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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Fashionistas finally get a glimpse of the mastermind behind the lion's share of the American fashion industry, Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue, in the dishy documentary The September Issue. The title refers to the fattest monthly edition of the fashion bible, and the sheer creative and financial efforts it takes to stage and publish it--not unlike a full feature film pressed inside glossy printed pages.Wintour, often thought to be the inspiration for the Meryl Streep character in The Devil Wears Prada, is revealed by director R.J. Cutler (producer of The War Room) to be both more open and human than her carefully cultivated persona, but still guarded and tough to read. There's less focus on any possible megalomania on the part of Wintour--perhaps that's implied--and more on just what an endeavor it is to produce that issue of Vogue, its impact on the fashion world, and what kind of critter could work on such a narrow playing field, yet have her impact realized on such a vast scale.
The September Issue shows the battle of wills that goes on behind the scenes of every aspect of fashion publishing--and sometimes it's not pretty. The ruthless Wintour, at Vogue for two decades, has an equally strong-minded inner circle, including most notably Vogue's creative director, Grace Coddington, a former model (like Wintour herself) who clashes often, and colorfully, with her frenemy and longtime colleague Wintour. The political maneuvering can seem exhausting to the viewer, but the dishy reality is just too delicious. "Fashion is not about looking back," says Wintour. "It's about looking forward." And as with the best documentaries about fashion, including Unzipped and Lagerfeld Confidential, The September Issue leaves the viewer with a renewed appreciation for the beauty, creativity and energy behind fashion--even if one is watching, happily, in jeans and a T-shirt. --A.T. Hurley
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Product Description
An intimate, funny and surprising behind-the-scenes look at VOGUE’S legendary editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and her team of larger-than- life editors, this is the captivating story of how they create the must-have bible of fashion: THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE. At the eye of this annual fashion hurricane is the two-decade relationship between Anna and Grace Coddington, incomparable creative director and fashion genius. Through them, we see close-up the delicate creative chemistry it takes to remain at the top of the fashion field. Now, with the biggest issue ever hanging in the balance, Anna and Grace confront the runways of Fashion Week, the back rooms of the world’s biggest designers, the high-stakes photo shoots – and each other – as the VOGUE team scrambles to find the perfect look for each page. Director R.J. Cutler delivers this riveting look into the world of fashion that is as fun, fabulous and fast-paced as the world it captures.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By Art
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Great and fun documentary! What a treat to see inside this magazine. I went to learn more about Anna Wintour and I came out of this movie feeling like I developed a nice understanding of her - as much as one can from a film. She has a tough job. She is in a brutal industry (two actually: Fashion and Publishing) and she clearly cares about fashion and Vogue. Frankly. I see men who act FAR tougher than she, and no one gives them frosty nicknames. So what if she does not smile all the time? Half that industry has so much Botox, there is not too much smiling going on anyway.
Grace is the one who you come out of the movie wanting to have dinner with. She is talented, brilliant, warm, tough, and her photo shoots are amazing! There were moments where she just radiates warmth and insight so effortlessly, even when she is just taking in a gorgeous view of Paris. You can see how such an interesting person can produce such great art. The cost of the movie ticket was worth it just to see some of her photos that did not make it into the magazine. I hope they make a movie of her life, with plenty of her in it!
The bottom line: Anna sees fashion as an industry. Grace sees fashion as an art. Both are correct. There are only brief scenes with people from the fashion industry, and only slight glimpses of fashion shows... but that is fine. This is a film about Vogue, not designers.
ANY artist in any field can appreciate this film. It is about passionate artists who are doing great things.
Grace is the one who you come out of the movie wanting to have dinner with. She is talented, brilliant, warm, tough, and her photo shoots are amazing! There were moments where she just radiates warmth and insight so effortlessly, even when she is just taking in a gorgeous view of Paris. You can see how such an interesting person can produce such great art. The cost of the movie ticket was worth it just to see some of her photos that did not make it into the magazine. I hope they make a movie of her life, with plenty of her in it!
The bottom line: Anna sees fashion as an industry. Grace sees fashion as an art. Both are correct. There are only brief scenes with people from the fashion industry, and only slight glimpses of fashion shows... but that is fine. This is a film about Vogue, not designers.
