fun!

Excellent for many levels
I love this video! For my high school art class, the sequential demonstrations could be pulled and used as individual exercises. Or, the video could be the basis of a full curriculum in acrylic painting. Students should have success at a very early level because these abstract exercises do not require specific drawing skills. Jackie demonstrates quality skill-building exercises which can be watched by individuals or by the whole class. And, unlike live demonstrations, the students will all be able to see more clearly on the video screen, and replay it as many times as necessary.

Better than 4 years of college painting classes
Jackie is an excellent teacher. I learned more about acrylic materials and painting techniques in her workshop than in all my college classes put together. And now in this video, she's created a learning opportunity that is the equivalent of being in her studio. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Watkins would change the world if anyone cared to
Edvard Munch is the Citizen Kane that nobody saw. From a storytelling point of view, its portrayal of the constant torment that led to Munch's art is oddly enthralling throughout its 3+ hr length. From a filmmaking point of view, Munch is like no other (except, perhaps, Watkins other later work). To my knowledge, no one has so expertly reproduced the personal thoughts and internal feelings of a man on screen as Watkins does in Munch. Sounds, images, narration, recollections--all float in and out of Munch's consciousness and into ours during this captivating biography on the Norwegian artist most famous for "The Shriek."
Perhaps every aspect of this film is avant-garde, from its editing all the way down to its casting (many parts were played by non-professionals), but perhaps no other movie has enveloped me in its universe the way that Munch does. I have always marveled at how little-known Peter Watkins' Edvard Munch is, and I've been so thankful that it found me. You will be too.

DEMANDING BEAUTY DRINKS YOU INTO ITS LIGHT
I've seen this twice, the first time in its theatrical showing, maybe twenty years ago, then more recently on video, which as I recall was also in widescreen. So that's six hours with Watkins' demandingly beautiful film. For awhile I later confused Watkins with David Watkins, the fabulous photographer of OUT OF AFRICA, and for all I know these two filmmakers are related. EDVARD MUNCH is a masterpiece of tonalities. This is a movie about light. You are in a Munch work just by the demanding beauty of the light and of Watkins' inspired painterliness with rich Munch-like blues. The smokey blue scenes in Bohemian bars have the same dense sense of lost time recaptured as do scenes of Munch painting in his attics and scoring his pictures violently as the sharp end of his brush digs into fresh paint and almost rips his canvas. When you think of John Huston's MOULIN ROUGE, a dull film with some good moments, particularly when Lautrec's "hand" draws figures on a restaurant table, we remember mostly idle moments in Lautrec's lovelife (and of course the Can-Can dancers). From EDVARD MUNCH we recall far more extraordinary feelings of being lifted out of ourselves and thrust back into the very rooms Munch lived in and the into the Scandanavian light he worked in and into the tortured set of his mind as he shrank figures into hard, strong, symbolic forms. I await the day this film appears digitally (it was never a laser disc, sad to say, or I'd have it already). Since it may not be issued on DVD for eight or ten years, seek the video cassette version. You will watch it more than once. Maybe not in the same year but it will be a respected treasure that you will thank yourself for having sought out. Or rent it first. Maybe you don't really have to own it if it will be on hand for renting. Still, not all that many stores will have it ready to rent, now that it's out of print. And even if the video is not in widescreen, you will be dazzled just by the blue tones filling the monitor.

Things that Obsess
EDVARD MUNCH is an ambitious, often heavy-going effort to transcend traditional artist biographies with a cinematic equivalent of the artist's paintings. It fails, but on the way succeeds in so many other ways that the failure almost doesn't matter.

In interviews, director Peter Watkins has been explicit about his total identification with Munch, how in the obsessive effort to portray the artist's life on screen, he effectively was revealing his own neuroses and experiences. People might be put off by the results. Watkins gives the film the look of a fictional biography. He then films events as if he were a documentary filmmaker present at the time. So there is a lot of loose, hand-held camera; there are "interviews" with actors (many of whom improvised or wrote their responses) speaking in character; and Watkins himself frequently intrudes with narration that helps us understand both Munch's significance in the history of art and how his times influenced his work. The voice-over also tells us what Munch feels and experiences, much as the narrator of a novel pretends to know what his protagonist is thinking at any given moment.

