Customer Reviews

Frank Lloyd Wright: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

5 star:		(31)
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This is an excellent documetary. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about architecture generally and Frank Lloyd Wright specifically.

The material covered is a well done overview of the architecture of the 20th century, as seen through the lens of FLW's life. I found it an amazing tale. There is much to learn about architecture here - the history and scenes are fantastic. From the early days of the skyscraper, to his domestic work (Pairie Houses), to Falling Water (the transformative piece of domestic architecture), the ultimate masterpiece of the Guggenheim - it's all here and well told, and shown. The commentary by Philip Johnson - a longtime FLW antagonist, but ultimately an admirer, is powerful and poignant.

On a personal note, I found the life of FLW inspiring - not in the details or setbacks, but taken for the whole. How many individuals can say their most productive period was after their 70's?

Bravo to Burns - this is one of his finest works; on one of the best of subjects.

I hope others enjoy this DVD as much as I did.

I have never really understood the man (frank lloyd wright), behind the master teacher he ultimately became.... and in this film I have been profoundly surprised and impacted by his life's story.
I would recommend this film to anyone. It is a sensitive and brilliantly made documentary, laced with beethoven's music throughout, and impeccably built together, frame by frame on film, as Mr. Wright's buildings were.
As the documentary progressed, ultimately building to a tender yet impactful crescendo, this man's life's story brought tears to my eyes when it was over. Mr. Wright was an incredible human being....despite devastating loses he had to endure,he had the courage and fearlessness to tread a path no one ever dreamed possible, yet he did.... and during at ime where it was almost impossible to be 'free.' I loved this film. Please do not miss it.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Any way one looks at, this was a very well done documentary. Yes, it did stress his life and misdeeds. Apparently, his deeds and misdeeds were the mortar that his designs sprang from.

WHAT IT IS:

Essentially, through this chronological biography of a sort, we see the development of the man being mirrored by the development of his ideas of how to make interior space for living, worshipping, and working more civilized and, in many ways, more functional and ergonomic.

Yes, of course, there were failures, but so many of his designs were experiments, and experiments are prototypes, and protoypes are invariably flawed. Just look at the auto industry! Though he was a self-promoter, he did not stoop to assembly line construction. Even his modest designs were filled with civilized and novel ideas that actually brought about the advent of the ranch house. His constuction innovations integrated into the hotel in Tokyo, which survived the great Earthquake, set the standard for building codes that are today used around the world to save lives in Earthquake-prone regions. His use of sites to maximize set-backs and combine living space into nature as harmoniously as possible is still at the cutting edge of site design planning, urban planning, and architectural design methodologies.

It is truly a shame that he had a bumpy ride through life, but for all his personal problems and the human wreckage the seemed connected to it, he gave the world as a whole much more than he took from it. Though he may have seemed an underachiever at times, in the long run, his achievements will be more connected to the effect he has had on the field of architecture and civilization which have been improved through his efforts. In essence, one can not judge Frank Lloyd Wright by the 769 buildings he built, but rather by the millions of structures that now incorporate many of his innovations and are safer and more liveable for it.

To tell the story, they used an eclectic group of witnesses ranging from a 100-year-old son to former fellowship members, plus grandsons, critics and collegues. Of course, they also showed parts of his interview with Mike Wallace back in 1957 and some home movies too.

CONCLUSION:

As evidenced in his personal life, he was a very emotional man. Combining his strong emotions with his skill as an architect helped him create designs that were works of art, like the Guggenheim. His emotions blended into his designs to instill a desirable emotional effect on visitors or owners of his creations. Some people described it as a spiritual experience. In Columbus, Indiana there are a large number of structures that were built by Wright and his followers. There are tours through Columbus showing these marvels off and even a lovely park [Mill Race Park] that somehow makes 100 acres adjacent to a noisy highway and a polluted stream into an Eden that seems like 1,000 pristine acres.

ABOUT THE DVD:

In two parts on one DVD, it was 146 minutes long. It also contained several interviews and it was very helpful to see the perspective of filmaker Ken Burns and company.

