DVD Review: Every Picture Tells a Story (2003)

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In Every Picture Tells a Story, filmmaker, writer, and long-time art critic for The Sunday Times Waldemar Januszczak takes great delight in donning multiple hats as a journalist, art critic and scholar, as well as amateur sleuth. He isn't out to solve a crime however and instead devotes his time to tracking down all of the interpretations, clues, historical notes, and deceptive touches included both in the canvases and in the academic world surrounding eight masterpieces.

Familiar to any art fan-- these succinct, easily approachable and highly engrossing explorations of some of the most immediately recognizable and oft-debated works from da Dinci's captivating Mona Lisa to the haunting mystery in Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini Marriage-- will definitely captivate in this stunning collection.

Running just 187 minutes-- the set is far shorter and much less expensive than any art history course and comes with the added bonus of looking at glorious paintings in some of the world's most famous museums in a vicarious DVD version of a field trip rather than staring at a white board at a local continuing education center.

Additionally the slim-packaged 2-disc collection offers a beautiful full-color viewer's guide with more highlights. Filled with questions to help get you further inside the lessons or episodes (which I found of equal interest for reading both beforehand and after the show ended to think about the paintings in greater detail) and "other works featured" along with "avenues for further learning," the tiny booklet leads you to additional information via a featherweight companion in lieu of a textbook that could be used as a doorstop with a price-tag that's right in line with a brand new door.

Balancing out what could be in the hands of another some pretty dull topical material if spoken in a monotone or with an unquestioning, blind reverence for the masters-- instead and like a good critic-- our humorous host Januszczak has a great deal of fun questioning choices and ideas throughout, inspiring viewers not to fall into the trap of just saying "well, it's a masterpiece, of course it's good," without asking why since they've been repeatedly told that over the years.

Offering some fun tidbits about the painters that borders on gossip which is seasoned throughout along with all of the factual information to entertain-- we realize quickly from the start it's not like most yawn-inducing offerings when Januszczak mentions for example that talented artist and most likely complete cynic Thomas Gainsborough was only in it for the money.

Despising those who sat for him (and only thinking of the works in terms of how much he could profit from each gig), the remarkably fast painter's 1750 oil on canvas unfinished work Mr and Mrs Andrews opens the series. Most likely the artist's own judgment of "two aristocratic 18th century British landowners," who are seated way off to the left side of the painting (showing their wasted land on the right that they'd taken away from the commoners via Britain's newly passed "Enclosure Acts")-- it's a great introductory choice to open the set since it invites discussion from the start and builds one up for one of the most discussed works which closes the collection (and one in which I actually had to tackle explaining in grad school).

While it's suspected that the Andrews couple intentionally halted Gainsborough from more symbolic and critical inclusions which leaves it unfinished, it's strongly felt that the painter "may have intended to depict bird carcasses in the unfinished area in the lady's lap as a not-so-subtle comment on the couple's marriage and social position," making it yet another great reminder of the power of the artist to convey meanings below those simply on the surface, driving home the point of subtext in art with the utmost of clarity.

Moving onto Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulip which you'll decidedly want to skip if you're preparing a meal or have recently eaten as our host takes a wicked delight in discussion the Renaissance's obsession with dissection and the anatomical theatres wherein people paid a great deal (especially in Holland) given their-- as Januszczak notes "passion for dismemberment," he continues to study one of Venice's most revered masters-- Giorgione via his Greek mythology inspired The Tempest.

Analyzing the display of gender in some of the classic works-- Januszczak explores Botticelli's celebration of a bride's fertility in a way that's supposed to make us sense her virginal modesty and shyness in The Birth of Venus to da Vinci's near femme fatale with his Mona Lisa whose bewitchingly mysterious smile captivated Napoleon to such an extent that it hung in his bedroom for awhile.

Further paintings of curiosity include Caravaggio's Boy Bitten by a Lizard regarding which Januszcack takes great pains in likening to the life lessons of the painter himself and warnings against hedonism as it intriguingly empathizes more with the lizard than the sensuous, pleasure-seeking boy in the eyes of some along with Edouard Manet's scandalous (and possibly even with a choice of being deliberately sacrilegious) painting Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe (a.k.a. Luncheon on the Grass).

