Customer Reviews

Magnificent Obsession: Frank Lloyd Wright's Buildings and Legacy in Japan

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Magnificent Obsession

There is a vast amount of Frank Lloyd Wright material out there, much of it covering the same tired biographical territory. Fact.

Then along came Magnificent Obsession (no not the one with Rock Hudson). Magnificent Obsession, Frank Lloyd Wright's Buildings and Legacy in Japan is unparallel in regards to its subject matter. Although any Wrightophile can tell you that Frank Lloyd Wright was enraptured and secretly influenced by Japan, there is a gaping hole in the literature detailing the years he spent visiting and working in Japan.

One would expect to see rare footage of Wright in Japan as well as visuals of the Imperial Hotel and the private residences he built there. You won't be disappointed. What you may not expect to learn is the degree of influence Wright had on the country that he himself took so much inspiration from, the long-standing relationships that were formed and the Japanese iteration of the Wright's nature-based organic architecture. The film is well researched and is rich in detail regarding the architects who worked with Wright such are Arata Endo, his chief draftsman on the Imperial Hotel as well as modern day architects who discuss how Wright's pervasive influence is still a powerful force today.

I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in Frank Lloyd Wright, modern architecture or Japan.

An informative account of the history behind Frank Lloyd Wright Japanese Buildings although if one is seeking to understand the specific influences that Japanese art, culture, philosophy and architecture had on Wright you will be disappointed...it is rather sparse. Never-the-less one is provided with much information. I have discovered that no one source about Wright provides a well-rounded, informative discourse. This video will suppliment other Wright on Japan sources.

There's a lot to like about this movie, and not much to complain about. A quick pace, great images and a good cubic mile of stuff you didn't already know. I gained new perspective on Frank Lloyd Wright's work -- all of it, not just the buildings in Japan. And, an added bonus, you'll meet Arata Endo, possibly the most likable, engaging character you'll ever meet in a historical documentary.

Obviously, the whole point of Magnificent Obsession is the visuals. The movie delivers just what a Wright fan wants: lots of drawings, historic photos and architectural models. Though it doesn't lack for scene-setting cityscapes or photos of the main actors, architectural images occupy the majority of the screen time

This historical documentary puts architecture before biography. Details of Frank Lloyd Wright's life aren't ignored, but focus of the film is true to the subtitle: Frank Lloyd Wright's Buildings and Legacy in Japan -- the filmmakers aren't concerned with Wright's character flaws or scandals beyond how they affect his work and life in Japan (in fact, there's a story of a bit of surprising post-war generosity on Wright's part that contradicts the popular image of a spoiled spendthrift). There is no sugarcoating of Wright, but the film is focused on Wright and Japan.

The film doesn't end when Wright leaves Japan. He served as a mentor to a number of young Japanese architects, and their work reflected his influence, through, and after World War II. The film follows their work, and the fate of Wright's buildings through to the present day (be warned, the footage of wrecking balls taking down the Imperial Hotel is agonizing to watch -- there's no V-chip for architectural desecration).

What I like best about the film -- what makes it stand out as a valuable documentary -- is the context it wraps around Wright's work in Japan. We see Japan begin to emulate European styles (and we get a glimpse of just how grotesquely out of place they were); we see Wright arrive with new ideas, new techniques, and an enthusiasm that fires a generation of young architects; those same architects develop Wright's ideas and create their own remarkable buildings and, eventually, play a role in preserving Wright's own additions to Japan's built environment.

So, simply, the film is great; it's beautiful, polished and thrillingly educational. It isn't meant only for Wright groupies, architecture fanboys or building nerds; it's an actual, honest-to-goodness great documentary: quickly paced, lots of character and full of interesting sights and ideas. So even your non-fanatical housemate/spouse/copanion will enjoy it.

The webiste for the film has some great background information, a trailer and a guide to further reading (if you've already seen the movie, note that the website has information on the musicians who contributed)
The film has its own legacy -- The Wrightian Architectural Archives Japan, a non-profit dedicated to preserving Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings and legacy in Japan and a site worth exploring.

I had the opportunity to see this film when it was screened a while back at the Siskel Theater in Chicago and, I must say, I was quite impressed. While I'm not an architecture expert, I am a Frank Lloyd Wright fan and have been to Taliesin and any number of FLW homes and buildings. "Magnificent Obsession" is a convincing argument on FLW's profound impact on Japanese architecture and how his fusion of East and West is still influencing today's leading Japanese architects.

This is an educational film but it's also just beautiful to watch because of the endless visuals. Many of the images are historical stills that, because of the editing, look like actual film footage. Despite the long running time the overall quality of the images, writing and narration kept me engaged.

Although the focus is on Wright, there's a great deal of information on his apprentices and other Japanese architects who followed of his organic design principles. There's also some heart-wrenching moments related to the fates of some of these architects and the tragic fate of FLW's masterpiece, the Imperial Hotel.

I would rate "Magnificent Obsession" a "Must See" for any Frank Lloyd Wright fan.

I was fortunate to see this informative and visually arresting film when it debuted in Chicago at a sell-out showing in Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple. I didn't know much about Wright beyond the usual, general knowledge surrounding his life and major works. But because I lived in Japan for a couple of years, I became curious about his own years in Japan and what this film might make of crosscultural influences.

The film was richly textured and extremely informative, far more so than the usual PBS or A&E documentaries. I didn't realize that Wright worked on so many projects in Japan, or that he had such an enduring impact on Japanese architecture. If you're interested in Wright or architecture, you'll thoroughly enjoy the visual appeal of and informative narrative in this DVD.