Having read several books concerning the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, and collecting works about his creations, I eagerly viewed this film. Ken Burns masterfully brings to the screen the intricacies of both the life and work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Burns recreates for the viewer the remarkable experience of entering a Wright building, an experience the begs the visitor to discover the genius who designed the use of space. The film intelligently explores the man and his work, answering many questions and raising others. Anyone drawn to Wright and his designs, anyone intrigued by great men, anyone interested in American perceptions will find this film to be a treasure.

I only got to see the last hour of the movie, but overall, it was well written. I especially like the aspect of the movie that deals with Frank Lloyd Wrights flaws in his buildings. It shows that no matter how much genius a person has, they still make mistakes. It gives a very factual account of his visions and buildings, including the acclaimed "Fallingwater." The movie intertwines his architectural accomplishments as well as his personal life, making this a very interesting combination. Anybody who watches this film will get a good idea of how Frank Lloyd Wright operated throughtout his more than 9 decade lifetime. I would strongly recommend that anyone interested in art or architecture watch this movie!

Ken Burns managed not to annoy me with this documentary as he has done in the past with other documentaries. It serves as a good overview of FLLW's life and career. But one is left thinking there could have been something a little extra that could have made this the definitive documentary on this icon of the 20th Century.

My initial reaction is that the footage of Wright's building was superbly done, but the documentary would have been served with more of this footage...and especially, more footage of different buildings and not just the famous ones. Also, there is not a lot of effort to show exactly *why* Wright was a great architect. His main philosophy of design is covered, but not those small details that propel his buildings from the above average to the extraordinary. Instead, more attention is paid to his life, which admittedly also makes for a great story.

This documentary is worth owning, but only to suppliment your collection of Wright books and videos (if you're so inclined as to have a "collection" like I do!).

One other note: I expected the picture quality on this DVD to be of higher quality than it was. The rich colors of the footage are sometimes compromised by a coarse sampling rate (blocks of pixels becoming visible...especially in darker scenes). A higher rate of sampling would've served the DVD much better, even if it would have required two discs.

Ken Burns (the primary contributor to this film) did a awesome job capturing the beauty and magnificence of Wright's various creations. The first half of the film talks about Wright's early creations -- the second half focuses on the most productive time of Wright's career (after his 60s ). The Waterfall house, the Johnson Wax building, the Gugenheim...wonderful footage of wonderful places. The most illuminating part of the video, however, is the look into Wright's personal life...an aspect of Wright that is often glossed over.

Often the best way to experience any architecture is to be there in person, but if that is not possible, then this film would be the next best thing to give you that exhilarating feeling you would get from experiencing Wright spaces. The cinematography is exquisite, the interviews and stories are inspiring, Wright's work is captured beautifully on film. True, this film is not the a study guide to Wright's architecture. It will not show you floor plans, sections for every building discussed in the film nor will it give you the secrets of Wright's design process, but it does allow you to see much much more than a book can. Frank Lloyd Wright's work is very much entwined with his legend, his personality, his vision, his upbringing, and his dogged determination to be the best ever architect. The boldness of his innovations, his contant reliance on nature for inspirations, and his genius in sythesizing all these are all wonderfully captured on film. This video is a must see!

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Yes, this is a really wonderful film in many ways:

of course Ken Burns has achieved his style with his historical presentations: the photographs and old films; the music; the narrations and commentaries, etc. But in this particular film they all come together and gel in a remarkable way--probably due to the subject matter of Wright himself.

Wright himself said that he recognized Beethoven as a master architect as revealed in his musical architechonics: in this film, Burns coordinates mostly Beethoven's music with visions of Wright's buildings: a masterful and moving audiovisual combination.

Wright was a very remarkable man of genius. If he had been born in England or Germany, for example, he probably would have had a more successful career than he did, for here he was persecuted like Oscar Wilde for his aberant sexuality. This bogus-Puritanical hypocrisy hindered his career, and he was therefore unable to produce as much work as he could have otherwise.

In any case, he synthesized Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts aesthetic, Sessessionist, Jugenstil, Japanese, and Bauhaus into the most unique visions of architecture the world has ever known.
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This film was masterfully done. Not only did Burns do an excellent job with camera when exhibiting one of Wright's buildings, but I also enjoyed the parallel drawn between Beethoven and Wright. I highly recommend this to everyone.