It is this effort to reveal the relationship between the artist's turmoil and his work that motivates the kaleidoscopic editing style, jumping from one event in the "present," to one in the past, sideways to another, back to something else we've already seen, then out again. Sometimes these edits are built on visual associations; often Watkins relies on the soundtrack to glue them together. It is here that the film's ambitions start to unravel. Other filmmakers who have used such technique (Eisenstein, Resnais, Godard and Roeg, for example) let their cuts ebb and flow over time. Watkins simply cuts, constantly, repeatedly, without much variation in speed or rhythm. Either through a lack of confidence or talent, the images fail to compel on their own, to persuade that there is any relationship between shots not forced by the editor's heavy hand. After nearly three hours, the barrage is exhausting.

But also exhaustive. Most artist biographies on film are an embarrassment. EDVARD MUNCH is one of the very few to give us a sense of both the man and his work. You do not have to be particularly interested in Munch to find the film's experiments fascinating, even in their failure. Just be prepared to get up to stretch every once in a while. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This 1977 documentary was produced toward the end of O'Keefe's life, at a time when the artist was at one with her art and her life. The hour-long film plays mainly off of O'Keefe's own words; there is no narrator's voice, there is barely an interviewer's voice. O'Keefe speaks alone--with a soft, gentle eloquence that we can also hear in her paintings, a well-articulated firmness that is unintimidating, witty, provocative, and in the end, beautiful.

O'Keefe was born in Wisconsin where she learned to suppress her eccentric ideas and her drive to paint--a career goal she set at the age of 12--so that she and her mother wouldn't quarrel. A talented artist from the outset, she was trained classically in New York where she studied to be a teacher. She accepted a job in North Carolina, because she thought it would allow her the time and focus to produce the art she craved to produce. But after a year of painting, she threw away everything she had made--each piece had been to please someone else, and what O'Keefe deeply wanted was to find an art that pleased her.

A job in Texas brought her finally to the country that would shape her art and her renown: her paintings of desiccated animal bones, flowers, landscapes, and architectural close-ups, juxtaposed with the stunning blue of the Southwestern sky. She would send paintings to a friend in New York, writing that she wanted to know what her friend thought--and to make sure O'Keefe wasn't going mad. But her friend got photographer Alfred Stieglitz interested in O'Keefe's abstract work. O'Keefe's intense relationship with Stieglitz evolved over years into one of the best known relationships in the arts; they married. But, quite humorously, O'Keefe refers to Stieglitz never as "Alfred" or "my husband," just "Stieglitz."

Perry Miller Adato's documentary brings O'Keefe's paintings to life in the artist's own words. Her enthusiasm for form, for making the small and unnoticeable immense, for intense and vibrant color: This is a rewarding journey through the soul and the eye of a 20th-century great. --Erik Macki ... Read more

Reviews (3)

AS AUTHENTIC AS THE ARTIST HERSELF
It's a memorable experience for art aficionados when Georgia O'Keeffe appears on camera to discuss her life and her work.

As if that were not enough, this portrait of her is enhanced by the comments of those who were close to her and by scenes of the terrain that she loved and found inspirational.

A landmark viewing for Georgia O'Keeffe fans.