Shockingly depicting some fully clothed men and an immodestly naked woman looking directly at the viewer as either a mockery of the old masters or an angry response painting to his father's alleged affair with a woman who would later become Edouard's wife-- while back in 1863 its brash boldness caused the "biggest scandal in the world of art" because of the nude woman's immodesty, the painting that stayed with me the most was the one we debated in grad school in the form of the final effort The Arnolfini Marriage by Jan van Eyck.

On the surface, a work that deceptively feels as though it's a mere piece of marital portraiture in the celebration of the union of a wealthy merchant family yet one that nonetheless manages to forgo the notion of a newlywed piece since the female appears extremely pregnant-- the painting is dripping with symbolism and a sense of melancholy. It's one that is also widely theorized as immortalizing the pregnant wife in a posthumous manner after she passed away during childbirth. Hauntingly beautiful yet eerie and ghost-like, van Eyck's painting makes an ideal final chapter to the informative and fascinating two disc set and makes us wish that the Athena Learning venture which had previously aired on Ovation Television would soon be followed with another installment to investigate more masterpieces.

DVD Review: Playing Shakespeare (1982)

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Okay, all "to be or not to be" aside-- can you imagine how intimidating it would've been to have taken an acting class alongside individuals such as Ben Kingsley (I mean Gandhi himself!), Ian McKellen and Judi Dench?

So with this in mind, thank goodness that Playing Shakespeare-- the 1982 legendary in-depth, nine episode master class led by John Barton on behalf of the Royal Shakespeare Company has now been made available for Bard buffs to enjoy in the privacy of their own home.

Recently it was served up as a four disc, slim-packaged exquisite collection from Acorn Media and Athena that also comes complete with a twenty page viewer's guide which offers more avenues for learning, history, points to ponder and highlights of the episodes as a sort of CliffsNotes version to the originally lauded companion text released in tandem with the London Weekend Television production. Furthermore, it's a wonderful way to appreciate the renowned and still so relevant production that was dubbed "required watching" for actors by The New York Times.

Still, of interest for more than just Shakespearean inclined actors-- whether you have a thing for iambic pentameter or are just simply interested in the tremendous creative output of Shakespeare's versatile plays (both tragic and comic alike)-- it's intellectual nourishment of the highest order. And likewise it makes an ideal companion work to more modern interpretations from my favorite Shakespeare professor, Mr. Kenneth Branagh to Al Pacino's fun documentary Looking for Richard.

Admittedly, on the surface it's safe to say it's even more pretentious than an entire season of the knowledgeable, brainy, but nonetheless amusingly SNL mocked stylings of James Lipton on our very own Actor's Studio (based on the Stanislavski system, a.k.a. "method acting" in its New York City setting). And it's additionally hindered by the fact that some of Barton's episodes and discussions feel a bit repetitive. Nonetheless it's a great deconstruction of the various choices one makes when taking on a role in a Shakespeare production and a thorough analysis of the texts at the same time.

Having seen a majority of the series in a random order sporadically during the last fifteen years via not just television (I'm guessing PBS, Bravo or BBC America perhaps) but academia-- in everything from high school acting classes to collegiate literary studies on Shakespeare and master's level humanities coursework-- it was thrilling to finally take it all in the correct order when I could simply view it as a work instead of painstakingly taking notes for use in a required paper or for a scene study.

Breaking down the works with Barton's ongoing thesis that Shakespeare planted clues (or cues) throughout the text that are meant to help the actor and offer a guide for the the Bard's true intention on how a work should be played-- throughout the series Barton and the cast of twenty-one acclaimed and award winning actors play intellectual detectives.

Additionally, they weigh some of the inconsistencies in his use of short lines followed by long speeches, controversies surrounding the characters (for example Shylock in Merchant of Venice) and try to avoid overplaying the scenes as well as using iambic pentameter in too mannered of a style. By discussing the challenges of tackling the centuries old works as modern method trained and/or naturalistic actors, it makes one realize just how daunting it would be to take on the texts we know so well that-- as Barton acknowledges in the opening of the set-- over one thousand books and articles are written about the playwright and poet every single year.

