Customer Reviews

Surviving Picasso [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Germany ]

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Surviving Picasso" (1996) is directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, the same two who gave us "Howard's End". This story tells of Picasso's (Anthony Hopkins) relationship with his mistress Francoise Gilot (Natasha McElhone), who was the mother to two of Picasso's children. The movie also introduces us to a number of the other women who encircled Picasso's life during the time of their relationship, including Olga Picasso (Jane Lapotaire), Dora Maar (Julianne Moore), Marie-theses Walter(Susannah Harker), and Jacquueline Rogue (Diane Verona), and some of his artist friends, such as Henri Matisse. The movie is an intimate and believable account of Picasso's life right down to details of the artist's paintings and the moments where he is creating his works of art. The producers may have had a great deal of trouble getting any rights to show Picasso's paintings but it doesn't show except for the fact that his more famous works are not illustrated. Great care was taken to show believable works of art as well as the artist's studio and life.

This 2010 dvd disc is coded NTSC and so is playable on North American dvd players and looks very good. There are however no special features, not even a commentary for the film. The movie is loosely based on the biography "Picasso: Creator and Destroyer" by Arianna Huington.

This is a fabulous film...long had I awaited the DVD version of this film, and when it finally appeared, I jumped and bought the DVD.

Alas, I was SO disappointed because the color and sound quality of the DVD format is POOR! There is NO EXCUSE for crappy color and sound quality in this day and age!!!!

And there are NO SUBTITLES/CLOSE-CAPTIONS!!!!!! Again, in this day and age, not having subtitles, or close-captioning at the very least is RIDICULOUS!!!!!! It is insensitive to the deaf and hard of hearing community (many of the latter of which are us aging baby-boomers, so it is age-insensitive as well).

Fortunately, I still have the VHS and will keep that so I can view this wonderful movie on a BETTER QUALITY, though out-dated, format...at least until the tape pops...

Geeesh...save your money and stick with the VHS if it still available.

Why is this movie not available on NTSC and in Region 1? What are they thinking? It's a fine movie - a bit of a stretch to imagine Mr. Hopkins in the role - but he does a fantastic job! Hello! Lawyers/Distributers/Contract Holders! We want this film on DVD! We will pay for it! C'Mon!!!

Very engrossing, and eye-opening too. The title "Surviving" Picasso is befitting - the narration of this lady - probably who entered into the life of Picasso and came out sane (and still in love with him). Fabulous acting, brilliant screen-play, great photography, unique glimpses of (what I would call) madness of the genius.. And fast-paced too. On the whole, an excellent movie.
I wonder why it is not always available on DVD easily.

It is a mystery to me how a delicate, subtle, intelligent man - he who made The Remains of the Day (Special Edition), James Ivory himself, my hero, can also produce horrible insensitive movies like this one and Jefferson in Paris. I cannot even imagine what is going on in his head.
The story is poor and came out of a self-serving book. Ladies who go to bed with rich old guys should not complain that they are misunderstood: it is a business. Hopkins, the best actor of his generation, cannot pull out being Spanish, which is probably impossible for an English gentleman. All his reactions are wrong, and if you had had a chance to see Picasso in person or in a movie, you would cringe at every gesture Hopkins makes. Being Spanish is a whole culture, the gestures are part of it.
A portrait of Picasso as a brutal lover has no interest at all. And Picasso was not like that: he was selfish, but he was also very cunning, a man of very cold intelligence (where is that in the film?), maybe cruel but always calculating. I was stricken by a comment of the movie Jefferson in Paris, here on Amazon, which said that Jefferson appeared as a "racist pedophile." Here Picasso appears as a misogynist creep. Who needs movies like that? Not me, sorry.

The biopic is an unfortunate medium for relaying truth. One would hope for a disclaimer like `a true-ish story' or Hitchcock's maxim (`it's only a movie'). At least that way the inevitable claims of it being bogus (or at worst agitprop) could be side stepped in advance.

In Surviving Picasso, Merchant/Ivory have followed up the biopic conundrum of Jefferson in Paris, by making another biopic. This time they've chosen a more contemporary figure from whom to dish the goss- Picasso.

The story; rich, famous old guy (Picasso) hits on ingenue (Gilot). She is wrapt from the first and the affair gets off to a heady start. Ten years on and two children later, it's all soured. She (not surprisingly) has more future than him - he's more than forty years her senior - so she calls it. He cries (boo-hoo) and for the first time since Casagemas suicide, Picasso reveals his inner feelings through his work - the result being the Verve suite of 180 drawings. These simple drawings depict Picasso as an emotional/sexual pygmy (or some kind of ugly cupid) - a far cry from him being the sex monster (minotaur).

Even the film's title use of the word `surviving' misfires in the market. By rolling the nazi occupation up with the presence of Hannibal the cannibal, one might think something really bad is going to happen. (Yawn) - It doesn't.

