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The Mystery of Picasso
 
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The Mystery of Picasso (1956)

Starring: Pablo Picasso, Claude Renoir Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Format: DVD
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

List Price: $29.99
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Frequently Bought Together

The Mystery of Picasso + Picasso: Magic, Sex, Death + Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh
Total List Price: $76.92
Price For All Three: $64.47

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  • This item: The Mystery of Picasso DVD ~ Pablo Picasso

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  • Picasso: Magic, Sex, Death DVD ~ Waldemar Januszczak

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Product Details

  • Actors: Pablo Picasso, Claude Renoir
  • Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Studio: Image Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: January 4, 2003
  • Run Time: 75 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00007ELEI
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,468 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #75 in  Movies & TV > Classics > International > France

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Just as visual artists understand the relationship between positive and negative space in their work, France's master filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot (Diabolique) understood--and set about demonstrating via The Mystery of Picasso--the relationship between creation and destruction in the artistic process. In 1955, Clouzot teamed with his friend Pablo Picasso to capture as many aspects of the brilliant painter's working methods as possible. Clouzot innovatively placed the camera in front of Picasso while the latter worked, thus capturing astonishing reverse images of brush strokes and "bleeding" inks in volatile motion. The result is that Clouzot's film--the screen, the frame--become Picasso's canvas, and we find ourselves inside his prodigious genius as works of beauty spontaneously burst forth and are instantly crushed beneath the weight of new images, new ideas. A viewer would be forgiven if, more than once, he felt like screaming at such nonchalant carnage. --Tom Keogh

Product Description
Like a matador confronting a bull, the artist approaches his easel. As he wields his brush, the painting dances into being before our eyes. Pablo Picasso, the most influential artist of the 20th century, is making art, and famous French director Henri-Georges Clouzot (Diabolique, The Wages of Fear) is making a movie. This entirely new kind of art documentary captures the moment and the mystery of creativity; for the film, the master created 20 artworks, ranging from playful black-and-white sketches to widescreen color paintings. Using inks that bled through the paper, Picasso rapidly created fanciful drawings that Clouzot was able to film from the reverse side, capturing their creation in real time. When the artist decided to paint in oils, the filmmaker switched to color film and employed the magic of stop-motion animation. By contract, almost all of these paintings were destroyed when the film was completed. Unavailable for more than a decade, "The Mystery of Picasso" is exhilarating, mesmerizing, and unforgettable; it is simply one of the greatest documentaries on art ever made. The French government agrees; in 1984 it declared the film a national treasure.

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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Eye Molds the Canvas, January 15, 2003
A Fabulous film showing how an artist- in this case Picasso- takes a blank sheet of paper or canvas and transforms it into a work of art. Thru a special process that lets the inks bleed thru to the wrong side of the canvas where a camera captures the developement of a drawing from the first placement of a brush stroke to the final completed drawing/painting. Sometimes it is truly amazing to see what comes forth from the humble beginnings. We also are able to follow the developement of paintings as well with the aide of stop motion photography. I wish I were an art teacher so I could share this with my students! An enjoyable film for anyone with an interest in art!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars MASTERFUL!, September 11, 2003
By Luis M. Benito (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This film is a real treat, as gives us an insight into the work of Picasso by literally allowing us to see the master at work and how his simple brush strokes incredibly evolve into masterpieces, in some instances even metamorphosing before our eyes from a figurative piece in to a cubist expression of the same. This is a film that I was pleasantly surprised to see my 5-year-old son sit through shearing my amazement as Picasso worked for the camera. It's a definite "must have" for those that like Picasso and who, after viewing this movie, will appreciate his work even more!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable, December 27, 2002
By Jose M Estrada (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
I once saw this film on television, late at night. This was at least ten years ago, and despite having seen it only once, many of the images are still fresh in my mind. Along with Alex Cox's "Vincent", an extraordinary documentary about the life of Vincent Van Gogh, this is probably the best portrait of the work and life of an artist. Worth every penny.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Picasso fan must
Ok so this DVD is a little strange. It's pretty much live action drawing by Picasso, if you're a big Picasso fan like me and intrigued by him, you've got to see this. Read more
Published 6 months ago by John Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars great documentary about a great artist
I saw The Mystery of Picasso when I was a teenager. I was fascinated by it. Having watched it recently, I realize why. The film shows that Pablo Picasso was a master painter. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Patrick Regan

5.0 out of 5 stars An one-of-a-kind look around the creative universe of Picasso!
"The mystery of Picasso" is one of these absorbing films that immediately engage you from the first shot. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Hiram Gomez Pardo

4.0 out of 5 stars The Mystery of Picasso
This is a great movie for anyone who has ever wondered how a real work of art is created. Watch as Pablo Picasso creates works in color, black and white, paint, and ink... Read more
Published 22 months ago by N. Thomas

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! and WOW again!
This DVD is startling. It shows Picasso painting (by placing the camera behind the canvas). It shows him work through a painting, or dash through a painting, all with great glee... Read more
Published on June 10, 2007 by Mary S. Dillingofski

5.0 out of 5 stars I've finally seen A Picasso being created.
This is a remarkable, swift, simple, beautiful, profound, fun and candid vision of the blank canvas turning into A Picasso. Read more
Published on May 26, 2007 by Aco

5.0 out of 5 stars A film as a priceless treasure:
A-one-of-a-kind look at the artistic process, the unique art documentary captures the creativity itself. Read more
Published on April 15, 2007 by Galina

3.0 out of 5 stars For artists or Picasso fans only
Historically worth watching to see a shirtless, smoking Picasso creating several spontaneous drawings and paintings on the fly. Read more
Published on January 26, 2007 by bowery boy

5.0 out of 5 stars Picasso exposed
An overview of the works and life of Picasso, as innovative as the man himself. Interesting techniques revealing the master's own techniques.
Published on January 4, 2007 by M. J. Macneish

3.0 out of 5 stars Read this before you buy
The DVD was interesting. The ability of Picasso to look at the same concept in different ways was refreshing. Read more
Published on September 22, 2006 by Loaay Ahmed

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