Although it's far easier to say whether or not something is good or bad (acting-wise), it's a different obstacle altogether to dissect why we make those judgments as this highly talented group dissects their reasoning regarding how to choose the approach to deliver a particular line (or even simply one word) from an infinite number of options. And while Barton is the one running the show, it's especially great to see the way that the actors (or more specifically Ian McKellen routinely ask him to define or clarify words and phrases) in order to test their own theories and opinions as they go back and forth.

Despite Barton's earnest wish that he wouldn't do too much directing during the series nor have the members of the Royal Shakespeare Company do more talking than acting, both of these well-intentioned promises are broken early on as the one weakness the collection has is the fact that it comes off as "much ado about nothing," or quips aside, far too much conversation about what they think and not enough actual scene work that allows them to transfer these thoughts into action. However, when the characters-- even in modern dress-- deliver a line like the wondrous McKellan in a multitude of ways to illustrate how something can endlessly be interpreted, that's when the series shows us the glory of the best Shakespeare company in the world.

While all of the cast-mates have their moments, for me, the major "must see" segment was witnessing two extremely different takes on Shylock by David Suchet and Patrick Stewart as despite the fact that Barton had directed both men in their interpretations, neither actor had seen the other one perform it.

First discussing the alleged anti-semitism of the play which becomes a matter of personal significance for the Jewish Suchet who recalls getting horrific letters from Americans questioning his decision to act in such a work-- he and Stewart agree that you can't judge the play in terms of the twentieth century holocaust and it's interesting to see the way the two men address the Jewish religion in their respective characterizations.

While to Stewart, Shylock is "an alien" and "an outsider" who happens to be Jewish, to Suchet, Shylock is an outsider "because he is Jewish" and his passion comes through at once in their scenes together as they trade off. And although Stewart is a talented actor, to me it's apparent right off the bat that his approach to making the character so overly broad (to the point that at one moment he slips strangely into what sounds like a Scottish accent) is a grievous error for the work. Essentially his take makes Shylock a spectacle whereas Suchet moves us to such an extent-- although he works hard against playing scenes like "hath not a Jew eyes" for sheer sympathy-- that I realized I would never look at the man most famous for his portrayal of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot the same way ever again.

Simply put, I wanted to start a Suchet fan club and wondered why on Earth he hadn't broken free to the same level of stardom as McKellan and Kingsley (both of whom look so amazingly young you'll do a double take in episode one).

A wonderfully valuable treasure for fans of Shakespeare and filled with great debate on his most famous texts, discussion regarding the significance of the word "time" (which should be said with two syllables) in the work of the Bard, it's safe to say this collection will be a must-own for those who've ever done more than just passively read along with his work in elementary school.

Shakespeare:
In Print



Shakespeare:
On Film

DVD Review: The People's Republic of Capitalism (2008)

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Although I think it's safe to say that the same is true around the world-- given our economic recession and the overwhelming number of jobs lost throughout the United States, everyone you meet here in America has an opinion on outsourcing and our economy.

Yet the double-edged sword aspect about our valuable first amendment which allows for freedom of speech is that it doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with knowledge as sometimes these statements regarding legal and illegal migrant workers, outsourcing jobs overseas to India, China and other countries can lead to some pretty divisive and angry language.

Yes, we'd like to keep more jobs in our country... but at the same time we must ask what we ourselves are doing about it via actively thinking about what our choices mean by perhaps refusing to shop at stores that outsource labor, use sweat shops etc.

For example, although it's commonly known that Wal-Mart's low prices are low because of the company's outrageous practices (which you can explore in greater detail in the brilliant documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices)-- because consumers are in debt from layoffs, we'll continue to shop at such stores, buy products made cheaply in other countries from those whose jobs used to be our own that are now exploited in unsafe conditions for little pay...and so the cycle continues on.