ANY artist in any field can appreciate this film. It is about passionate artists who are doing great things.
70 of 74 people found the following review helpful
By miles
Format:DVD
...something very important, and that is THE THIRD DISC.
I am not going to review the movie, but the DVD itself. The extra material is superb. It is fantastic actually, and these are for the true admirers of fashion and VOGUE. Could there be even more? Yeah, sure... They could have included the basic bios of the subjects, more pictures, VOGUE through ages, pivotal photos from the magazine archives, even more footage with the fashion designers and models etc. Still, over 90 minutes of extra material is just great.
But you know what is even greater than this version?
The THREE DISC VERSION that Barnes&Noble has to offer.
This elusive third disc in question includes a 25 minutes of footage from the preparation of the legendary Costume Institute Gala. It is just amazing. You get a lot of Anna here, and no Grace actually. However, you get to witness the MET event preparation including the decor, some peacocks, even Naomi Campbell, Cate Blanchett and Michael Bloomberg, and more of Anna being fashion's true 'Eminence Grise'. Her influence is immense, but this third disc truly proves how prominent she is, outside the high walls of VOGUE or the intimidating fashion shows. amazon.com version of the DVD doesn't include this third disc. I suppose the moviemakers and studio cut a deal with B&N, for an even more special and exclusive release just for them.
I have learned about this edition and got excited. And I went to B&N today, and picked up my copy. It is more expensive than the 2 disc amazon edition -understandably- but so worth it.
Disc I:
Movie
Some extra materials
Production photos
Disc II:
Extra materials (with Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Andre Leon Talley, Thakoon etc.)
Disc III:
Footage from Costume Institute Gala preparation/red carpet
I am not going to review the movie, but the DVD itself. The extra material is superb. It is fantastic actually, and these are for the true admirers of fashion and VOGUE. Could there be even more? Yeah, sure... They could have included the basic bios of the subjects, more pictures, VOGUE through ages, pivotal photos from the magazine archives, even more footage with the fashion designers and models etc. Still, over 90 minutes of extra material is just great.
But you know what is even greater than this version?
The THREE DISC VERSION that Barnes&Noble has to offer.
This elusive third disc in question includes a 25 minutes of footage from the preparation of the legendary Costume Institute Gala. It is just amazing. You get a lot of Anna here, and no Grace actually. However, you get to witness the MET event preparation including the decor, some peacocks, even Naomi Campbell, Cate Blanchett and Michael Bloomberg, and more of Anna being fashion's true 'Eminence Grise'. Her influence is immense, but this third disc truly proves how prominent she is, outside the high walls of VOGUE or the intimidating fashion shows. amazon.com version of the DVD doesn't include this third disc. I suppose the moviemakers and studio cut a deal with B&N, for an even more special and exclusive release just for them.
I have learned about this edition and got excited. And I went to B&N today, and picked up my copy. It is more expensive than the 2 disc amazon edition -understandably- but so worth it.
Disc I:
Movie
Some extra materials
Production photos
Disc II:
Extra materials (with Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Andre Leon Talley, Thakoon etc.)
Disc III:
Footage from Costume Institute Gala preparation/red carpet
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The success of television shows devoted to fashion and of websites that follow the runways is ample proof that when it comes to our appetite for fashion, more is more. The handicap that this documentary faces is that we think we know more than we do. Take Anna Wintour, who was so memorably caricatured by Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada." Anyone would probably pale in comparison to a fictionalized representation of herself by Meryl Streep, so if Wintour emerges from this film as less interesting than you had assumed, it's not her fault.