The Muse Speaks through Georgia
An eloquent view of one of the great 20th century artists who painted for her own amusement. Despite some critics who did not get her or her subject matter, Georgia remained true to her Muse and painted the view of her minds eye. This personal tour of her life and place gives us a sense of her vision.

this is true "georiga"
i just wished this movie was longer.....i just enjoyed this so much...it's a must see if you like georiga. ... Read more

Description

The elderly nun takes viewers on a whirlwind tour of Europe's finest artistic treasures. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Absolutely Brilliant
Sister Wendy offers the lucky viewer brilliant and moving insight into some of the greatest works of art in the world. Her in-depth analysis and understanding of the artists' motivations as they created their masterpieces takes you on a journey though time at some of the best museums in Europe. As you enter the world and the minds of these artists, you may actually understand more about your own life and its meaning - Hyperbole? possibly, but Sister Wendy is a philosopher with a heart. Pay close attention to her commentaries on the Pieta by Michelangelo and Apollo and Daphne by Bernini to see the universal desire for love and acceptance expressed through art. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Endlessly Watchable
A great, great series. Get them all. You can pop in any one out of sequence because each one is a treasure.

MGM: WHEN THE LION ROARS PART 1
It is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Tells about how MGM got started to till it decline in the 1980's. Most imformative about MGM stars like Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Renyolds, Norma Shearer, Wallace Berry, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Esther Williams, and many more stars. Also, how producers, directors and writers of how they started at MGM.

Leo and Patrick both begin to roar
This is the first of the 3 part documentary on the MGM studios produced by Ted Turner pictures, hosted by Patrick Stewart who tends to yell his narration to camera. Turner also provides set designs and effects that imitate the MGM brand of kitsch. Part 1 begins in 1924 with the opening of the studio with both Louis B Mayer and Irving Thalberg in charge, and ends with the death of Thalberg in 1936 and Mayer in total control. This period sees triumphs with productions like Ben-Hur (with the experimental two colour technicolour shown here), The Big Parade, Flesh and the Devil, Trador Horn, Grand Hotel, Dinner at Eight, and Mutiny on the Bounty. It also covers the perceived failures of Greed and the end of Erich von Stroheim's career as director, periods where Buster Keaton was dissatisfied with the constraints of the studio and Marion Davies' mentor William Randolph Hearst felt his mistress was being misrepresented, the decline and fall of John Gilbert said to be influenced by Mayer's hatred of the actor, and the scandal over the murder of Jean Harlow's husband Paul Bern. There is also coverage of Mayer's stable of stars including Norma Shearer (who acts appallingly in the scene we see from her Oscar winning The Divorcee), Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Wallace Beery, and of course, Garbo. The power plays that lead to an lessening of Thalberg's role as head of production, in spite of the industry acknowledgement of him as a genius, are justified by Thalberg's poor health, a reminder that the studio was in business to make money and that no one was indispensable. For the most part, this series is great viewing, offering good prints and interviews with survivors of the titles, but the habit of having an anecdote from one continue over film footage is both annoying and insulting to these people, and when footage from Ben-Hur is projected behind a talking Patrick Stewart it is positively an outrage. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A pre-finale look back at the seven years of ST:TNG
Journey's End is a retrospective look back at the seven eventful seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and a preview of the two-hour series finale, and it originally aired immediately ahead of the finale All Good Things. You get a little summation of each character as he/she has evolved over the years, with a lot of emphasis on the first season, and the leading actors all have a moment to comment on their experiences over the years. The character of Dr. Pulaski, who replaced Beverly Crusher as ship's medical officer for at least one season, is completely ignored, which sort of rubs me the wrong way (not that I actually liked her character, but she deserved at least a mention) - especially since I had to look at several old clips featuring Wesley Crusher (thankfully, though, there was no interview with Will Wheaton).

The special was hosted by Jonathon Frakes, and he takes you through a little mini-tour of some of the sets, answers a few questions people have often asked about the ship, and shows you how a few different special effects are brought to life. The real stars of the special are the crucial men and women behind the cameras, as they get their moment in the sun to show and tell you a little bit about their jobs. You also get a look at one of the largest Star Trek conventions of 1994 when Jonathon Frakes makes a surprise appearance among the throng of ardent Trekkies.

There are a lot of references to and previews of the final episode, which in itself brings everything around full circle with its revisit of the events from the premiere episode of the series. Frakes also talks about the movie then in production which incorporated Captain Kirk, Scotty, and Chekhov into the world of ST:TNG, the series Deep Space Nine, and the upcoming Voyager series.

