Customer Reviews

The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When The Life of Leonard DaVinci first aired on American Television, I believe it was on ABC, my wife and I had only been married a few months. But, every Sunday night as I recall, for about four or five weeks, we watched this fantastic production.

Years later, we saw it again on PBS. When I began teaching, I found that our local educational resource center had this program on VHS. As a graphic arts teacher, I felt that Leonardo and this documentary were of such great importance, I would show a chapter or two to my students during the course of a term. And, I would take it home at watch it again and again.

Not only was Leonardo, as one of the Amazon reviewers describes, a bit weird, he was also brilliant and interesting. Brilliant and interesting also describes this entire Italian production. As much as I dislike foreign films with the out-of-sync English dubbed voices, I was able to over look it in this extremely informative and superbly produced film. I really liked the occasional interaction of the characters as they sort of stumble into the narrator; I thought that to be very clever and nicely executed. So, after seeing that it was available in DVD, I purchased a copy.

I am so disappointed... What inept producer, or editor, of re-release material thought that he or she had the requisite skills to chop up so much of this production? I was so angered by this that I'm sorry I bought the DVD. The complete version deserves a FIVE STAR +, the DVD... TWO, if that much! This great program, unfortunately placed in the hands of a flaming IDIOT, ruined the overall presence and personality of this presentation by IGNORANTLY cutting away some wonderful clips that brought such a meaningful and complete story to an eager audience.

I really love the quality of DVD, but for this, I'll just go check out the VHS version and watch it from time to time. Oh, just an afterthought... Is there a COMPLETE version of this available on DVD? Hey, you, bonzo with the editing shears... Do you still have the original? Well, how about releasing that for some of us - "I-want-to-see-the-whole THING" fanatics!

Tony DeCaro
Graphics Design/Video Production Instructor

Originally telecast by PBS stations in 1972 as "I, Leonardo" this five-part series earned a Golden Globe award for Best TV Drama in 1973. I loved it then and was thrilled to be able to finally see it again after so many years. The program is simply outstanding, stunning, superb, bellissima . . . I've run out of superlatives to describe it. A vividly illustrative, highly-detailed, historically accurate, only-occasionally-sentimental account of the life of an incredible human being, the program provides a great deal of information about all facets of Leonardo's life and the personal, political, and artistic challenges that confronted him. I enjoyed the detailed background provided about his mother Caterina,about whom very little is known, and the balanced handling of his relatonships with the two primary disciples in his life, Salai and Francisco Melzi. The video also provides a wealth of information about the historical events that forced him to leave and return to Florence and Milan, the political intrigue of the leaders he had to collaborate with, and the bitter rivalry between him and Michaelangelo in his later years. It's a show I can and will watch over and over and over again . . . and again.

I would normally write a much longer review of this DVD, given the subject matter, AND would have given it 5 Stars. But, considering that this release by Questar is pointlessly a cut up, BASTARDIZED version of the original mini-series (which can still be had in its entirety on VHS, also from Questar), I am forced to focus more on what's wrong with this particular release, rather than extoll the astonishing merits of the wonderful film. Please avoid this version at all costs, and if you can, get the full version on VHS. Questar has cut out some of the best moments of this film series for no valid reason I can discern - maybe just to save 2 bucks on the overall package price. They have done great damage to this film, by removing, amongst other key scenes, the important in-story narrator. This element added much charm and charisma to an already fasicinating film - and was one of the many reasons it is, in its original form, so enchanting. Removing the in-story narrator also necessitated removing some key speculations concerning important areas of Leonardo's life and thought. I, personally, am glad I still have my VHS copy, and would like to submit a separate review on that one. This one, you can skip.

My wife told me about having seen this series about Leonardo Da Vinci when she was a child. It had stuck with her for over 30 years, and she dearly wanted to see it again. After doing some research on The Internet Movie Database, we determined this was the series she had seen. At first, I ordered the DVD edition. Then, I read the reviews. (I know. I did this in the wrong order.) When I read that the narrator had been cut out of the DVD version, I asked my wife about it. She told me that the narrator was one of the best elements of the series! I immediately cancelled the previous order, and ordered the VHS edition instead. Boy, am I glad! I can't imagine this series being anywhere near as good without the character of the narrator who walks through the scenes and interacts with some of the historical characters. The narrator is a charming, creative, and essential element of this series. Cutting the character out of the DVD edition was sheer idiocy!

I have been searching for this movie on video for 23 years! I saw it when I was a teenager and fell in love with the cast! If you, like me, know Leonardo inside-out you will truly love this movie. Do yourself a favour and buy this one! Everything is authentic, and was intricately researched, right down to costumes. It is a magnificent movie.

I'm so glad I read the reviews before purchasing! I originally intended to buy this series on DVD, but when I read on Amazon that some of the original film had been omitted on the DVD version, I decided to go with the VHS version (if it's unavailable here, try ebay). I cannot imagine this series being nearly as enjoyable or informative without the narrator. Thanks to the other reviewers for their advice!