It may be the fault of the director, however. Surely the world that Ms. Wintour orchestrates is a complicated place, and everyone on screen agrees that Wintour's influence is far-reaching. But no one, least of all the director, seems to be able to say precisely why. Instead, R.J. Cutler's direction gives us redundant shots of Wintour at runway shows or studios (always with dark glasses, which begs the question of whether she can actually see what she is supposed to evaluate) or of her capriciously nixing shots that her staff has spent many hours - and even more dollars - to create. There are a few scenes where we think we will get a glimpse of her fabled powerbrokering (a meeting with the head of Neiman Marcus, for instance), but even then we see few specifics. At times Wintour speaks directly to the camera, revealing, among other things, her siblings' dismissal of what she does professionally, but these moments don't cast her in a particularly sympathetic light. Even her daughter says on screen that she cannot take the industry seriously, and nothing about what Wintour says or is shown to do makes a compelling case for why her daughter - or we - should think otherwise. The film takes as a given the premise that fashion is important and that Wintour is its most important person. Lovers of fashion will go along with the premise, but even they might be troubled that time and again people in the film - Wintour included - betray a fear that fashion is viewed only as a guilty pleasure for stupid people. Wintour's decision to begin putting celebrities on the cover of Vogue is mentioned as a concrete example of her genius (she understood early where our fixation with celebrity in this country was headed), but even that "achievement" is undercut in the film by the sad photoshoot of Sienna Miller.
Ironically, the real heroine of this documentary's story is someone who at first glance does not embody high fashion: Grace Coddington. Ms. Coddington is Vogue's creative director, and her wrinkled face, frizzy hair, and plain black clothing belie her importance in a world that is celebrated for being skin-deep. Through the story Cutler shows us, however, Coddington is revealed as the long-standing source of the magazine's best material. She works tirelessly at the photo shoots she oversees, explaining to those around her the choices behind the textures of the fabrics or the concept of the lighting. Her visions are cohesive and gorgeous, but most importantly, they are intelligently articulated. Under Cutler's direction, the camera lingers over Coddington's tired face and the beautiful images of fashion that she creates, letting us see a highly creative mind at work. That she puts such thought into photographs that are so often blithely thrown out by Wintour (without good explanation as to why, at least on screen) makes her all the more sympathetic. Cutler, perhaps unknowingly, sets her up as everything that Wintour is not, and the comparison is not kind to Wintour. Where Coddington explains her vision and justifies her artistic choices, Wintour simply pronounces her final judgements. Coddington is kind to the models, bringing them treats and asking whether their outfits are too tight, while Wintour jokes about people's weight and demands that fat be photoshopped (even on non-models). Coddington seems to care deeply about the clothing and its details, especially at the couture shoots in France, whereas Wintour often just looks bored. Cutler peels away at the many levels of Coddington, letting the viewer know only gradually that she herself was once a model on the pages of Vogue, and that she suffered a disfiguring accident that required facial plastic surgery. Her story is far more interesting than Wintour's, but that's probably because it is told better.
Ultimately it is Grace Coddington who emerges in this film as the "author" of Vogue, the creator of the very things that readers love most. The "inside" look at Anna Wintour and her control of the magazine sticks to the surface of its supposed primary subjects, and while a focus on the surface of things may be fine for the business of fashion, it won't do for documentary filmmaking. Where the film does triumph, however, is its showcasing of Coddington, who quietly, stubbornly, and convincingly makes the case for fashion as art.
It may be the fault of the director, however. Surely the world that Ms. Wintour orchestrates is a complicated place, and everyone on screen agrees that Wintour's influence is far-reaching. But no one, least of all the director, seems to be able to say precisely why. Instead, R.J. Cutler's direction gives us redundant shots of Wintour at runway shows or studios (always with dark glasses, which begs the question of whether she can actually see what she is supposed to evaluate) or of her capriciously nixing shots that her staff has spent many hours - and even more dollars - to create. There are a few scenes where we think we will get a glimpse of her fabled powerbrokering (a meeting with the head of Neiman Marcus, for instance), but even then we see few specifics. At times Wintour speaks directly to the camera, revealing, among other things, her siblings' dismissal of what she does professionally, but these moments don't cast her in a particularly sympathetic light. Even her daughter says on screen that she cannot take the industry seriously, and nothing about what Wintour says or is shown to do makes a compelling case for why her daughter - or we - should think otherwise. The film takes as a given the premise that fashion is important and that Wintour is its most important person. Lovers of fashion will go along with the premise, but even they might be troubled that time and again people in the film - Wintour included - betray a fear that fashion is viewed only as a guilty pleasure for stupid people. Wintour's decision to begin putting celebrities on the cover of Vogue is mentioned as a concrete example of her genius (she understood early where our fixation with celebrity in this country was headed), but even that "achievement" is undercut in the film by the sad photoshoot of Sienna Miller.