While on the surface, one may not realize how alike China and the United States are in all actuality-- nonetheless economically both countries are as Ted Koppel reveals in the first part of this brilliant four-part documentary "joined at the hip," although our relationship of interdependence and back-and-forth trade-offs of supply and demand is incredibly complicated.

Of course, admittedly it's safe to say that all sides of the issue can't be addressed in this fascinating 176 minute critically acclaimed documentary which aired on the Discovery Channel a year ago in the Koppel on Discovery series, yet the forty-two time Emmy Award Winner Ted Koppel (who is also the recipient of eight prestigious Peabody honors and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame) is precisely the right man for the job to give us an investigative overview.

Now Koppel's The People's Republic of Capitalism has been made available as a two disc set from Athena and Acorn Media as part of Athena's ongoing commitment to promoting lifelong learning through high quality documentary releases. Arriving in a nice slim-packaged 2-disc set, the title also comes complete with a full color twenty page viewer's guide that goes over main factual highlights, further background information about China and the cultural revolution, avenues for further learning, and thoughtful questions to consider to help you digest what is being discussed. Also boasting an exlusive interview with Koppel as well as releasing the documentary on Blu-ray as well, the collection could not be timelier given our econonomic crisis and the way that our economy affects every other country's as well.

To this end, he wisely narrows his scope specifically to the Sichuan Province city of Chongqing (located southwest of Shanghai) that now has a population of thirty million residents.

Throughout the four part documentary which consists of "Joined at the Hip," "MAO-ism to ME-ism," "The Fast Lane," and "It's the Economy, Stupid," Koppel takes an in-depth approach using business model compare and contrast techniques (such as Ethan Allen & Wal-Mart), candid interviews, global impact studies, and research.

Additionally and quite admirably, he manages to incorporate other aspects of Chinese life that immediately we wouldn't have thought to take into consideration by exploring their emerging and deadly relationship with automobiles from a former bicycle culture on their path to becoming a major economic superpower.

Shockingly uncovering that China now has twice as many highway fatalities via four hundred accidents a day and the estimation that they will have more cars on the road than the United States by 2030, Koppel examines the impact this has on not only the lives of those on the road or those working in construction to help support this demand for roads but also how this will detrimentally affect the environment as in China "everything depends on coal" which is cheap but dangerous for miners and devastating to our planet.

Throughout the series, he views the impact capitalism is having on the country with its new advent of governmental corruption and "look the other way policy "to the "illegal" yet widespread practice of prostitution in karaoke bars and brothels (where business deals are decided a la the American strip club).

And moreover, Koppel consistently uses prior issues uncovered as a springboard, following through on them to see the way that one topic leads to several others, thereby constantly reminding us that although it's easy to say something is "good" or "bad," there's so much to consider from an international perspective.

However, despite our vast differences given China's strict one-child policy and the citizens' trust in their government that they're willing to abandon our American style political freedom for what they feel will lead to a far better economic and prosperous future for the country-- an underlying theme throughout is that we both share the same contradictions of corruption, bribery, and exploitation of workers. Of course, this goes even further working in the widening class divide as the rich continue to grow wealthier and aspire to live a life of luxury products and surroundings whereas the poorer "peasant" class find themselves struggling to afford education or find suitable or safe work. Does this sound familiar?

Overall it's amazingly engrossing and quite hard to sum up the all-encompassing documentary that makes it an ideal source of advanced independent lifelong learning or continuing education especially considering the fact that everything transferred to disc resonates so strongly today. And although it will leave you with a far greater understanding of how dependent our economies are on each other and it's especially great to watch and discuss with others-- in the end it made me glad that I'm not in charge of a major corporation or served as a governmental decision maker in the area of trade relations.

However, at the same time-- it does call you to action and make you evaluate your own attitudes and decisions. Of course, while I already avoid Wal-Mart, you (like me) may find yourself thinking twice about not just your attitudes on outsourcing since that's just one small part of the whole chain but also via purchasing specific items from certain stores when you ascertain how every single one of us is impacted around the globe no matter where the item's label states it was manufactured in the first place.