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.

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.

Leonardo was not appreciated in his own time. He was sidelined, persecuted and many of his works destroyed. A similar fate has befell this documentary. I saw this film in the 70s. It was shown on Australian TV (where I live) and I thought it then, and probably still do, the greatest TV film I have ever seen. Leonardo, I believe, excelled his contemporaries in the range of his discoveries, and I believe he excells our contemporaries in the same way: this is a man whom to see as a precursor of 20th century science is to belittle. Castellani's film now exists in three versions. To save other viewers the trouble of the research, following is what I have found out about each version.

"The Life of Leonardo da Vinci" was a 1971 Italian TV production directed by Renato Castellani, a famous and critically esteemed director of the time. It tapped into a moment of patriotic fervour in Italy and was funded by the Italian government to an unprecedented extent, becoming the most expensive production made in Italy up to that time. It was produced in the same way that Hollywood epics are fabled to be, with on location shoots at every place Leonardo was known to have lived or visited, and with a 'cast of thousands'. Meticulous care was taken with costumes and sets, without exception both luxurious and authentic. Particular care was also taken with casting. An innovative and appropriately experimental approach (for the time) saw the casting of a famous TV personality, Giulio Bosetti, as a modern dress narrator, strolling onto the historical sets to give a modern day perspective of the events depicted.

The original Italian version is available on a 3 DVD set. It has an Italian soundtrack and Italian subtitles, but no English, I presume to avoid competing with versions released in English speaking countries. If you understand Italian, this is the preferred version. It runs at the original broadcast time of 320 minutes.

The English language distribution rights for the film were secured by Questar Inc of Chicago, a specialist distributor of historical and other documentary material. Questar released a version on VHS videotape which dropped the Italian soundtrack for a (very well) dubbed English one. This version is still available for those not adverse to videotape. It is on a set of 3 videocassettes and runs for 270 minutes.

Questar Inc also released a DVD version of the film. This version has been shortened and is on 2 DVDs. Removed is all the material featuring Giulio Bosetti as the modern dress narrator, which would have also meant shortening some of the scenes on which he makes a commentary. Presumably the editors thought viewers would be puzzled by the sight of a modern narrator stepping out from an historical set (forget the contribution of structuralist film critics and the impact of Jean-Luc Goddard on cinema - this is supposed to be an historical epic, right?). The film survives this blundering butchery, it's that good. The dubbed soundtrack is slightly out of synch though. Somewhat unforgivably, Questar lifted the film specs from their video release and describe it as running at 270 minutes. There is no mention of any cuts. As a compensation, 5 short documentaries of 5-10 minutes each are included on the second disk. The film's running time is 230 minutes (total time including extras is back to 270 minutes).

This is the only version English speakers who prefer disk format can see Castellani's film. Even Japanese viewers have to watch this version (with Japanese subtitles). I think people who care about film, about Leonardo, who object to false advertising and concealed censorship, should object, but doubtless I'm in the minority.

Worth looking for is a 2004 BBC documentary, "Leonardo da Vinci", a 3 episode, 160 minute film which features spectacular photography, reconstructions and testing of some of Leonardo's machines (and some insights about them never before appreciated), location shoots, dramatic re-enactments, readings from the Notebooks and commentary by scholars. While not as good as Castellani's original film, it is better than the truncated version.

This 1970's docudrama has the video texture that came out in the 70's. One can almost instantly feel the graininess even when the film presentation is of a higher quality, which this one is. Our image was very good but doesn't have that pristine silken feeling one finds today or in many films that date back to the 1940's.


The sets and costume designs are authentic and a visual treat. The subject matter is more visual and entertaining than thought provoking. The film treads on the 'safe' side of da Vinci's life. But when a man has such complexity and genius, even that is enough. We never found ourselves board or wanting to take a break. It is entertaining enough to watch in one sitting, of course with the usual breaks.


Everything da Vinci like everything Shakespeare or Beethoven or Mahler should be viewed. When historical figures are presented to the Modern audience, some of the spaces will have to be filled in with educated probabilities and possibilities. This is very much the case with da Vinci. Much of his life is unknown. I think the producers of this film did a credible job in fleshing out da Vinci's life. I would have liked more in-depth footage on his intellectual and sexual life, even if only speculation, as long it is credible and relevant to what made this great man tick and bleed and exceed.


I highly recommend this to all lovers of da Vinci and those who simply want to learn and open their minds. One word of caution though. On disc 2, episode 4, there is a slight glitch. The disc freezes and has to be manipulated to fast forward. It's a minor problem. It is a manufacturing problem, as it was on both our original and replacement copy, in the exact same place. I, however, would not let this minor glitch stop me from purchasing and enjoying this dvd.