It's basically an informal tribute to the success of ST:TNG, and it was probably meant as a comfort of sorts to the legions of fans having to cope with the end of a beloved show. If so, it performed both jobs quite well indeed.

Journey's End - A fitting tribute!
After watching all seven seasons on DVD I felt it only appropriate to pull this one out of the VHS cabinet and watch it again. Of course, since picking up a DVD player in late 98, the VHS cabinet took some getting into due to rust and cobwebs, but obviously the mission was successful.

I haven't watched this since I purchased it right when it came out at the end of the show. At that time, this was all some great and fresh video about The Next Generation's cast and crew. After watching all of the Special Features areas of all seven seasons, one quickly realizes that a majority of what is seen here was put on the boxed DVD sets. That is perfectly fine though considering that are some things on here that weren't added to those sets.

Star Trek in so many ways represents what is good about humanity and its future that it is almost compelling to watch and Star Trek The Next Generation not only picked that up but took it "where no other series had gone before." In "Journey's End" you will find it to be a short but fitting tribute to the great many things that took place on and off screen during the seven year run of this outstanding series. You will also see a little bit about Deep Space Nine which was finishing its second year when this tribute was made. Host Jonathan Frakes does an outstanding job as well!

I would highly recommend this VHS, if you can find it! {ssintrepid}

Journeys Never End
If you are a moderate to hardcore TNG fan, I think you'd really like to have this video as part of your collection. A video like this is particularly good to have for future years, so you can take a quick journey back into the show. The video isn't very long, but it does offer a wide range of video clips and cast interviews. This tape was made prior to the final episode of the series, so they do focus a fair amount of time to discussing "All Good Things..." (series finale). My only complaint is that there isn't much emotion involved in the tie up. This type of video could have come at the conclusion of any season. I was hoping for a little more depth in the cast interviews, but it's still an enjoyable piece of nostalgia.

Interesting and nostalgic, I liked it.
It gives us a peek forward and a look back at favorite characters, and of course Q is in typical "wild ride" form. I hated that it was the last one made, (because the series ended), but it was a good storyline and good Trek.

POO-POO
my ten year old daughter could act bette ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Priceless Video
Of all the video studies I have seen this one is most accurate and most priceless, taking the viewer on a tour of the artist's life from his illegitimate birth to his death at a very old age. Orginally produced in Italy with Italian and British actors, this movie which spoke Italian has the same dialogue well translated into English, allowing the viewer to understand the true depth, drama, wry wit, and humor of Italians.

Leonardo Da Vinci was a tragic figure to whom painting came as natural as breathing, giving his portraits a life like quality that was niether equalled nor excelled even by his contempory, Michaelangelo. Da Vinci's fascination with mechanics, anatomy, the weather, flight, and all are well presented in dramatic fashion, allowing the viewer to share in his inpiration and lament in his sorrow at not having accomplished all he had hoped to with his brilliant mind. Leonardo Da Vinci's competition with Michaelangelo is all well documented.

Questar's presentation is well worth the money spent on it. In my opinion it is priceless and should be viewed by all who love and study the Renaissance and Leonardo Da Vinci.

For all Fans of the Maestro
How can anyone capture the complexity of such a staggering and legendary figure as Leonardo da Vinci? This massive docudrama gives its all, and will probably never be surpassed. It is an excellent treatment of Leonardo's tulmultuous life, both highly informative and entertaining. The device of having the narrator himself step into the scenes to give context and anecdotal information works very well in counterpoint to the dramatic illustrations of episodes in his life. The narration makes a point of separating the legends (started by Vasari and others) from the facts, the acting is good, and there are many added, startling touches that are fantastic.

Perfect
Made in Italy in 1972, with superb acting from Philippe Leroy and supporting cast. What is most fascinating, however, are the reconstructions of Leonardo's many artistic and mechanical masterpieces, some of which have been lost. The costumes, the sets and camera are all flawless. One of the best documentaries of all time.

