It just doesn't feel right having Michelangelo as a speaker with an old man's voice, telling about his own life. I would have much appreciated an historical approach, instead of this "Hollywood type" comedy.
The Artist Speaks for Himself
This wonderful DVD offers two complete Robert Snyder documentaries on the life and work of Michelangelo.
I opted to watch the black & white, 1950 Oscar-winning "The Titan: Story of Michelangelo" first, and am very happy I did so. It runs about an hour, and provides a fairly straightforward account of the artist's life and work, while also exploring some of the regional artistic influences on young Michelangelo, and the political and religious discord that existed during the Renaissance. Narrated by Frederic March, it is highly melodramatic in places and features a dated, tinny soundtrack. The most striking and memorable footage is a recreation of David being moved through the streets of Florence (which plays very like a Spaghetti Western showdown). This original documentary is a terrific set-up for the main feature to follow...
Michelangelo's work almost-literally comes to life as you see it all again (and more) in living color in the 1989 film. Obviously, there is a lot of overlap with "Titan," but this film, "Self Portrait," is narrated in first-person, using Michelangelo's letters, diaries and poetry to tell his story in a more intimate and insightful way than its 1950 predecessor. What a treat to hear Michelangelo's own descriptions of his work! It changed the whole experience for me. His personal struggle to balance Christianity and Classicism mirrored the turbulence of the Renaissance and fueled his creativity; it may also strike a familiar note in modern times...
This film is much more complete than the first, both in the number of works shown and the exploration of the artist's life. It is beautifully photographed and scored, and it offers closer-than-you-can-get-in-person views of Michelangelo's sculptures and the pre-renovation Sistine ceiling and Last Judgement. No real people appear in either documentary--no narrators, curators, actors, townspeople or tourists are present to distract from the artwork or the environs. My one complaint about this is that we never get a good sense of scale as a result. Many of Michelangelo's creations are monumental, and I'm not sure that truly comes across--especially on a TV screen.
Most fine art DVDs seem not to have any extra features, so the fact that this one does is a real bonus. The original 1950 documentary, "The Titan," is actually found under the Extras Menu and, as mentioned above, should be watched even before the main feature. In addition, there is a short but worthwhile interview with Robert Snyder in which he reveals where he found some of the original footage used in both films (I won't spoil it for you). Finally, there are short excerpts from a series of other Snyder documentaries featuring creative icons of the mid-20th Century: Buckminster Fuller, Pablo Casals, Anais Nin, Claudio Arrau, Henry Miller and Willem de Kooning.
This is one of the most engaging and worthwhile art DVDs I've seen so far. Anyone interested in Michelangelo, Rome, Florence, Renaissance history or the Vatican should enjoy this over and over again.
Superb!
Based to a large extent upon the 1950 Academy Award winning documentary "The Titan: Story of Michelangelo" which is included on the DVD, this wonderful film takes that work to a higher level and is a work of art in itself. The photography is stunning, the commentary intelligent.
If you're planning a trip to Italy, be sure to view this before you go.
This wonderful film successfully re-creates the period by filming on location and by meticulous attention to costume and sets. Inevitably there are gaps in its treatment, even as there are gaps in what we know of Leonardo's life and thoughts. The 'reconstructed' episodes of lost biography help, but other periods are ignored. Or are they?
Then I thought to time the episodes. Here are some questions for Questar, who released the film on VHS and DVD. The feature length is given as four and a half hours (270 minutes) on the packaging. The actual length is three hours 50 minutes (230 minutes). To be exact, the parts are 60, 39, 41, 45 and 45 minutes respectively. Questar, why did you remove 40 minutes of Castellani's film? The parts I can remember as missing are those featuring... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Renato Castellani DVD Release Date: Released the 01 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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So pervasive is the hand of the gifted sculptor in this docu-biography, he could have earned an end credit. For Donatello: The First Modern Sculptor is a portrait much like he might have sculpted, rich in detail with a story steeped in historical context. The stately art lesson is also part travelogue. The camera moves from Florence to Siena, Venice, Padua, and London, lingering on awe-inspiring works by the "most versatile artist of his or perhaps any century." A narrator reads from church and tax records to fill in little- known details about Donatello, while three contemporary artists comment on the Renaissance master's techniques. (Most notably, Peter Rockwell explains how the artist "drew" on marble.) The star attractions, though, are the dozens of close- ups of pieces... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Elizabeth Frink - Peter Rockwell DVD Release Date: Released the 14 August 2001 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Carol Reed (The Third Man) directed this 1965 portrait of the relationship between Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) and Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison), who commissioned the artist to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Based on a novel by Irving Stone, the script plods along, juggling the dynamics between the two men along with a somewhat perfunctory love story and distracting battle sequences. Reed seems more attuned to the nuances and great pains of the artistic process, as seen in sequences of Michelangelo working. But the overall focus of the film is unfortunately fuzzy. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Charlton Heston - Rex Harrison Director(s): Carol Reed DVD Release Date: Released the 22 February 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This epic documentary does a wonderful job of recapturing the revolutionary impact the impressionists made while providing a historical and artistic context for this extraordinary group of painters. The work of Monet, Degas, Morisot, and their fellow impressionists has now become so familiar that its power to shock has all but disappeared.
Young and resolutely modern, these artists threw off the shackles of academic art to capture everyday life in paintings that were iconoclastic in both style and subject. At first they struggled to survive because their work was rejected by the conservative Paris Salon, but those with independent means helped those without (Monet in particular was frequently rescued from poverty by his friends), and gradually they became impossible to ignore. Bruce... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Bruce Alfred DVD Release Date: Released the 28 August 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This documentary covers the Medici family and their impact on society, Florence and the Renaissance. Out of all the documentaries I have seen, this one was by far the most captivating. This is a four-part documentary that incorporates well-acted recreation, dramatic narration and educated commentary on the events of this time. Contrary to some reviews on this DVD, I loved the narration! It was striking, articulate and appropriate.
Although I am not an expert on this historical time period, from what I remember of my Renaissance history courses, this documentary portraits the time period quite well. I was fascinated by this family and their mafia style achievements (as ruthless as they were).
The only downside to this production is that the focus on the Medici... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Justin Hardy DVD Release Date: Released the 05 April 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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