In past publications,Mr.Wright's experience in Japan has been difficult to track and has remained mostly mysterious. This cd remedies this. Thorough and well researched,it is an excellent addition to the collection of the serious Wright fan.
The footage and documentation about building the magnificent Imperial Hotel is extensive and it clearly shows how Wright set up his studio in Japan and who worked with him there. I was fascinated to find that many students and architects who assisted Mr.Wright during his time there were deeply affected by his design philosophy and have continued his explorations in their own work.I was also excited to hear about and see images of the numerous commissions he created while there of which I was not aware.
I would have liked to see more photos or film footage of Wright during his stay.Wright and Mamah Bortwick visited there and while this visit is mentioned there are no photos to support it.Considering the renewed academic interest in Mamah and her inspiration and support of Wright I would have hoped some new documentation could have been flushed out of Japans' Wright archives.
I learned a great deal and would definitely recommend this to individuals who wish to learn more about this excellent and endlessly fascinating architect.

A history of Americas and the worlds greatest architech ever lived. His success starting with one of his
biggest project out side America and to build a grand scale hotel in Tokyo Japan. This DVD covers all the
untold stories behind the big project and all the red tape trying to move forward with Mr. Wrights biggest
work ever to take place The Tokyo Imperial Hotel which explains all his staff on the project from 1914
till completed in early 1923. His devoted followers that went on to produce other Wright style buildings
and houses. Mr. Wrights legacy still lives on in Japan. Experience the magnificent art work that went
into the Imperial just after his fantastic work he did with Chicagos Midway Gardens. This DVD will also
explain Mr. Wrights love for Japan and many things we never knew about what took place in the mid 1910's
to the early twenties. Learn about his people who worked with Mr. Wright throughout this DVD. History of
a true architectural genius during hard times in Japan. A must for anyone who loves great buildings of the
early days when things were hard to get. What it ment to build a building & stood strong and proudly after
the great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. The radical design worked and Mr. Wright suddenly became a hero!

I knew that Wright was influenced by Japanese art and architecture. I had no idea how much he had influenced them. A very nice movie.

I'm sure I'm as much of a Wright aficianado as anyone else here else we wouldn't have purchased this DVD. Therefore I can *not* understand all of these 4 & 5 star ratings. Yes the in-depth stories were interesting enough , but the material gathered would've been far more appropriate for a paperback book with photos and *not* a full blown DVD at $26. This production apes the Ken Burns style of hostoric storytelling without the quality in writing or casting of voiceover and the production looks little more than a college-level video term paper at best. ( I mistakenly gave it 2 stars and when I tried to correct my rating to 1 star Amazon's Edit page didn;t offer that option )
My main point should be *obvious*. One of the core value-added feature of *any* DVD on archiotecture is full use of the *visual* medium itself and there is *nothing* in the way of *digital video* shot of the actual remaining structure of this most beautiful work of architecture , as it stands totally accessible *today*, which was mercifully saved from the deconstruction in 1968 and lovingly reassembled in a park in Nagoya, Japan.
Any authoritative production short of delivering a living walk-through tour hardly deserves production on aDVD and certainly *not* at the cost of $26. So , by all means, save your money and walk away from this piece of sub-standard production. Whom among any group of FLlWright lovers would argue that what made Ken Burns' *Frank Lloyd Wright* DVD such aquality DVD to own was in no small part due to the sumptuous video shoots actually *experiencing* the Wright structures themselves. Obviously there wasn't enouhg money in Ken Burns' budget covering *all* of Wright's work & life to send a crew to Nagoya , Japan. However you'd think a DVD devoted *exclusively* to the Imperial Hotel would've addresseded this gap or what's the point of a DVD.
Bottomline: Short of that *no* DVD on this subject is worth a damn *without* such a living tour using the medium to its fullest ( I guess that would mean HD on BlueRay at this late date) . I mean you can get a taste of this in the form of an amateur's video tour on YouTube for crying out loud.
So save your money for when someone actually does. Who among us Wright officianados wouldn't buy such a DVD even if it was a Japanese production *without subtitles* , but offered a translation as an accompanying booklet ( which the material of this DVD could serve as) . Knowing the reverence that Japanese culture has for living works of art right down to the subtlest detail *that* would be *the* loving view documentary that the Imperial Hotel deserves. Anything less is not worth preserving in the DVD medium. Case closed!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel in Tokyo (completed 1923) is world famous, but few are aware of just how much time he spent in Japan, how pivotal that hotel was in his career (indeed his relationship with Japan), the other buildings he designed for Japan, or the lasting influence he had on the many Japanese architects who studied under him and worked with him.

Unlike bleak buildings of concrete slabs (modern Japanese public schools leap to mind) and the monolithic towers of cities today, Wright's organic designs emphasize the unity between man and nature. His buildings are scaled to be comfortable places for people and are built of local materials, looking as if they grew out of their surroundings.

But this documentary isn't just about buildings. It is about the people who became Wright's students, colleagues, and friends, who carried the concepts of organic architecture forward in Japan.

Arata Endo was one of the Japanese architects who studied Wright's philosophy. This helped him to build his ideal view of organic architecture: "to find a point where humans and architecture meet, to make architecture the art based on everyday lives, and not to classify architecture into practicality, science or art."

The works of Wright in Japan, and the relationships he developed are meticulously laid out in this film with photographs, film clips, and perhaps most importantly interviews with architects, historians and others who were part of this chapter in history. Though it is a very detailed documentary with much information to impart to the viewer, it is logically organized and the art and music used throughout the film make it a joy to watch.

Magnificent Obsession is an important film as it fleshes out a little covered, yet crucially important dimension to the story of his work. It is a must see for anyone wanting a full understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright, organic architecture, and the legacy he left on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.