I've seen better...
After reading The DaVinci Code, I wanted to watch a biography about DaVinci, so I purchased this movie. It was made sometime in the 1970's and the screen quality (even on DVD) is horrible. What's worse is the awful overdub. At the beginning of the movie an announcer explains that there is not a lot of information on the childhood of Leonardo DaVinci, but this is what could have happened...and they create little childhood for DaVinci. I thought this would have had biographers and mini dramatizations on DaVinci's life...not a full movie recreating his life.

Fascinating!!!
This DVD is focused more on the historical aspect of Da Vinci's life. It is very comprehensive and will give you great detail about his life. I really recommend this DVD to any Renaissance fan or anybody that want to witness our true potential as human beings. Da Vinci invented the parachute before people could fly or even thought about it...
I was in particular fascinated about the extra material in this two DVD package, offered a more artistic information about his masterpieces.
Any Da Vinci fan will love this DVD although I think it still does not truly reflect the maestro's legacy. ... Read more

Description

Master storyteller Orson Welles weaves a wry, often whimsical, documentary about the nature of art to bedazzle and fool us all.With mock intensity, Welles investigates the charming Elmyr de Hory, who makes a lavish living painting fake Picassos and Matisses.Equally captivating is Welles' own trickery and a glimpse behind his public facade. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Fitfully entertaining essay film about art forgery
Long after Orson Welles lost the clout to produce Hollywood feature films, he managed to cobble together this idiosyncratic essay film from documentary footage shot by French filmmaker Francois Reichenbach. Initially, the subjects are master art forger Elmyr de Hory and his would-be biographer Clifford Irving, also author of the infamous Howard Hughes biography. Welles eventually transforms the film into an analysis of the question of authorship: who is truly the "author" of a work of art?

Welles packs the film with guest stars, anecdotes, and witticisms... even a magic trick! It's not perfect: the film changes gears perhaps one too many times, and Welles can't resist including gratuitous shots of his mistress, Oja Kodar. But Welles aficionados will delight in the director's foray into deconstructionist cinema. "F for Fake" lies somewhere between the realms of fact and fiction. Welles the magician conjures up an altogether new form of movie, one that can't be easily classified.

F For Fantastic!
Wow, what a treat for Welles fans. This is a fascinating piece of work. So interesting and the editing is excellent. Wonderful appearances by Orson to tantalise the viewer (love the trick he plays on us at the end). It's a must see. A unique type of documentary film, solely concentrating on two outrageous fakers. From the feel & look of the movie, you can tell that Welles is having the time of his life, and that's good enough for me.

It should get 6 stars, if that were possible
There is no Orson Welles movie, no matter how influential and well regarded, that I love more than this master piece. This is Orson Welles at his best: just chating along in an entertaining, funny, witty, profound way, teaching you so much about himself, about humanity and about Life, as if it was just a walk in the park - he makes it look so easy to be a genius.

If I had to choose the proverbial film I would take with me to a deserted island, this would be the one. This is the guy I want to talk to forever if I'm ever allowed in whatever Paradise he's in now.

This is all anyone needs to love the movies and Orson Welles. It is the one that will convert you into thinking you can't really have one without the other.

A Really Fake Review
Master filmmaker and artist, Orson Welles, takes you on an intriguing trip into the world of the Fake and the Real. Do you really know the difference between what people tell you and what you know to be real? Perhaps enough people have told you the "truth" where it seems there is no doubt as to what is really real, when all along you were given an pseudo-truth when in fact the truth turned out to be comepletely fake and no one knew about it. This idea, essentially is what this film is about. Filmed in a documentary style, mainly focusing on the life of Elmyr de Hory, one of his many "fake" names. Elmyr is a famous artist, except no one knows who he is because he has "faked" other famous artist masterpieces. In which case the "experts" cannot tell one from the other. So much, in fact, that the "experts" have argued emphatically that Elmyr's version is the "real" one. The well known biographer Clifford Irving wrote about Elmyr's life and his "fake" masterpieces. Irving known especially for the biography of the late Howard Hughes. Except one "fact remained in suspicion of Irving's book is how this man comes along and is granted an interview with Mr. Hughes who has been in hiding for the past 20 years. So the argument remained that Irving's biography of Hughes was indeed "faked." Mr. Orson Welles, who appears from time to time is credited as the director did indeed direct some of the film, while he "faked" it other times. Welles known for his "fake" news bulletin of the War of the Worlds also lets the view see one hour of totally "true" documentary of Elmyr, Hughes and Irving. This is nice of Mr. Welles, and if anyone knows about time, they will bear in mind the film runs longer than one hour.

