Product Details

• Actors: Richard Cork, Douglas Druick, Samuel West
• Directors: Judith Winnan, Lucie Donahue, Michael Burke, Mick Gold
• Writers: Russell Davies
• Producers: Judith Winnan, Lucie Donahue, Michael Burke, Mick Gold, Clare Lynch
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 7
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Worldwide
• DVD Release Date: April 8, 2008
• Run Time: 1078 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0011V7PSW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,621 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Private Life of a Masterpiece: The Complete Seasons 1-5" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

PRIVATE LIFE OF A MASTERPIECE:COLLECT - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Fascinating, March 17, 2008

By 

JEP (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Private Life of a Masterpiece: The Complete Seasons 1-5 (DVD)

I have seen but a few episodes of this series on the Ovation network. Those few hours were absolutely fascinating. As someone who knows the merest sliver about art, this series taught me so much. What each episode does is focus on one important work of art, like Michaelangelo's "David," and discusses the artist and the art. It shows the development of the piece, the history of the artist, the history of the piece, why it's important, and, most importantly, what you might want to look for if you could see the actual piece.

This is the exciting type of information you would want to know if you went strolling through a museum. Instead of zipping past a piece of art, you'd know to stop and what to look for. Now this may sound dull and dry, but this series (again, at least the few episodes I saw...and rewatched) is amazingly addictive because of its casual narrative, brimming with tons of fascinating information.

I've ordered this set and can't wait to soak it all up. Highly recommended. You'll learn so much.

74 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best series yet!, November 11, 2008

By 

Artemisia (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Private Life of a Masterpiece: The Complete Seasons 1-5 (DVD)

As professor of Art History I have previewed dozens of art documentaries. This series stands above the others due to its format (40 min. in depth on one work), good overview of other works by the artists, great historical background to put the work in context, and demonstrations of the working process of the artist. I only wish there were more!

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Facinating and Fun!, June 5, 2008

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A. Holland - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Private Life of a Masterpiece: The Complete Seasons 1-5 (DVD)

This is a BBC series that devotes each hour episode to a single work of art - but in a fun, engaging, and interesting way. I read a glowing review of it in Entertainment Weekly and was not disappointed in the least. This is an absolutely *must have* for anyone who has an artistic interest and wants to better understand why some works of art are considered masterpieces, what their historical context is, the life of the person who created them, and what has happened to them - physically, culturally - from their creation to now.