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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bach for the eye,
By
This review is from: Life & Works of Mc Escher [VHS] (VHS Tape)
A while ago, every college student who could read was reading a mighty tome titled "Godel, Escher, Bach." M.C. Escher was a Dutch artist who posed for himself the challenge of putting into an etching the same effect that Bach achieved in his music. Now this would seem meaningless to anyone who does not appreciate the great complexity of some of Bach's music in which a theme would slowly change into another in such a way that the listener is aware of it only after the change has occurred. To match this magic in illustrations, Escher developed an optical illusion technique in which-for example-he depicted men going down a rectangular flight of stairs, which is quite impossible to recreate in real life. (They stole this idea in the recent "Avengers" film, you might recall.) Not only did he give us marvels of false perspectives like that, but he was expert at taking diverse shapes and fitting them together so that the page is filled entirely with (let us say) angels while the spaces between them are in the shape of demons. As you might expect, the life of the artist is as fascinating as his works. So I am happy to let you know that Acorn Media has released a wonderful 60-minute video about The Life and Works of M.C. Escher. Using illustrations from his works and shots of locales in which he lived and interviews with the man himself, the tape does a lovely job in tying in the personality of the artist with his art. And you might recognize the picture on the cover as one very prominent on T-shirts, posters, and other backgrounds for sale in recent years. This video is even better.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
VHS Video format - not an Audio cassette.,
By
This review is from: Life & Works of Mc Escher [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Just to set the record straight - this item is a (wonderful) VHS video cassette - not an Audio cassette! A fascinating portrait of a man totally committed to his art. The interviews are in Dutch with English subtitles, so you can hear the meticulous speech of the master craftsman. The views he expresses are much more those associated with the intuitive artist than of the artisan you might expect. On geometric shapes: "Feel them - hold a model of a cube in your hands and those wonderful symmetries become apparent". Quite inspiring!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A documentary masterpiece,
By
This review is from: Life & Works of Mc Escher [VHS] (VHS Tape)
The definitive video documentary of M.C. Escher does not exist. Trust me, I've looked. Such a video would portray the graphic artist's life, personality, and psyche convincingly. It would map his creative process, charting change and growth across his lifespan. It would feature friends, family, artists, perceptual scientists, mathematicians and philosophers. It would explain the mathematical gymnastics and perceptual principles underlying fantastic images and illusions. It would show antecedents such as Arabian mosaics or Hogarth's classic frontispiece. It would introduce Escher's contemporaries like Oscar Reutersvard and Roger Penrose, and consider Escher's legacy, as reflected in the art and science of Roger Shepard, Scott Kim, Vladimir Kush, Octavio Ocampo, David MacDonald, Irvine Peacock, Rob Gonsalves, Akiyoshi Kitayoka, and others. And of course, the video would provide original, mind-bending animations that move and act in ways implied by Escher's still images. Without fantastic visuals that go beyond anything that you can find in a book, why would you even need a video presentation? It is important to get this part right because Escher's art ripens with prolonged, deep inspection. Brief video clips deprive Escher's intricate universe of its essence.
Even though I did not find my dream documentary on Escher, I did find this first-rate film which I recommend wholeheartedly. "The Life and Works of M.C. Escher" (Acorn Media, 1998, 60 min) was originally released as "Metamorphose: MC Escher, 1898-1972" (Cinemedia, NPS, Radio Netherlands television). Besides this documentary, I found other materials including documentaries, interviews, animations and video clips, and have discussed these resources in my Amazon review of "The Fantastic World of M.C. Escher: A Look at the Life and Works of the Famous Graphic Artist" (Michelle Emmer, Acorn Media, 1980, 50 min). The "Life and Works/Metamorphose" video sold here is my favorite of the bunch. The video coincided with, and was based upon, Wim Hazeu's insightful and meticulous biography of Escher. Unfortunately, Hazeu's book is available in Dutch only, I believe. Hazeu is a prolific Dutch author who has contributed to a variety of films, and who has recently published a well-received biography of Simon Vestdijk, the Dutch writer. Hazeu's input is probably the reason this film feels so credible. The director, Jan Bodriesz may not be well-known in the US, but he is a remarkably capable editor and director whose credits include the most popular Dutch film ever (Turkish Delight), and multiple collaborations with Peter Verhoeven. Thanks to Bodriesz, I'm guessing, the elements of this documentary are much like the elements of an Escher design, with the paradoxes and symmetries of Escher's world combining to construct a satisfying and deep overall percept. This beautiful, well-researched masterpiece does justice to Escher's life and work, for it weaves complex elements into a compelling psychological and historical portrait of Escher and his times. The filmmakers have done their homework and succeed in presenting Escher as a real person. They have captured the struggling, nostalgic romantic who found his passion in Italy and Spain; the scientific observer whose visual playground of ideas played out in strange explorations of geometry, symmetry and fantasy; the sometimes stern and remote perfectionist who was obsessed with his art; the "graphic artist" who reacted strongly to being misunderstood, as when he was labeled an "artist" or "mathematician;" and the all-too human figure who reacted to the stresses of marriage, obscurity, war and the inevitable passage of time. The filmmakers interspersed Escher's own art with the landscapes and buildings Italy, Spain, and other parts of Europe, thus elucidating Escher's vision and evolving creative process. They provided multiple quotations and diary entries from Escher that captured his thoughts and emotions at moments of despair, discovery and artistic creation. Historic film footage is weaved into the film, capturing the spirit of time and place. I am in awe of the final product. Without a beautiful sweeping epic like this one, the drama of Escher's life might well be forgotten.
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