Ironically, the real heroine of this documentary's story is someone who at first glance does not embody high fashion: Grace Coddington. Ms. Coddington is Vogue's creative director, and her wrinkled face, frizzy hair, and plain black clothing belie her importance in a world that is celebrated for being skin-deep. Through the story Cutler shows us, however, Coddington is revealed as the long-standing source of the magazine's best material. She works tirelessly at the photo shoots she oversees, explaining to those around her the choices behind the textures of the fabrics or the concept of the lighting. Her visions are cohesive and gorgeous, but most importantly, they are intelligently articulated. Under Cutler's direction, the camera lingers over Coddington's tired face and the beautiful images of fashion that she creates, letting us see a highly creative mind at work. That she puts such thought into photographs that are so often blithely thrown out by Wintour (without good explanation as to why, at least on screen) makes her all the more sympathetic. Cutler, perhaps unknowingly, sets her up as everything that Wintour is not, and the comparison is not kind to Wintour. Where Coddington explains her vision and justifies her artistic choices, Wintour simply pronounces her final judgements. Coddington is kind to the models, bringing them treats and asking whether their outfits are too tight, while Wintour jokes about people's weight and demands that fat be photoshopped (even on non-models). Coddington seems to care deeply about the clothing and its details, especially at the couture shoots in France, whereas Wintour often just looks bored. Cutler peels away at the many levels of Coddington, letting the viewer know only gradually that she herself was once a model on the pages of Vogue, and that she suffered a disfiguring accident that required facial plastic surgery. Her story is far more interesting than Wintour's, but that's probably because it is told better.
Ultimately it is Grace Coddington who emerges in this film as the "author" of Vogue, the creator of the very things that readers love most. The "inside" look at Anna Wintour and her control of the magazine sticks to the surface of its supposed primary subjects, and while a focus on the surface of things may be fine for the business of fashion, it won't do for documentary filmmaking. Where the film does triumph, however, is its showcasing of Coddington, who quietly, stubbornly, and convincingly makes the case for fashion as art.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a hoot!
This is a great documentary if you are into the craziness of fashion and some of the characters that populate the world. Read more
Published 4 days ago by A. E. Hyde
5.0 out of 5 stars
hate fashion, but love this movie!
a great movie, that is just funny, and even if you are not a fashionista, you will still get a great kick out of watching this film that was done very tastefully!
Published 12 days ago by Albert schweitzer
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is how the fashion world works
great look into how the fashion world really works. The reality view of how the "The Devil Wears Prada" got it's look and story from.
Published 23 days ago by Carol Franklin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed the Movie!
A great, insightful, documentary. This documentary gives a lot of insight to how Vogue creates a great September issue each year.
Published 24 days ago by D. Lloyd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fashionistainlove
Well... ILOVETHIS. I understand that there is another version of this deal available with Barnes and Noble that contains the 3th disk, however the product I just purchase give me... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Daniella Matarrita
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grace Coddington a Gem
I've only recently become aware that these people exist and I was riveted. Grace Coddington now ranks among my heroes, and as a fashion industry outsider looking in it was so... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Danielle Carlson
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Film 5 Stars; Video Player 3 Stars
I am not sure whether it's my laptop having issues or Amazon Instant Video, but it has been a headache trying to watch videos lately. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Angel Ybarra
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ordering a second movie!
Gave my first one away and loved love love this movie so much I wanted on my own. Such an inspirational movie.
Published 4 months ago by Francine Alfano
4.0 out of 5 stars
Behind the Scenes at Vogue
In Grace Coddington's autobiography Grace: A Memoir, Grace indicates that Anna Wintour was not wholly amused by the movie The Devil Wears Prada (Full Screen Edition) and how it... Read more
Published 4 months ago by L. M. Keefer
4.0 out of 5 stars
More interesting than expected, with one large caveat
This is another movie I watched out of curiosity, not expecting to like it too much based on other reviews. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Meep
