Product Details

• Actors: Annie Leibovitz
• Directors: Rebecca Frayn
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 7, 2001
• Run Time: 51 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005M1ZW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #97,710 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Produced in 1993, this documentary depicts the development of Annie Leibovitz's career as a celebrity photographer, which she began after studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. Giving up a position as staff photographer at Rolling Stone magazine, she went on tour with Mick Jagger, and the photographs of this period reveal the anguish and torment of being a famous musician. This documentary also emphasizes the artistic and metaphorical nature of her portraits: a naked John Lennon embraces Yoko Ono dressed in black just hours before he was murdered; Clint Eastwood stands, but is bound up by a rope; Whoopee Goldberg is captured in a bathtub with legs, arms, and laughing face protruding out of soapy water. At times the photographer's inspiration comes from the person she is portraying, such as when Keith Haring paints a room and then paints his nude body to match the room. We see footage of how she pursues a shot for the cover of Vanity Fair, setting up her equipment in various locations to take provocative photographs of Demi Moore. A naked Demi Moore is painted with a blue suit, while Leibovitz anxiously waits to take the photographs. Produced for London Weekend Television, this 51-minute-long program contains nudity and explicit language, and also talks about the photographer's drug addiction. Nevertheless, through this gifted photographer's vision we get a sweeping view of the 1970s and '80s in the celebrity worlds of music, acting, and politics. --Anne Barclay Morgan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars FOR SUCH A GREAT PHOTOGRAPHER, A BETTER VIDEO WOULD HELP..., December 14, 2003

By	photo teacher (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

I have always been a fan of Annie Leibovitz's work. She is such a talented photographer who shapes her portraits in a unique way. As a high school photography teacher, I was very excited to show my students this video, so that they could be inspired to take an untraditional route with their own portraits. This video however, was less than inspiring. Yes, it was very informative and seemed to chronicle the major events in her life, but the video was so dry that my students weren't the only ones bored to tears. While they did show several of her photographs, the majority of the video showed clips of interviews from random people talking about how great Annie is as a person. I guess I felt that I wanted to hear more about the photographs. And while the video did spend a good amount of time recounting her "controversial" photos of Demi Moore pregnant, there wasn't any real discussion as to why her photos were so innovative. Why was a photograph of Keith Harring, nude and covered in paint, significant? How did that emphasize his character? I wanted my students to see that many of these poses were not random decisions but rather based on some quality about the subject that she wanted to exaggerate or play upon. I wanted my students to see how she came up with her ideas. Instead they listed to Annie Leibovitz recount the glory days of using drugs while touring with the Rolling Stones.
My last complaint would have to be the film quality. For a video made in 1993, I felt like I was watching a bad made-for-tv special that had more of a 1982 vibe. It just seemed very dated.
If you are looking for a video that simply recounts the photographers life then perhaps this may be a good video. It did have a lot of information in that regard. But if you want a video that really highlights her work and goes more in depth about those photographs then perhaps you'll have better luck elsewhere. Hope this helps.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good documentary of a very talented photographer, August 25, 2001

By	Steve F "Steve F" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This DVD presents a look at Annie Leibovitz's career, dividing time between her stint at Rolling Stone and later at Vanity Fair. We also get to see glimpses of her early family life, meet her parents and few relatives, and see early influences. An aspiring artist, Annie Leibovitz quickly becomes taken with the immediacy of results in the field of photography. This leads her to apply for a job at the still vibrant Rolling Stone magazine, and being quickly hired.

Various contemporaries such as Jan Wenner, Hunter Thompson and Mick Jagger provide commentary about Annie's time at RS. Jan Wenner speaks of a sometimes tempestous relationship, exacerbated when Leibovitz takes off with the Rolling Stones as the official tour photographer. We get to see a lot of the early work, and what a treat the photos are. If you were a reader of RS at the time you'll remember (however hazily) a lot of these. For myself, growing up in a small town, these defined the 'look' of rock & roll.

Ms. Leibovitz's work at Vanity Fair makes up the latter half of the DVD. Introduced by a somewhat condescending Vanity Fair editor as a chance to do more than photograph 'burnt out rock stars' the Vanity Fair years don't get off to promising start. However the story quickly recovers once the focus is back on the photographs. The Demi Moore photo, naked and pregnant, is given a little more attention than necessary, but that's to be expected given the enormous publicity it generated at the time. Leibovitz's work at Vanity Fair is first rate, but can't really compete with the excitement contained in the photo's from the RS years. To her credit Leibovitz is modest about her job at Vanity Fair, expressing her pleasure for being able work with leading contemporary figures. We get to see the work behind the art during this part of the DVD.

During a glimpse at her childhood Annie comments on the influence of a snapshot, taken by a stranger, of some of Annie's family members. We see a photograph of the family lined up side by side, by height. Annie comments on the perfect framing, the fact none of the image is cut off. You get a full picture, vertically and horizontally, you get to see all of the people in a simple pose. That pretty much sums up, both stylistcally and metaphorically, the attraction of Annie Leibovitz's work. You see the person in the photograph.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars letdown, April 7, 2006

By	FredMech (Smithfield,Va.) - See all my reviews

I was very disappointed with this dvd. The last reviewer was spot on in their review. If you just want to see and hear some of these celebs talking, then get this dvd, but if you want more insight as to the photos, how they're taken, etc. then don't waste your money on this.