Customer Reviews

Stolen

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In fact I would reccomend seeing this and then going to the Isabela Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston. This is a really compelling documentary about the infamous are heist at the Gardner Museum in 1990. It is frustrating and sad to have these works missing and perhaps poorly maintained. The characters involved in the story range from a devoted stolen art private investigator who has had skin cancer for 50 years to FBI agents and con artists who are all involved in the game of getting them back. This is a must see to anyone who loves art.

STOLEN is an absorbing and truly informational look at the seedy side of the antique and art dealer world as seen through the still-unsolved St.Patrick's Day heist that occurred at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.The documentary involves the present day characters who could have been involved and those who have been trying to crack the case since 1990.The narration of Blythe Danner and Campbell Scott re-enact the relationship of Mrs.Gardner and her art purchaser Bernard Berenson from the late 1800's in order to show the obsession that Gardner had in procuring these rare art treasures and the lengths that people even then would go to to get famous paintings.This theme of underworld is woven skillfully by film maker Rebecca Dreyfus as she shows how complex cell groups continue to operate in art thievery and their motivations, quite contrary to "the love of art"! .Also, the documentary is a fascinating look at the paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and others that were stolen and why specifically these works.A great discussion and informational documentary that is very compelling and full of true life mystery and possible political intrigue that seems to only appear in Hollywood, but in fact exists in truth!

The Gardner Museum is an enormous collection of valuable art collected by a woman who was obsessed with acquiring the best for her extraordinary home. The unsolved theft of millions of dollars of art one night remains one of Boston's most discussed crimes. There are mountains of speculation. The film brilliantly weaves an important art appreciation component into the story line.
If you appreciate art, love an unsolved mystery, and want to see the strange characters involved in the hidden world of art theft - this is for you.

Although the Gardner art theft is a fascinating topic, this documentary is imminently boring. This film has an odd, depressing pace with an equally depressing soundtrack. Much footage is shot with a shaky, handheld, video camera and the film is poorly edited. It smacks of an amateurish documentary - a film student's first attempt at his craft - with every cheap film transition and filter in the editing software trotted out to try to add interest via special effects because the film itself is so utterly lacking.

The presentation is somewhat disjointed. It doesn't give the viewer a particularly good account of this famous theft, but sort of jumps between interviews with some of the peripheral players in the story. Along with the discomfort imparted by the the shaky camera, bad composition and poor editing, it is often hard to watch in part due to an exceedingly strange looking cast of characters.

If you wish to learn about this famous and still unsolved art theft, you would do better to pass on this movie and to read instead The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft.

I LOVED this movie. I am so glad I purchased it. As an artist, I am continually appalled at the way greed and retrobution drives people and the ripple effect it has on the whole of humanity. This gets to the heart of this movie and this true-life drama. There's nothing charitable to say about the people who stole this art, whether alive or dead, but I hope the decendants of these people have the decency to return to Isabella's museum what is rightfully hers and stop being so, bloody-well IRISH! (I can say that because I am Irish and it makes my blood boil to learn that it is Irishmen suspected of stealing these treasures. You are better than that!)

This is a must see. A great documentary. Tells of the woman who built the museum and the inspiration for it. I loved that part. Actually, the first black and white picture that they should of her bust she reminded me of the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. I think it was the outfit. Harold Smith had a story to tell in his lifetime, poor guy. I thought it was a surprise ending to see who they think could have helped to get the pictures back. A must see for everyone. An important part of history. Ciao

I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this movie. Although the acting was good the story was common. In other words...I'VE SEEN MOVIES LIKE THIS BEFORE. Still, I would recommend it for those who don't mind repeats.

"Stolen" is a compelling documentary about the still unsolved mystery of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft. The ISG is a true gem in Boston--and it's elegaic with its empty frames of Vermeers, Rembrandts, etc. There are connections with the IRA, political intrigue involving the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, and the tragic figure of James Harold Smith, the sleuth who suffered from skin cancer for 50 years. Campbell Scott voices Bernard Berenson, Isabella's art dealer. The mannered, Victorian-era correspondences provide a counterpoint to the intrigue and mystery.

"Stolen" is heartbreaking and intriguing about a mystery that still remains unsolved.

wondering where "the Concert" might be hidden, who is responsible, and you'll shake your head at the sheer audacity of this theft. It was something that sounded like fiction when it happened and watching this will even make you worry that the piece and the others are at the very least stored and archived safely.

I for one would like to live to see the day that "the Concert" is put back in its frame and to know where it's been all these years. The film will have that effect on you; even if you know nothing about the Gardner Museum heist, you'll come to the end of it caring about these works!

Good look at trying to find stolen art. The art investigator himself is really the best part of the story. Would only recommend if you have serious interest in stolen art & their museums.