Product Description

One of the most influential and visionary artists of the past century is celebrated in this documentary which covers the highlights of his fascinating career. The format of the film mirrors the restless reality of his life; an inveterate traveller and always on the move, Max Ernst lived and worked in Germany, France, and America. His nomadic way of life kept him searching: "A painter is lost if he finds himself." This film looks at his involvement with the Dadaists in Cologne, his time in Paris, his flight to New York, his life in America, and his return to Europe, revealing the "private, brittle places of refuge" he created at various stages in his life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28806 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-07-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
Completed in 1991 by the German producer Peter Schamoni, this 90-minute program includes remarkable footage of the German-born artist Max Ernst, who moved to the United States during World War II and later became an American citizen (throughout, the artist speaks in English, French, and German). In this magnificent production, great effort was made to obtain archival material of Max Ernst's life story as well as historical footage of the times he lived in. A soldier in World War I, Ernst was violently opposed to war, suffering periods of internment in concentration camps, which strongly reinforced his life-long desire for liberty. His marriage to Peggy Guggenheim, though short-lived, opened up the New York art world to him. During his prolific career, he also made collages and painted murals in the home of his friend Paul Edward, the French poet. His surrealist artwork was later influenced by his 12 years of living in Sedona, Arizona. When he would come to a "dead end with painting," he began making sculptures, which was for him "like taking a vacation." As a documentary about art, this program is superb, both for the quality of the cinematography and the visual metaphors that relate landscape and political events to the artist's paintings. --Anne Barclay Morgan

Customer Reviews

Excellent Bio
This well-made documentary on the great Dada / Surrealist Max Ernst is a must for fans of those movements. This superb artist all to often goes unnoticed by our current mainstream culture, which seems too obsessed with Dali and Duchamp. Sure those two were important, but Max Ernst was probably just as significant in the development of modern art. The DVD quality is very good, and the movie itself is simply terrific. It follows the life and career of DadaMax, with footage of him speaking, and in a Bunuel movie. 5 out of 5.

Artist Speaking about his own Work
This excellent documentary of the great German artist has mostly footage of him speaking about his own work, which is for me the very best way to help me understand any artist's work. His remarks as well as the accompanying biographical information are excellently done. The only reason I give it only 4 stars is that he's not one of my favorite artists.

One of the best films I've ever seen
This movie is wunderbar and I watch it over and over. Max Ernst was so amazing and so is this film. The footage is ridiculous, and they have Ernst talk while they show actual film of where he lived or what he experienced. The cinematography is beautiful, the research is awesome-brilliant. Its so great and they show you paintings you can't find even at the library when you are writing a huge paper about Ernst. If you want to understand his paintings, watch this movie and you will see the best example of painting explanation I have ever seen. If only college were this good!!!!
"Who made world history? Not the most reasonable people, the madmen. So if painting is the mirror of a time, it must be mad to have the true image of what a time is." MaxErnst