The film states it's based on Stassinipoulous Huffington's Picasso; Creator and Destroyer. Already the pedigree of this inherently flawed tome would have been a ready-made millstone - adding to the producer's woes. Critically the book was seen as a cut and paste non- effort with dodgy content - a repainting of Picasso as the twentieth century's answer to Bluebeard.

Picasso himself (either rightly or wrongly) had argued against an earlier calumny - the 1964 kiss and tell bio Life with Picasso. He'd claimed the book's authors Gilot and Lake had put their own words into his mouth. Worse still, R.P. Jahbvala's script has gone one better by putting other person's words into his mouth - Brassai's for one. `Imagine a cold blooded creature like a fish being unable to survive the arctic climate of my apartment'. It seems R.P. Jahbvala couldn't resist a bit of cut and paste herself. The line is lifted directly from Brassai's writing (of himself) from Conversations with Picasso. Other travesties turned sacrilege include the words of Matisse, "next to Picasso they think I'm a schoolgirl" being borrowed to come out of Picasso's mouth. What wasn't plagiarised or re-arranged from these two books was conveniently created out of licence - more credibility issues ensue.

On the upside there are some casting delights in Surviving Picasso. Joss Ackland as Matisse, Juliane Moore as Dora Maar along with appearances by Joan Plowright and Bob Peck - all of them wonderful performers. On the downside, every other actor is either miscast (looks nothing like them) or inappropriate (acts nothing like them). Dennis Boutsikaris as Sam Kootz? - One thinks of the many ill-suited Hitlers auditioning in Mel Brook's master spoof, The Producers.

By far, the biggest casting error is its star Anthony Hopkins. He may have an ego and a baldhead like Picasso but that's where the similarity stops. While succeeding at making the scripts unwieldy dialogue sound natural, Sir Anthony gives the laziest performance of his career. He might've hoped that puffy-chest arrogance along with the mirada fuerte (intense stare) could carry off the whole Spanish genius disguise - but it's a hollow effort. Again no prior knowledge of the subject would be a boon (for the viewer).

While the knock-off Picasso paintings are an upset for the eyes, it's the locations and the production design that become the real pleasure in watching Surviving Picasso. Les Grand Augustines, Brasserie Lipp, Les Deux Magots, Chapelle du Rosaire - all the actual locations are used (no expense spared) and all are perfectly period in the setting of the war years.

The Merchant/Ivory modus operandi (ie. palpable drama that refuses to beg disbelief) becomes dismantled by this self-defeating choice of subject. Picasso is just too darn well documented already (in literature, film and photography) for this re-enactment to be taken seriously. For a balanced view of events, you can't go past reading - (scholarly efforts like J. Richardson or at least the musings of H. Parmelin).

The by line for Surviving Picasso, is that Gilot was the only woman strong enough to leave him. Utter nonsense. G. Laporte (also a Picasso author and ex-lover) as well as Marie Therese knew very well when to tell Picasso, `enough was enough'. Others, like Sylvette David (with whom there was a fifty year age gap) wouldn't let him get past first base. In Laporte's case she found Picasso to be something of a softie. Even Gilot herself (in interview) is quick to point out that contrary to legend, Picasso was not formidable.

So from where does this wretched inference (of a virgin consuming minotaur) derive? Picasso himself (through many of his works) was the progenitor of this fantasy/fallacy. It fed into his Spanish-macho ego and it made him feel six inches taller. He was well aware that `sex sells' and for a while he was keen to live his life in a goldfish bowl reality (for all the world to see - however contrived). It's interesting to note that the inamoratas weren't too badly rewarded themselves (fiscally by Picasso). Picasso could be extremely generous and combinations of money, real estate and works of art would be gifted to the loved ones. The ex's were also inadvertently gifted with the chance to write best selling and unauthorised novels (about their former `love'). At least three of them did.

While Picasso was clearly no saint, it is unfair that in Surviving Picasso, many of his virtues are not thought of as `bums on seats' capital. Is it really that shocking that Picasso (a purveyor of peace loving doves) had behaved badly? As frail human psyches go, most superstars are not kittens. In Surviving Picasso, Merchant Ivory's tall poppy cutting pronouncements mangle fact and fiction into just another frothy denouement.

I absolutely love biographies. I found very few discrepancies in this movie, which amazes me. Very good visual giving life to the story. Also very good to hear the French pronounciations to the names & places found in the books. The major shortcoming in the movie is the portrayal of Picasso is not quite sinister enough in his relationships with others.

This Merchant/Ivory film is stunning in every respect. Anthony Hopkins IS Picasso! Each actors performance is brilliant. The lush photography is a watercolor for the soul. I wish there had been more scenes of Dora Marr (Ms. Moore) but it was, after all, the mother of two of his children's story. Hopkins is so letter-perfect he takes your breath away. Loud, brash, vain, arrogant, silly, clowning, crying, painting, loving, he is totally Picasso. When film historians look back at Sir Anthony's career (50 years from now) they will agree that this film was his best. I cannot recommend this highly enough to everyone whether you liked Picasso or not. Fantastic!