Product Details

• Format: Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC
• Language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Athena
• DVD Release Date: June 2, 2009
• Run Time: 187 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001O7R768
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,405 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Explore the secrets behind some of the world’s most famous paintings

With characteristic wit, art critic Waldemar Januszczak turns his educated eye to eight masterpieces of European painting, unraveling the secrets behind each. What did Gainsborough intend for the conspicuous void in Mr and Mrs Andrews? Why did Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa capture the world’s imagination? How did Manet shock French society with his Le déjeuner sur l’herbe ("Luncheon on the Grass")? From New York City to Paris to Rome, Januszczak searches out the art experts, literary and artistic allusions, and historical records--not to mention juicy gossip--to expose long-held secrets within the gilded frames.

Works by Botticelli, Rembrandt, Giorgione, Caravaggio, and van Eyck also take on new and deeper meanings in this lively, engaging eight-part series.

BONUS FEATURES

• 20-page viewer’s guide includes key points, discussion questions, avenues for further learning, featured artwork, and more.
• "The Rest of the Story": Stories behind the story
• Artist biographies
• Exclusive web extras

Writer and filmmaker Waldemar Januszczak has been the art critic for The Sunday Times (U.K.) since 1992. He has twice been honored as Critic of the Year by the Press Association of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

View an Excerpt from the Guide Included with Every Picture Tells a Story

Every Picture Tells A Story

Product Description

Studio: Acorn Media Release Date: 06/02/2009

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A BEAUTIFUL & EDUCATIONAL DVD JOURNEY THROUGH 8 MASTERPIECES, May 13, 2009

By	Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

These 8 episodes of "Every Picture Tells a Story" peer deeply into masterpiece art works in a fresh way. Superior to anything I (and my wife) have seen. My M.S. & B.S. art degrees and over 2 decades of art teaching helps me grant this new Athena DVD set 5 colorful stars. This DVD set also rates "2 paint brushes UP-WAY UP."

THE PRESENTER, Waldemar Januszczak, U.K., is an art critic who never learned to be sophisticatedly boring, dull, & lifeless. He will even make you laugh by finding a lighter side to masterpieces of art. He provides his opinion alongside the findings of other authorities, so you can decide for yourself. He does this in a manner somewhat similar to a European travelogue. Enjoyable. Scenic.

Individual episodes are less than 25 minutes, a perfect length for classroom use at universities and High Schools. 1 or 2 episodes touch on language and/or sexual topics that might want to be previewed and opted upon by "conservative" schools. Probably just a PG rating if it were to be rated, however.

INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING: Each painting episode touches not only on the art itself, but on history, geography, and literature related to the piece. This is true educational integration, highly sought by state-of-the-art school curriculum.

WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE?
"Mr and Mrs Andrews", Gainsborough, England. A mystery of the unfinished masterpiece.
"The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp", Rembrandt, Dutch. The artist's haunting of death. Painting is compared to TVs "E.R."
"The Tempest", Giorgione, Venice. Giorgione means 'Big George'. This is a mysterious painter of even more mysterious art. Is Homer's "Odyssey" a clue?
"The Birth of Venus", Botticelli, Florence. Venus' voluptuous vulnerability vexing the virile. Not birth, so where does this painting's meaning spring from?
"Boy Bitten by a Lizard", Caravaggio, Rome. Finding the why from a lizard bite which was painted by a Roman artist and murderer.
"Mona Lisa", Leonardo da Vinci, Paris. Don't bother with "The Di Vinci Code" book. Episode is about solving the real Leonardo mystery.
"Le dejeuner sur l'herbe", Manet, France. The naughty, naked, picnic lady leaves behind illegal, immoral, impressionism--immortally.
"The Arnlfini Marriage", Jan van Eyck, Bruges, Belgium. A 15th century mystery in oil on an oak panel.

WHAT IS BONUS/extra?
For each episode: "The Rest of the Story"
For each episode: "Artist Biographies"
For each episode: SDH subtitles
A viewer's guide booklet with:
Featured painting reproduction
Questions to consider (individually or in a classroom)
List of other artistic work featured on each episode
Bibliography of 4 options for additional learning related to each episode's painting

This DVD 2-disc set truly brings masterpiece wonder to the masses.
Every High School, College, and Public Library should own this.
8 very affordable lesson plans for art teachers and professors.
Hours of enjoyment for the art lover. YES, a perfect gift.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A winner on two counts, September 9, 2009

By	Craig Betteridge (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

About the only thing I'm confused about is did Simon Schama do "Simon Schama's Power of Art" before or after Januszczak's "Every Picture Tells A Story"? Did Schama attempt to copycat Januszczack's work or was Januszczack's work a how-to to Schama?

In the end, they are both good but Januszack 'Every Picture Tells a Story' is masterful and leaves Simon (never met a simile I didn't like) Schama in the dust.

Insightful and compelling.

I'd like to see a lot more from Mr. Januszczack.

[...]

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but..., October 27, 2009

By	Linda Evans - See all my reviews

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A little disappointed that the host rambles on occasionally, and strays off the subject of the painting. He gives lots of details about the painters life history. I guess I wanted more details about the painting, not the painter.