Its not a casual film of entertainment like Welles' other works, some deemed the best in film history by some "experts." No, this film takes some turns of the usual Hollywood style narrative and makes an almost chaotic feast of editing where time seems to have slowed down. The only draw back to the film is the one just mentioned, that it seems entirely too long when in fact its quite shorter than one expects. Another leg Mr. Welles pulls on the viewers to have them presume as much as they want and get something entirely different.

Not for everyone's taste, but certainly for either the Orson Welles fanatic, and for the person who likes to have thier reality challenged. Cutting edge by means of style and presentation of the film, Mr. Welles has certainly done it again. Unfortunately this has dropped into the back shelf of "important" films.

PHEW! TALK ABOUT A MASTERPIECE!
Orson Welles' only color film is THE ULTIMATE PROOF OF 'MISE EN SCENE' HAPPENING AT THE EDITING STAGE. Most of this film was shot by Francois Reichenbach before Welles got involved with it. Reichenbach didn't know what to do with his footage--how to best put it all together--so he asked Welles, whom he greatly admired, to see what he could do. Welles shot some scenes featuring himself to go around the documentary footage, came up with a narrative concept and EDITED everthing. The result? WELLES' PERSONALITY TOOK OVER. This is unmistakably a film that only Orson Welles could make. Welles uses his ingenious narration and every trick known to film editing to weave a philosophical meditation on the nature of truth and lies that has DEEP universal significance, but also particularly applies to the nature of all 'ART-ifice.' It's a very intellectual as well as supremely entertaining film which requires at least 5 viewings to even begin to be appreciated. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Although it begins with the police report of his death in a 1956 car accident, this BBC effort quickly backtracks to the birth of Jackson Pollock's fame seven years earlier with the memorable Life magazine question: "Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" While the answer is still hotly debated, the fact that he became the most famous painter of that time is not. This 46-minute documentary concentrates on the intense glare of celebrity and its effect on Pollock's work and life. Because he allowed documentary makers unprecedented access to his process, this film is loaded with images of Pollock at work on his physically active--and therefore dramatically engaging--style of drip painting. His own voiceovers as well as those of his wife and champion, fellow painter Lee Krasner, are intercut with more recent interviews with poets, friends, biographers, and his lover, Ruth Kligman, who survived the deadly crash. Joining his old acquaintances is Ed Harris, director and star of the 1999 film Pollock, who speaks to the paralyzing combination of self-doubt and alcoholism that proved this artist's undoing. --Kimberly Heinrichs ... Read more

Reviews (2)

DESPERATE SANITY?
Since documentaries are featured as extras on many DVDs, there's a growing appetite for this cinematic art form. Criterion is feeding that craving with a series of fascinating glimpses into extraordinary real lives.

The artistically apposite worlds of Jackson Pollock, and Robert Crumb are revealed in "JACKSON POLLOCK: LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND" and "THE CONFESSIONS OF ROBERT CRUMB". Striking views of Pollock's work are commented on by artists including his wife, painter Lee Krasner. Ed Harris, the star and director of the Academy Award© winning film "Pollock" discusses Pollock's blazing rise to fame and his difficulties coping with it.

Somehow a sad look at the destructive, hyper life of what may have been a madman. Is being an artist be difinition a kind of insanity?

Finally a Pollock movie that keeps us awake!
WOW! Though this is not actually the movie Pollock, and actually a 40 m